The Disappearance of Gerry Adams (Part 2)

In my previous blog (Read it here) I revealed that during the 1970s or early 1980s, Gerry Adams was replaced by Gerry Adams, who for the sake of clarity, we shall refer to as Theme Park Gerry, a reimagined, Disneyfied version of the original, Real Gerry. It is hard to give an exact date for when this occurred. It was rather bizarrely, a gradual disappearance.

As I promised, in the first part of this magical mystery tour around the lesser known parts of Gerry and indeed Belfast of yesteryear, I will act as your guide into the past. In order to understand how or why Real Gerry may have disappeared, it may be helpful to study the past and try to get a feel for the time and place.


The Precedent

I remember Belfast in 1972. Many strange things happened. 

Joe Linskey was a friend and neighbour of Gerry Adams. Linskey was also a friend of Dolours Price.

In August 1972, Joe Linskey was living with his sister in west Belfast. Dolours Price arrived at the home of her friend and told him he had an important meeting to attend.  Linskey packed an overnight bag and Price drove him south across the Irish border into County Monaghan. Linskey was never seen again.  

Joe Linskey was a former Cistercian monk, who left his religious order and got involved in Irish Republican politics, eventually becoming a founding member of PIRA, around 1969. At the time of his disappearance, Linskey was the Intelligence Officer for PIRA's Belfast Brigade. 

Joe Linskey (aka Lynskey)

The Volunteer

Dolours Price was twenty-two years old when she drove Joe Linskey across the Irish border. The previous year Price, who had considered a teaching career, became the first woman to join the IRA as a full member, a 'volunteer', rather than a female auxiliary in the Cumann na mBan. Price was from a well known and respected Irish Republican family, which may have helped open the door on her terrorism career. Price was able to approach the PIRA Chief of Staff, Sean Mac Stiofain, to put her case for joining. After a meeting of the PIRA Army Council, her wish was granted.

Dolours Price would claim years later, that during the drive south with Joe Linskey, she considered taking her friend to a port and telling him to leave the country, but Price was a committed PIRA volunteer, or more accurately, terrorist. Price was a true believer, raised on stories about the Easter Rising and the IRA. Price followed her orders.

Price of course knew the true purpose of the journey and that Linskey would not be returning home. When the pair arrived at the rendezvous point, just across the border, a group of men were waiting. Joe thanked his friend Dolours and told her not to worry. He probably knew what lay ahead.

Decades later, Dolours would admit to having been a member of a secret PIRA unit called 'the Unknowns' and that as part of her work for this secret team, she participated in her friend's "disappearance". He was the precedent. The first victim of  the Provisional IRA's strategy for dealing with awkward situations. Linskey's secret abduction, murder and disappearance, was the template that would be used for further victims. 

The unit was led by a former British soldier named Pat McClure, or 'wee Pat', who would several years later, leave Northern Ireland in a hurry and start a new life in North America, where, somewhat surprisingly, he found a job as a prison guard. However, Dolours Price has claimed that the Officer Commanding of the Unknowns, was in fact Gerry Adams, or Real Gerry.

It should be noted dear reader, that the aforementioned Gerry Adams, denies ever being in the IRA, or ever having any involvement in terrorist activity, including Joe Linskey's "disappearance". 

In 2010, when PIRA finally got around to admitting their involvement in Linskey's death, when the murder was detailed in a book, Gerry Adams stated in an interview that he was a neighbour of Linskey and knew that he had disappeared. He also asked for anyone with knowledge of the disappearance, to notify the relevant authorities.

Sadly no-one in PIRA had bothered adding Linskey to the list of names submitted several years earlier, to the Independent Commission responsible for locating the bodies of the disappeared. It's almost as if PIRA hadn't wanted to admit to this particular murder, in the same way that they had lied for decades about the other disappeared.

Dolours Price

The Dark

As detailed in a previous blog Brendan 'The Dark' Hughes was a leading figure in Belfast PIRA and a close friend of Gerry Adams. 

In June 1972, a member of PIRA, whilst holding his child, was shot in the doorway of his home. Holding the child perhaps saved his life, by forcing the gunman to make a poorly aimed shot. The injured man managed to make his way to a near-by club, where arrangements were made to spirit him away, across the border for medical treatment. Whilst at the club, he told Brendan Hughes that he thought it was a member of the Official IRA that shot him. The Officials (OIRA) were rivals to PIRA, following their split in 1969.

