Dramatis Personae

Adams, Annie	Mother of Gerry Adams. A former member of the IRA’s women’s branch, the Cumann na mBan.
Adams, Gerry	Leader of the IRA’s political wing Sinn Fein, a member of the IRA’s Army Council since 1977, a former chief of staff, adjutant-general and Northern commander. He constructed the peace process in great secrecy.
Adams Sr., Gerry	Gerry Adams’ father. He was shot by the RUC and imprisoned in 1942 while on an IRA operation.
Ahern, Bertie	Fianna Fail prime minister from 1997 onward. His election ensured Adams a sympathetic hearing in Dublin and he helped to negotiate the terms for the second cease-fire.
Ashour, Nasser	Senior officer in the Libyan Intelligence Service. He traveled to Ireland secretly to negotiate Quaddaffi arms deal with the IRA Army Council.
Bell, Ivor	A former Belfast commander and chief of staff of the IRA he was once Adams’s closest political ally but fell out bitterly over the strategy of fighting elections in the mid-1980s.
Blair, Tony	New Labour prime minister in Britain. After his election in May 1997 he quickly recognized the direction being taken by Adams and softened terms for a second cease-fire. Helped negotiate the Good Friday Agreement but unionists saw him as soft on IRA disarming.
Brooke, Peter	Inheritor of the Reid pipeline from Tom King. He made public part of the secret offer to the IRA by pledging British neutrality on the terms of a final settlement.
Bruton, John	Garret FitzGerald’s successor as leader of Fine Gael and bitterly anti-Provisional IRA, he succeeded Albert Reynolds as taoiseach. His hardline attitude to IRA disarming contributed significantly to the breakdown of the cease-fire in 1996.
Bryson, Jim	Along with fellow Ballymurphy men, Gerry Adams’s brother-in-law, Paddy Mulvenna and Tommy “Toddler” Tolan, Bryson made up the fearsome trio which helped make the Second Batallion in Belfast, which Adams commanded, one of the toughest IRA units in the city.
Burns, Harry	Related by marriage to Gerry Adams. His friendship with Joe Fenton gave the British an invaluable insight into the movement of IRA weapons.
Burns, Ian	Northern Ireland Office deputy under-secretary of State. Second most important British official during the 1980s, he transmitted Father Reid’s messages to the politicians.
Bush, George W.	Succeeded Bill Clinton as U.S. president in 2001 and immediately downgraded the Irish peace process, returning responsibility first to the state department and then outside it; took a tougher line on IRA intentions than Clinton.
Cahill, Joe	IRA veteran from the 1940s, a former Belfast commander and IRA chief of staff whose vote swung the 1994 cease-fire decision. Strong Adams supporter. Died in 2004.
Carron, Owen	Sands’ election agent and his succeedor as Fermanagh–South Tyrone MP. His election was crucial in Adams’s bid to win Sinn Fein to an electoral strategy.
Chichester-Clark, James	Successor to Terence O’Neill, his cousin, as unionist prime minister in 1969. He was in office during the early years of the rise of the Provisional IRA.
Cleary, Gabriel	The IRA’s director of engineering—was on board the Eksund loaded with Libyan weapons in 1987 and discovered that the expedition had been betrayed by an informer.
Clinton, Bill	U.S. president from 1992 to 2000; his decision to give Adams a visa to visit New York in early 1994 enraged the British but obliged Adams to deliver the cease-fire later that year.
Cochrane, Thomas	Protestant member of the Ulster Defence Regiment. His kidnapping and killing in 1982 persuaded Father Alec Reid to open contacts with Gerry Adams and marks the start of the Irish peace process.
Collins, Michael	The IRA’s director of organisation and head of intelligence during the Anglo-Irish war of 1919–21, he led the Irish team that agreed the Treaty which gave Ireland partial independence. Gerry Adams compared his own counterintelligence operations in the early 1970s to those devised by Collins.
Connolly, James	Socialist republican leader of the 1916 Rising. He inspired left-wing republicans but was initially disowned by the Provisionals until Adams invoked his memory during his own move to the left.
Connolly, Niall	Sinn Fein’s representative in Cuba. Arrested in Colombia in August 2001 and later named as the contact man with FARC guerillas in a cocaine cash-for-arms training deal with the IRA.
Coogan, Tim Pat	Former editor of the newspaper Irish Press. He delivered Father Reid’s secret offer of an IRA cease-fire to Charles Haughey in May 1987.
