INLA'S TACTICAL CEASEFIRE MUST BE LOOKED AT WITH SUSPICIOUS EYES
INLA's tactical ceasefire must be looked at with suspicious eyes
AN Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) ceasefire is said to be imminent, but, the organisation has called tactical ceasefires before and the latest cessation is being viewed as a cynical ploy to avail of prisoner releases under the Stormont Agreement.
British officials have been in talks with the INLA leadership about calling a ceasefire and a statement from the group's political wing, the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP), saying there was no longer any basis for armed struggle, indicates an early ceasefire announcement. This, added to Irish Government pressure, has fuelled expectation of an INLA ceasefire by Saturday at the latest. The 24-hour deadline set by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern when he called on all dissident groups to end their violence, expires today. However, even if the ceasefire is called, its bonafides will have to be proven before the INLA can expect any reciprocation in the form of prisoner releases from Portlaoise.
The INLA's 23-year campaign of violence has been marked by at least four separate internecine feuds and those left are not regarded as true republicans by their peers in the IRA, having been tainted by the activities of some in drugs and extortion rackets.
The organisation was dealt a bitter blow in 1985, when 27 men were jailed for offences varying from murder to arms possession on the evidence of INLA killer turned supergrass, Harry Kirkpatrick. This prompted the first of several hunger strikes by INLA members. Arising partly out of the supergrass saga, a bitter feud erupted in the INLA in 1987. A renegade faction, the Irish People's Liberation Organisation was vying for control of the group and precipitated a 15-week vendetta campaign of tit for tat killings, which left 12 dead, including the wife of jailed INLA leader, Dominic McGlinchey.
The INLA, which has over 30 prisoners in the Maze and Portlaoise, has been responsible for some of the worst atrocities in the history of the troubles. The names associated with the group give a flavour of the psychopathic tendencies it once showed: Dominic 'Mad Dog' McGlinchey, Dessie O'Hare, alias the Border Fox; and Harry 'Basher' Flynn.
The group was responsible for some "spectacular" acts of terrorism, including the murder of Tory MP, Airey Neave at the House of Commons in 1979 and, most recently, the assassination of LVF leader, Billy Wright, in the Maze. The fact that a man charged with Wright's murder, Christopher "Crip" McWilliams, was previously a member of the IPLO which conducted a bloody feud with the INLA in the 1980s, shows the internal divisions which have perennially fractured the INLA.
One of the most vicious killers in INLA ranks, Dessie O'Hare, was expelled from the group in 1987 after he went on a killing spree as part of a feud with South Armagh INLA men. O'Hare was captured by gardai after a dramatic shoot-out and is now serving a 40-year term in Portlaoise.
However, even more infamous than the Border Fox was Mad Dog McGlinchey. He died as he lived, in a hail of bullets, executed in a Drogheda phone-box in 1994. At the 39-year-old's funeral, his close friend and former MP, Bernadette McAlliskey, called him the finest republican of them all. One of the pall-bearers was Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness. Only weeks earlier, McGlinchey had boasted of killing 30 people in his bloody terrorist career.
McGlinchey's death in January 1994 was marked by a ceasefire. Calling tactical ceasefires is nothing new for the INLA. The 1994 cessation lasted for two months, as the INLA considered the Downing Street Declaration, before declaring it a sell-out and returning to war. When four of its members, including the then chief of staff, Hugh Torney, went on trial for possession of arms in 1995, a statement was read out to the court claiming an INLA ceasefire had been in place since July 1994. Two weeks later, the organisation's Army Council issued a statement saying their court statement had been misinterpreted, the INLA had, in fact, only agreed to a "tactical cessation" and not a full cessation of violence.
In the wake of the Omagh bombing and evidence of collusion between the Real IRA, the INLA and the Continuity IRA in recent bombings, including that at Newtownhamilton, Armagh, on June 25, the imminent INLA ceasefire must be viewed with suspicious eyes.
The Government has traditionally treated INLA cessations with scepticism. In 1994, 33 IRA prisoners walked free from Portlaoise on foot of the first IRA ceasefire. No INLA members were released on foot of their 'cessation'.
The failure to treat IRA and INLA prisoners equally in Portlaoise prompted a three-week hunger strike at the jail in 1995. The INLA's officer commanding in Portlaoise, Dundalk-based Michael McCartney, was joined by Paddy Wall and Anthony McNeill on the strike which eventually ended in the Government agreeing to discuss INLA concerns.
Militant tendencies rose in the INLA throughout 1995, as a new leader took over, but unity could never be achieved. With Torney on remand for arms offences, Gino Gallagher took over as chief of staff, only to be assassinated by a breakaway group. His killers were acting for Hugh Torney who was attempting to regain control of the organisation after his release from prison.
The assassination of Gino Gallagher on January 30, 1996, sparked another wave of tit for tat killings. After nine-months, the feud ended with the death of Hugh Torney.
The organisation remains fractured, however. Although the INLA leadership appears to be in favour of a ceasefire; they are dissidents within its ranks. Alarmingly, from a security point of view, these dissidents are believed to be based in the Dundalk area and, prior to the Omagh bombing, had been associating with Real IRA members. The impression seems to be clear: ceasefire or not, the war may go on.