Hughes was very much a hands on kind of leader and took a number of men from D Company PIRA, to a drinking club called the Cracked Cup, that was used by OIRA. Hughes had intended to make 'arrests' regarding the shooting. In an altercation inside the club, a customer named Dessie Mackin was shot and bled to death on the floor where he fell. Hughes and his men then took several OIRA members into 'custody' at a house, but were forced to release them when a crowd of OIRA supporters gathered outside.

Rather awkwardly, Brendan Hughes discovered later that day, it was not a member of OIRA that had shot one of his men. The gunman, was another member of PIRA, unwittingly following orders given by Joe Linskey, the Belfast PIRA intelligence officer. Further investigations revealed that Linskey had been having an affair with the wife of the PIRA member, shot and injured at his home. The murder bid, was Linskey's clumsy attempt to remove his love rival.

Years later, Hughes claimed that he was not involved in Linskey's disappearance, but that he believed, following an internal inquiry, Linskey was taken away by the 'the Unknowns'. Hughes also made it clear that he had no control of the unit. They were he claimed, Gerry Adams' squad. It was Hughes' opinion that Linskey was taken for interrogation and probably shot and buried.

Again dear reader, it should be noted that Gerry Adams denies ever being in the IRA and refutes the allegations by Dolours Price and Brendan Hughes.

Gerry Adams & Brendan Hughes (Long Kesh Prison)

This is just one tale of many, from 1970s Belfast, but I hope it conveys the type of atmosphere within which Real Gerry lived and worked. It was a dangerous place in strange times. It wasn't that unusual for people to disappear for a period of time, perhaps days or weeks, and in certain circles it was just accepted that you didn't ask too many questions when people reappeared. Some people never came back. Sadly, for Joe Linskey's family, his body has still not been recovered. 


My first blog in this series is available here.

The blog that covers Brendan Hughes and his friendship with Gerry Adams, is available here.

The Disappearance of Gerry Adams (Part 1)

No-one has an exact date for when it happened, but sometime during the 1970s or early 1980s, Gerry Adams disappeared and was replaced by Gerry Adams. Whilst Gerry looks and sounds like Gerry, they are most definitely not the same person. I understand how this can be confusing at first, so for the purpose of clarity, I shall call the real Gerry Adams, 'Real Gerry', and the tree hugging, quirky Tweeting, plastic duck collecting, naked trampolining with his dog, Sinn Fein Gerry will be referred to as 'Theme Park Gerry', for reasons that I shall now explain. 

Theme Park Gerry is a Disneyfied cartoon character. A reimagined version of the real Gerry Adams, played by an actor inside a costume, following a carefully crafted script. Whilst followers of Sinn Fein are prone to reaching the point of rapture whenever two or more gather at his feet, seasoned and cynical observers say that Theme Park Gerry's utterances about his reimagined past, are as plausible as Gordon Brown's claim that he enjoyed listening to the Arctic Monkeys. 

As we all know, politicians or celebrities often have a public  persona. The challenge for us, the audience, is to determine how much of the public persona is genuine, and how much is self-serving propaganda. This can be a tricky business when there is conflicting information, claims and counter claims, allegations and denials-a-plenty.

There is a school of thought within certain sections of society, including Irish Republicanism, that Theme Park Gerry is a character in an elaborate narrative, produced for the purpose of perception management. Some people who have freely admitted to PIRA membership, such as the late Billy McKee, have stated that Theme Park Gerry is a fabrication and that Real Gerry, unlike Theme Park Gerry, was not only a member of the Provisional IRA, but that he had reached the dizzy heights of the PIRA Army Council (PAC). 

Billy McKee on Gerry Adams

This excerpt from the above article, provides a flavour of how some within Irish Republicanism, view the Theme Park Gerry narrative.

McKee once said about Gerry Adams: "He was Chief of Staff, Army Council and OC Belfast, yet he says he was never in the IRA. For him to get up and say that, was the daftest thing I have ever heard."

Two self-confessed members of PIRA's Belfast Brigade, Brendan Hughes and Dolours Price, have also insisted that Real Gerry was also Terrorist Gerry, a member of PIRA and their Officer Commanding, right from the early days of the troubles. Other members of PIRA and journalists, have also detailed the alleged career of Terrorist Gerry, in various books, newspaper articles, TV and radio broadcasts.

Perhaps understandably, Theme Park Gerry is always quick to dismiss any claims that he is Terrorist Gerry with the awkward and illegal past, but the level of public incredulity, with regards to Theme Park Gerry's back story, combined with the allegations of informed commentators, means that those of us watching from the sidelines, are now left with the difficult task of separating fact from fiction. 