Daly, Cahal	Bishop of Down and Connor, and later cardinal. He rejected efforts by Adams and Reid to back the infant peace process in 1984.
Daly, Edward	Catholic Bishop of Derry. Strongly anti-IRA he nevertheless gave Father Reid a letter of support for his diplomacy with Adams.
Davison, Gerard Jock	Leader of IRA gang accused of knifing Robert McCartney to death.
de Chastelain, General John	Canadian-born chairman of the international decommissioning body that oversaw the destruction of IRA weapons from October 2001 to September 2005.
de Valera, Eamon	A leader of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin. He broke with Collins over the 1921 Treaty but after defeat in civil war accepted it and entered constitutional politics. He founded Fianna Fail from the remnants of the beaten IRA and later became president of Ireland.
Deverill, John	The point man for Britain’s internal intelligence agency, MI5, in Northern Ireland during many of the peace process years.
Devlin-McAliskey, Bernadette	An early student civil rights leader and West-minster MP. Her strategy of contesting elections was at first bitterly opposed but then enthusiastically imitated by Gerry Adams.
Doherty, Pat	Sinn Fein MP for West Tyrone. A longtime Adams ally, his job was to organize IRA Conventions and other secret meetings.
Donaldson, Denis	Sinn Fein head of administration and member of GHQ IRA intelligence unit. Arrested after the discovery of a spy ring at Stormont. In 2005 he admitted being a long-time British agent. Shot dead in County Donegal in April 2006.
Drumm, Jimmy	IRA veteran who backed anti-Adams elements in the mid-1970s but switched sides when Adams emerged victorious following arguments over the 1975 cease-fire.
Durkan, Mark	Former assistant to John Hume, who took over as SDLP leader in 2001.
Elliott, Mark	British Foreign Office official who headed the London side of the Anglo-Irish secretariat after 1985. His diplomacy in Derry was so secret that his reports to his political masters were written in his own hand.
Faulkner, Brian	Successor to Chichester-Clark. He is remembered for two things: for introducing internment in 1971, which boosted the IRA’s fortunes, and for negotiating the 1974 power-sharing Sunningdale deal of 1974, which set the precedent for the Good Friday Agreement.
Fenton, Joe	From West Belfast, possibly the most important informers ever to work for the British. His speedy execution by the IRA in Belfast led many to suspect a high level cover-up.
Finucane, Pat	Belfast lawyer assassinated by UDA in 1989. British security forces knew of the plot to kill him but did nothing.
Fitt, Gerry	A founder member and, for ten years, the leader of the SDLP. He preceded Adams as West Belfast MP. The 1981 hunger strikes effectively ended his political career and paved the way for Adams.
Fitzgerald, Garret	Fiercely anti-Provisional IRA prime minister, or taoiseach in the Irish Republic in the mid-1980s. The leader of Michael Collins’s political successors, Fine Gael, he negotiated the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement, which threatened to isolate Sinn Fein.
Flynn, Bill	New York-based insurance mogul who eased the way for Gerry Adams in the U.S., especially with the Clinton White House.
Gibney, Jim	East Belfast IRA officer who rose to be a key think tank member. He also floated controversial ideas on behalf of Adams.
Gillen, Brian	Belfast commander of the IRA until 1997. He initially supported the IRA dissidents but unexpectedly backed Adams at the 1997 Convention; he was rewarded with a seat on the Army Council.
Gillespie, Patsy	Derry-based Catholic who was forced to deliver the first IRA “human bomb” to a British army base in October 1990. His death facilitated secret talks aimed at securing an experimental IRA de-escalation in Derry.
Good, Reverend Harold	Methodist minister and witness, along with Father Alec Reid, of September 2005 final IRA decommissioning.
Goulding, Cathal	IRA chief of staff at the time of the split with the Provisionals in 1969. His left-wing politics were much admired by the young Gerry Adams.
Haass, Richard	President Bush’s ambassador to the Irish peace process.
Hannaway, Alfie	An uncle of Gerry Adams. He ran the IRAs youth wing, the Fianna na hEireann, and was a close friend of the Redemptorist priests of Clonard.
Hannaway, Kevin	Gerry Adams’s cousin. He was IRA quartermaster general when the Libyan arms deal was struck.