Courtesy of Irish Examiner
AN Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) ceasefire is said to be imminent, but, the organisation has called tactical ceasefires before and the latest cessation is being viewed as a cynical ploy to avail of prisoner releases under the Stormont Agreement.
British officials have been in talks with the INLA leadership about calling a ceasefire and a statement from the group's political wing, the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP), saying there was no longer any basis for armed struggle, indicates an early ceasefire announcement. This, added to Irish Government pressure, has fuelled expectation of an INLA ceasefire by Saturday at the latest. The 24-hour deadline set by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern when he called on all dissident groups to end their violence, expires today. However, even if the ceasefire is called, its bonafides will have to be proven before the INLA can expect any reciprocation in the form of prisoner releases from Portlaoise.
The INLA's 23-year campaign of violence has been marked by at least four separate internecine feuds and those left are not regarded as true republicans by their peers in the IRA, having been tainted by the activities of some in drugs and extortion rackets.
The organisation was dealt a bitter blow in 1985, when 27 men were jailed for offences varying from murder to arms possession on the evidence of INLA killer turned supergrass, Harry Kirkpatrick. This prompted the first of several hunger strikes by INLA members. Arising partly out of the supergrass saga, a bitter feud erupted in the INLA in 1987. A renegade faction, the Irish People's Liberation Organisation was vying for control of the group and precipitated a 15-week vendetta campaign of tit for tat killings, which left 12 dead, including the wife of jailed INLA leader, Dominic McGlinchey.
The INLA, which has over 30 prisoners in the Maze and Portlaoise, has been responsible for some of the worst atrocities in the history of the troubles. The names associated with the group give a flavour of the psychopathic tendencies it once showed: Dominic 'Mad Dog' McGlinchey, Dessie O'Hare, alias the Border Fox; and Harry 'Basher' Flynn.
The group was responsible for some "spectacular" acts of terrorism, including the murder of Tory MP, Airey Neave at the House of Commons in 1979 and, most recently, the assassination of LVF leader, Billy Wright, in the Maze. The fact that a man charged with Wright's murder, Christopher "Crip" McWilliams, was previously a member of the IPLO which conducted a bloody feud with the INLA in the 1980s, shows the internal divisions which have perennially fractured the INLA.
One of the most vicious killers in INLA ranks, Dessie O'Hare, was expelled from the group in 1987 after he went on a killing spree as part of a feud with South Armagh INLA men. O'Hare was captured by gardai after a dramatic shoot-out and is now serving a 40-year term in Portlaoise.
However, even more infamous than the Border Fox was Mad Dog McGlinchey. He died as he lived, in a hail of bullets, executed in a Drogheda phone-box in 1994. At the 39-year-old's funeral, his close friend and former MP, Bernadette McAlliskey, called him the finest republican of them all. One of the pall-bearers was Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness. Only weeks earlier, McGlinchey had boasted of killing 30 people in his bloody terrorist career.
McGlinchey's death in January 1994 was marked by a ceasefire. Calling tactical ceasefires is nothing new for the INLA. The 1994 cessation lasted for two months, as the INLA considered the Downing Street Declaration, before declaring it a sell-out and returning to war. When four of its members, including the then chief of staff, Hugh Torney, went on trial for possession of arms in 1995, a statement was read out to the court claiming an INLA ceasefire had been in place since July 1994. Two weeks later, the organisation's Army Council issued a statement saying their court statement had been misinterpreted, the INLA had, in fact, only agreed to a "tactical cessation" and not a full cessation of violence.
In the wake of the Omagh bombing and evidence of collusion between the Real IRA, the INLA and the Continuity IRA in recent bombings, including that at Newtownhamilton, Armagh, on June 25, the imminent INLA ceasefire must be viewed with suspicious eyes.
The Government has traditionally treated INLA cessations with scepticism. In 1994, 33 IRA prisoners walked free from Portlaoise on foot of the first IRA ceasefire. No INLA members were released on foot of their 'cessation'.
The failure to treat IRA and INLA prisoners equally in Portlaoise prompted a three-week hunger strike at the jail in 1995. The INLA's officer commanding in Portlaoise, Dundalk-based Michael McCartney, was joined by Paddy Wall and Anthony McNeill on the strike which eventually ended in the Government agreeing to discuss INLA concerns.
Militant tendencies rose in the INLA throughout 1995, as a new leader took over, but unity could never be achieved. With Torney on remand for arms offences, Gino Gallagher took over as chief of staff, only to be assassinated by a breakaway group. His killers were acting for Hugh Torney who was attempting to regain control of the organisation after his release from prison.
The assassination of Gino Gallagher on January 30, 1996, sparked another wave of tit for tat killings. After nine-months, the feud ended with the death of Hugh Torney.
The organisation remains fractured, however. Although the INLA leadership appears to be in favour of a ceasefire; they are dissidents within its ranks. Alarmingly, from a security point of view, these dissidents are believed to be based in the Dundalk area and, prior to the Omagh bombing, had been associating with Real IRA members. The impression seems to be clear: ceasefire or not, the war may go on.
Courtesy of Irish Examiner
Further Information
Publisher: THE EXAMINER
Ref: TEX/122
Published Date: 20-Aug-98
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