We could of course simply embrace the rather implausible and often mocked, Disneyfied reimagination of Gerry's past, and accept that it is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Perhaps Terrorist Gerry is just the result of an unfortunate misunderstanding, or a smear, propagated by opponents. Alternatively, we could take the time to reflect upon what came before and try to make an informed judgement about the Real Gerry Adams. 

Dear reader, I think it is only fair to Real Gerry, that we delve into the past and examine what others have said about him. Let me, a proud citizen of Belfast, who lived and worked in Northern Ireland throughout the so called troubles, be your tour guide, on a magical mystery tour around the lesser known parts of Gerry Adams.

In the next blog, we will travel back to the summer of 1972, a year that I remember as being filled with extreme violence and a callous indifference to death. For me, it was the year we entered the centre of a maelstrom and somewhere in the midst of the chaos, if we look in the right places, we might just find the real Gerry Adams, before he was disappeared.

If you would like to read part 2 of this blog, you can read it here.

The Disappearance of Gerry Adams (Part 1)

No-one has an exact date for when it happened, but sometime during the 1970s or early 1980s, Gerry Adams disappeared and was replaced by Gerry Adams. Whilst Gerry looks and sounds like Gerry, they are most definitely not the same person. I understand how this can be confusing at first, so for the purpose of clarity, I shall call the real Gerry Adams, 'Real Gerry', and the fake Gerry will be referred to as 'Theme Park Gerry', for reasons that I shall now explain. 

Theme Park Gerry is a Disneyfied cartoon character. A reimagined version of the real Gerry Adams, played by an actor inside a costume, following a carefully crafted script. Whilst followers of Sinn Fein are prone to reaching the point of rapture whenever two or more gather at his feet, seasoned observers say that Theme Park Gerry's utterances about his reimagined past, are about as plausible as Gordon Brown's  claim that he enjoyed listening to the Arctic Monkeys.

There is a school of thought within certain sections of society, including Irish Republicanism, that Theme Park Gerry is an elaborate narrative, manufactured with the intention to distance Theme Park Gerry from the nefarious activities of Real Gerry. Some people who freely admit to PIRA membership, such as the late Billy McKee, have stated that not only is Real Gerry and Theme Park Gerry one and the same person, but that Real Gerry had also reached the dizzy heights of the Provisional IRA Army Council (PAC). 


Here is McKee on Gerry Adams: "He was chief of staff, army council and OC Belfast yet he says he was never in the IRA, for him to get up and say that was the daftest thing I have ever heard." 

Further undermining Theme Park Gerry's back story, are allegations from convicted PIRA terrorists such as Brendan Hughes and Dolours Price, who have recounted their exploits within PIRA and stated that Theme Park Gerry was not only Real Gerry, but that Real Gerry was their Officer Commanding within PIRA's Belfast Brigade. Both Hughes and Price were annoyed that Real Gerry had chosen to distance himself from his past, by manufacturing a reimagined past, in which he was not in PIRA, engaged in various activities with them.

Perhaps understandably, Theme Park Gerry is always quick to dismiss any claims that he is actually Real Gerry with the awkward and illegal terrorist past, but the level of public incredulity, with regards to Theme Park Gerry's back story, means that those of us watching from the side lines, are now left with a difficult choice; accept that an implausible and often mocked Disneyfied reimagination of the past, is actually the truth, or opt for the rather unpleasant terrorist alternative. That dear reader, is entirely your choice.

In part 2 of this blog, we will take a wander back in time and look at some of the PIRA related events in which Theme Park Gerry was supposedly involved, as a fully paid up member of that organisation. We can then decide for ourselves if the claims made about him are true, or just the product of enemies within Irish Republicanism and British securocrats dabbling in black propaganda.

Armalites and Memories

'The Big Lad'

About ten days ago, like any self-respecting observer of terrorism in Northern Ireland, I experienced several minutes of breathing difficulties, crying and the inability to talk, as I rolled around the floor of my living room, clutching my aching sides. The cause of this episode of hilarity was the news that Gerry Adams had again denied membership of the Provisional IRA. This was in response to questioning at the Ballymurphy inquest. 

Gerry Adams denies IRA Membership

It is not the first time that Gerry has denied membership of PIRA. He has been doing it for years. He's an old pro and he knows how to work an audience. This time around, Gerry added a new twist to his comedy routine, by dispatching a letter to the Irish Times, full of faux indignation regarding the line of questioning at the inquest and the news media's reporting of his performance. What a kidder! 