Hannaway, Liam	Gerry Adams’s uncle and an early Provisional IRA leader.
Hartley, Tom	An important member of Adams’s think tank who kited controversial ideas on behalf of the Sinn Fein leader.
Haughey, Charles	Leader of Fianna Fail and Irish prime minister from 1987 to 1992. He was the figure to whom Adams communicated a secret offer of an IRA cease-fire. His decision to talk to Adams via Father Reid made the peace process possible. He died in 2006.
Hegarty, Frank	Member of the IRA quartermaster’s department. He betrayed a consignment of Libyan-supplied weapons. His treachery prompted a bitter dispute between Martin McGuinness and Kevin McKenna over who had allowed Hegarty into the IRA.
Hopkins, Adrian	Captain of the Eksund. Wrongly of betraying the 1987 operation, he had successfully smuggled many tons of Libyan arms to the IRA in the previous two years.
Howell, Ted	Highly secretive chairman of Adams’s think tank, which effectively controlled and directed the negotiations leading to the 1994 and 1997 IRA cease-fires.
Hughes, Brendan	Former Belfast commander of the IRA. He led the first unsuccessful hunger strike of 1980. A close friend and ally of Adams, he broke with him over the peace process.
Hume, John	The brooding leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, the Provisionals’ principal opponents. He acted as Charles Haughey’s surrogate in secret talks with Adams, which eventually helped create the 1994 IRA cease-fire. He retired as SDLP leader in 2001.
Johnston, Roy	A computer scientist and left-wing activist. He worked along with, Trinity College, Dublin lecturer, Anthony Coughlan, and Cathal Goulding to move the IRA to the left in the 1960s
Keenan, Brian	Known in the IRA as “the Dog,” he had a hawkish image belied by his constant and unquestioning support for Adams. His duplicity assisted Adams in defeating a challenge from IRA dissidents after the 1994 cease-fire
Kelly, Gerry	From Ballymurphy, a participant in the first IRA bombing mission to London, organized by Belfast Brigade. After many years in jail in Britain and Ireland, he became IRA adjutantgeneral during the formative years of the peace process. His hard-line reputation helped win skeptics over to the Adams strategy
Kennedy-Smith, Jean	Sister of Senator Ted Kennedy. Her role in the Irish peace process reached a climax when in August 1994 she persuaded Clinton to give Joe Cahill a visa to visit the U.S. Subsequently Cahill’s vote in the Army Council guaranteed the cease-fire.
King, Tom	British secretary of state in 1985. He received secret correspondence from Adams and approved conversations via Father Reid, which led to a secret British offer of cease-fire terms to the IRA.
Lampen, Diana and John	English-born Quakers and members of the Derry Peace and Reconciliation Group. They secretly mediated between Martin McGuinness and senior British security commanders in a bid to de-escalate IRA violence in the city.
Lowry, Bill	Former head of RUC/PSNI Special Branch in Belfast. Alleged intelligence agencies assisted Adams’s peace strategy.
Lynagh, Jim	County Monaghan-born leader of the East Tyrone IRA Brigade. He was killed along with seven others in the Loughgall ambush of May 1987. He was plotting to break from the IRA at the time of his death.
Lynch, Jack	The Irish prime minister at the start of the Troubles in 1969. He abandoned traditional republican confrontation with unionists for a gradualist and evolutionary approach to Irish re-unification. Joined the Army Council in 2005 after Adams, McGuiness and Ferris resigned.
Lynch, Martin “Duckser”	Former IRA director of intelligence from Belfast and an Adams ally. He was supposed to drive dissident leader Frank McGuinness to the 1996 Convention but missed the pickup.
MacStiofain, Seanan	An English-born convert to the cause, he was the Provisional IRA’s first chief of staff.
Major, John	British prime minister after Margaret Thatcher
Mallon, Kevin	IRA veteran from County Tyrone. His removal from the IRA’s upper reaches in the early 1980s helped Adams establish unchallenged control of the IRA.
Mansergh, Martin	Haughey’s Northern Ireland adviser. Trusted by Reid and Adams, he was kept on by Reynolds and then by Bertie Ahern because of his unrivalled knowledge of the peace process’s secrets.
Mason, Roy	Tough and abrasive British secretary of state in the late 1970s. He very nearly defeated the IRA with a combination of tough interrogation methods and the criminalizing of IRA prisoners.