Gerry Adams's Letter


Gerry's latest comedy gig, made me recall those carefree halcyon days of the 1970s, when he was honing his comedy skills around Belfast. It would be fair to say that Gerry's comedy was political in nature, like Ben Elton but with more edge. A lot more. 

'The Dark' 

Brendan 'The Dark' Hughes was a merchant seaman, home on leave in Belfast when the violence started in 1969. He would never return to a life on the sea, instead his life took a radical turn with membership of the IRA and subsequently, near legendary status amongst Irish Republicans. Hughes would also form a long lasting friendship with Gerry Adams. According to Hughes, Gerry Adams was his OC in PIRA, but this of course is disputed by Gerry, who as we know, says he was never in the IRA. Repeat, NEVER.

Confused? Dear reader, it is a complex world we live in and it is best to remember that in Northern Ireland, there is the truth and there is..... "the truth". 

Hughes says that the first time he encountered Gerry Adams, was during a riot early in 1970, near the Falls Road in west Belfast. Although Hughes didn't know Adams prior to this, he said it was obvious from watching Adams, that he was a leader and directing rioters. Gerry would of course have his own interpretation of this and I suspect everything that follows, so lets just assume that he disputes everything in this blog, except his name.

The second time Hughes met Adams, was a few weeks later in the Ballymurphy area during another riot (The same area that in 2019, Gerry would say he was present during another incident, but not involved in anything illegal, or a member of PIRA). Hughes and other members of PIRA had been sent with weapons to support the rioters, but, according to Hughes, Adams told them to wait inside a house and they were ordered not to leave. Hughes believed that Adams wanted the riot to continue and gunfire might have ended it. Some would say that even in those early days of the troubles, Adams' strategic thinking was evident. That he wanted to radicalise people and one way to do that, was to prolong a riot. I of course, dear reader, have no view on the subject.

After a few months in PIRA, Hughes started to climb the ranks and by early 1971 he became the Quarter Master for D Company, with responsibility for procurement and storage of weapons and explosives. Following some personnel changes due to arrests, Adams, we are told, had also risen in the ranks to become the head of PIRA's Second Battalion and it would not be long before Hughes, after rising to become OC of D Company, would join Adams on the Battalion staff... or Brendan Hughes just made this up. I am a mere scribe and I'm not taking sides on this disputed account.

Anyway dear reader, at this time, there was friction between Belfast PIRA and the General HQ in Dublin. Belfast PIRA felt that they were not properly equipped and that the southern leadership didn't understand what was required. This led to Belfast PIRA organising their own overseas arms procurement operation. Normally this was the responsibility of the Quarter Master General, who sits on the General HQ staff, so it was unusual to say the least, for Belfast PIRA to go it alone and bypass GHQ. This was an early indication of a change in the relationship and how a more assertive and militant northern PIRA would eventually assume dominance over the organisation, with Gerry Adams and allies taking control of the leadership.... allegedly, so people say.

QE2

A member of the crew of the luxury liner, the QE2, had brought home to Belfast a booklet on a rifle called the Armalite; the AR-15 and AR-18. The booklet made it's way up to the Battalion staff of PIRA and a decision was made to purchase the weapons, as a replacement for their aging weaponry. Armalites were more compact, easier to maintain and handle than the M1 carbines and Garrand rifles favoured by GHQ. The weapons would be bought directly by Belfast PIRA without the southern leadership's involvement. 

Hughes was given the task to travel to America, make the necessary arrangements to procure the Armalites and smuggle them back to Belfast, via Southampton, with the help of sympathisers on the crew of the QE2. Hughes would later claim that the man who gave him this mission was none other than his old pal Gerry Adams and that Adams wanted the weapons in order to escalate PIRA's "armed struggle" against the British.

Hughes mission to the US was not without difficulty. His contacts in New York for procuring the weapons were two leading members of NORAID, an organisation that was ostensibly fundraising and supplying 'humanitarian aid', but in reality was supplying money and support to PIRA. The NORAID contacts were unwilling to supply Hughes with Armalites, as the purchase was not approved by PIRA's GHQ. The NORAID contacts were loyal to GHQ and an order was received from GHQ for Hughes to return home. Hughes refused and with the help of another contact, arranged for a group of people to purchase over two dozen 
Armalites from a gun shop.

Crew members sympathetic to PIRA, working on the QE2 liner, smuggled small shipments of weapons across the Atlantic to Southampton. PIRA also had supporters working in the docks. When Hughes received word that a shipment was due, he would travel to Southampton and arrange the transportation of the weapons, in rental cars, back to Belfast.

In my next blog, we will explore more events in 1972, such as Gerry Adam's role in secret talks between PIRA and the British government, plus some other interesting things that had nothing whatsoever to do with Gerry. In the meantime, here are some photos:


Here is a nice picture from happier times. Brendan and Gerry just shooting the breeze, whilst in Long Kesh prison (Later known as The Maze Prison).

This is a nice one of a young Gerry Adams. I know how it looks, but I'm sure Gerry has a perfectly reasonable explanation for the beret. It was obviously in fashion back then, because several other people were wearing them. Almost like a uniform. Almost, but clearly not because, well ya know, Gerry wasn't in the IRA.

This is a nice group photo in Long Kesh prison. There's Gerry seated, with Brendan behind him and Bobby Sands (yes, that one) on the far right. 

You can read my next blog here: The Disappearance of Gerry Adams (Part 1)

Ends and Means

Back Channels

The events in Londonderry on the 30th January 1972, that became known as Bloody Sunday, are still in the news today and still a cause of controversy. Whilst the shooting of civilians by the Parachute Regiment was widely reported, analysed and debated at the time and over the subsequent decades, a meeting held a few days after Bloody Sunday, between a senior member of the Provisional IRA (PIRA) and a British government official, was part of a series events that would have profound and bloody consequences for hundreds of people throughout 1972 and beyond.

The meeting remained secret during the troubles, but in government papers released under the 'thirty year rule', a memorandum by the government official, dated 9th February 1972, noted that "the minimum concessions which the Provisionals would expect are an assumption by Westminster of responsibility for law, order and security of Northern Ireland and a guarantee that internment (without trial) would be phased out".

At the same time that the secret meeting was occurring, Cabinet meeting minutes dated 3rd February 1972, show British government Ministers outlining possible arrangements for Northern Ireland. The minutes also reveal some unease over events in the country and world opinion "becoming increasingly critical". There is also a mention of the possibility of direct rule, whilst their proposed plans were being implemented.

The secret back channel contact in February 1972 was not the last meeting between PIRA and British politicians that year. Although the general public were unaware of what was happening, I would argue that these unseen exchanges between PIRA and the British political class, both the Conservative government and Labour opposition, had a tragic consequence for the civilian population and the security forces. The talks motivated PIRA to escalate their campaign of violence. PIRA perceived the talks as evidence that the British government were open to negotiation and could be coerced through violence, into concessions and perhaps a withdrawal from Northern Ireland. I believe that it is not a coincidence 1972 was the deadliest year of the troubles.

Decades later, with our knowledge of secret back channel meetings, I would argue that PIRA's ruling Army Council had decided shocks to the system in a final 'big push', were required to achieve British withdrawal. They set out to create a series of violent spectacles for the news media to relay to the general public.

Four years earlier in 1968, on the other side of the world, communist insurgents in South Vietnam had staged a co-ordinated series of attacks known as the Tet Offensive. Whilst it was not a military success, it was a propaganda victory for the North Vietnamese and undermined public opinion in America, adding to the pressure on the US administration to withdraw from Vietnam. PIRA had opted for their own version of Tet, to put on display their capabilities and ruthlessness.

Lower Donegall Street

The purest form of terrorism in a society is a willingness to deliberately target civilians. It means no-one is safe. It is a strategy of tension that impacts on everyone. Total terrorism.

In the previous blog, I outlined events regarding the bombing of the Abercorn Restaurant in Belfast, on the 4th March 1972, only a month after the secret contact between PIRA and a British official. The bomb killed two young women and injured 130 people. There was an inadequate warning, and the customers never had a chance to evacuate. Whilst some may argue that this was a mistake or botched operation by PIRA, I would contend that it was a premeditated attack on civilians and forms part of a pattern in PIRA activity.

Sixteen days later, only a short distance from the Abercorn, PIRA struck again at civilians. This simple summary of events, reveals an act of terrorism, that was intended to cause civilian casualties.

Monday 20th March 1972.

11.45am

The first warning was in a telephone call to a carpet dealer.  The warning stated that there was a bomb in Church Lane, which is a busy street in the centre of Belfast. The street would be crowded with shoppers, office workers and school children at lunchtime. Police and military were alerted to the threat and personnel were tasked to attend and evacuate the area.

11.52am

The second telephone warning was received by the Irish News, a local Nationalist newspaper.. This warning also stated that there was a bomb in Church Street.

11.55am

The third and final telephone warning was received by The Newsletter, another local newspaper that is considered a Unionist paper. This warning stated that the bomb was outside it's office building in Lower Donegall Street, rather than Church Lane. The warning stated that they had fifteen minutes to evacuate.

The people being evacuated from Church Lane, the location given for the bomb in the first two telephone warnings, were being ushered towards Lower Donegall Street, the actual location of the bomb. PIRA knew this would happen and the misleading warnings were intended to draw a crowd towards the car bomb.

11.58am

Three minutes after the third warning to The Newsletter, rather than the fifteen stated, a 200 pound bomb packed inside a Ford Cortina, exploded, sending a ball of flame down the street.

The blast instantly killed two police officers who had been standing next to the Ford. The officers had moments earlier been helping to evacuate people from Church Lane and stopped to examine the car.

The blast wave rolled through the crowd of people who had just arrived in the street. Bodies were thrown across the street. Four men were killed instantly by the blast. A fifth man who was seriously injured, died the following month in hospital.

Apart from the 7 who had died, another 148 people were injured, both by the blast and shards of glass, masonry and other debris that rained down on the street from adjacent buildings damaged by the explosion. Many of the victims were schoolgirls.

Those who arrived at the scene to help, found dozens of wounded men, women and children. Many of the victims were seriously injured; limbs missing, eyes blinded and a range of other horrific wounds. Shocked victims wandered around the street, unsure what to do. Injured people were screaming and crying. Emergency amputations were performed at the scene. Ambulances took victims to hospital as police and fire-fighters pulled more people from under the debris, including victims inside the badly damaged offices of The Newsletter.

We should remind ourselves at this point, only sixteen days previously, a short distance away, PIRA had murdered and maimed civilians at the Abercorn. If they had made a mistake that day when giving a warning, then you would think they would have been more careful in subsequent attacks, but clearly these were not mistakes. There was no need for learning. The bombers knew exactly what they were doing. The carnage in Lower Donegall Street was planned, just as before at the Abercorn Restaurant.

The Day After

The day after the bombing, the Provisional IRA admitted responsibility but tried to shift blame for the deaths and injuries. PIRA claimed they regretted the civilian casualties, but that they had given adequate warnings and the security forces had made a mistake by moving people towards the bomb.

This was a regularly used narrative by PIRA throughout the troubles. By claiming that they had given a warning, they were creating a propaganda narrative intended to provide plausible deniability when accused of the deliberate targeting of civilians. PIRA therefore absolved themselves of blame. A measure of the success of this propaganda tactic, is that decades later, many still accept their lies as facts.

Following the explosion, a report in The Newsletter, stated that, "Police said the terrorists had deliberately plotted to get as many people into Donegall Street as possible." This of course runs counter to the PIRA version of events on the day and throughout the troubles. People sympathetic to their cause would refute the accusation. A central part of the PIRA narrative is that they do not target civilians. This is PIRA's Disneyfication of terrorism and reimagination of the past.

Aftershock

On the 24th March, four days after the car bombing of Lower Donegall Street and twenty days after the Abercorn Restaurant bomb attack, the British government imposed direct rule on Northern Ireland, ending five decades of Unionist rule in Northern Ireland. This was one of the concessions demanded by PIRA at the secret February meeting.

The government's motivation for imposing direct rule, can of course be debated. Perhaps it was a concession to PIRA, but it could just as easily have been in planned prior to these bombings, due to the overall deterioration in the country. Regardless of the motivation, I would suggest the secret talks and this political decision, was perceived by PIRA as a concession, a reaction to their violence. Rather than help bring about peace, the actions of the government exacerbated the situation. PIRA felt they were in the ascendant and that violence was working. They were an insurgent force engaged in asymmetric warfare against a significantly larger opponent. A psychological blow against the British public, involving the murder and maiming of civilians, was considered by PIRA to be not only necessary but acceptable. The ends justified the means.

As I will show in future blogs, the template created for secret talks, propaganda and terrorist attacks on civilians in early 1972, foreshadowed what was to follow later in the year, including a secret meeting in London, a wave of two dozen bombs against civilian targets in a single day in Belfast, and the formation of a secret PIRA unit that murdered and "disappeared" it's victims. As 1972 progressed, a younger PIRA leadership would emerge, with figures such as Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, taking prominent roles in secret talks and determining PIRA strategy.

The reality behind PIRA propaganda ~ Lower Donegall Street, 1972

You can read my next blog here: Armalites and Memories