Mayhew, Sir Patrick	British secretary of state at the time of the first IRA cease-fire of 1994.
McArdle, Colette	Gerry Adams’s wife. She came from an active republican background but her activism ceased after her marriage.
McAteer, Aidan	Son of a former IRA chief of staff and longtime Adams aide-de-campe. He often represented Adams’ interests in negotiations with the Irish government and loyalists.
McCartney, Robert	East Belfast man stabbed to death by IRA gang after a row in a bar. His sisters accused Sinn Fein and the IRA of covering up his murder and led campaign to have his killers charged. Invited to the White House in March 2005.
McConville, Jean	A low level British army agent who was also shot dead and secretly disappeared by “the unknowns” on the orders of the Belfast Brigade in December 1972. A Protestant who had married a Falls Road Catholic, she was a mother of ten small children when she was abducted from her apartment in the Divis Flats complex in December 1972. Her body was recovered in 2003.
McDowell, Michael	Irish justice minister, deputy prime minister (tanaiste) and Progressive Democrats leader. An acerbic critic of the Provisionals, he named Adams and McGuinness as IRA Army Council members after the Northern Bank robbery.
McFarlane, Brendan “Bik”	Commander of IRA prisoners during the 1981 hunger strikes.
McGrane, Seamus	County Louth-based Chairman of the IRA Executive that tried but failed to overthrow Adams in 1997.
McGuinness, Frank	IRA director of engineering and Executive member. A dissident leader, his absence from the 1996 Convention ensured Adams’s survival.
McGuinness, Martin	A former chief of staff from Derry he was chairman of the Army Council and the IRA’s Northern commander during many of the peace process years. A close colleague of Adams, he had a hard-line record that persuaded many IRA doubters to back the peace strategy.
McKee, Billy	The Provisional IRA’s first Belfast commander. He and Adams were bitter enemies.
McKenna Kevin	The longest serving IRA chief of staff, from 1982 until 1997. His credibility was undermined after the 1994 cease-fire, and eventually he lost the confidence of the rank and file and was replaced by “Slab” Murphy.
McKevitt Micky	IRA quartermaster general who masterminded the Libyan arms-smuggling operation. He led the revolt against the Adams strategy and when he lost went on to help form the Real IRA. He was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2003.
McLaughlin, Mitchel	A key member of the Adams think tank and an avid supporter of the peace process strategy, McLaughlin was despised by IRA members for his criticism of botched military operations.
Mitchell, George	Former U.S. Senate Democrat leader. He formulated the rules for IRA decommissioning and set out the six principles of nonviolence that precipitated a split in the IRA.
Molloy, Eamon	The IRA’s Belfast quartermaster in 1974. His treachery paved the way for the 1975 cease-fire which catapulted Adams into the republican leadership. He was shot dead and “disappeared.”
Molyneaux, James	Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party during the crucial years of the peace process.
Monaghan, James	IRA director of engineering, arrested in Colombia in August 2001 along with his deputy, Martin McAuley.
Morley, David	Newry-born IRA commander in the Long Kesh prison camp in the mid-1970s. He became the main target for Adams’s supporters in the camp’s Cage 11 who were opposed to the 1975 cease-fire.
Morrison, Danny	Key member of Adams’s think tank. An early editor of Republican News, Morrison became IRA publicity director and is famous for first using the “Armalite and ballot box” slogan.
Mountbatten, Lord Louis	The most celebrated of IRA victims, killed in an IRA bomb attack on his vacation boat in County Sligo in August 1979. His death, followed by the killing of 18 British soldiers in an expert ambush on the Border near Carlingford Lough later the same day, was viewed by IRA members as a vindication of Adams’ plan to revitalize the IRA.
Mowlam, Mo	Tony Blair’s secretary of state. She helped negotiate the 1997 cease-fire and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. She died in 2005.
Murphy, Tom “Slab”	IRA chief of staff from 1997 on. A former Northern commander and director of IRA operations from South Armagh border, he helped organize the Libyan shipments. He was a wealthy cross-border businessman who had no time for politics, but his support for Adams proved to be crucial.
Nelson, Brian	Ulster Defence Association intelligence chief and British army agent. Information from him saved Adams from UDA assassination in 1998.
ni Elias, Christin	Mysterious supporter of the O Bradaigh–O Conaill faction and bitter adversary of Adams. She may have been targeted for assasination by the IRA in a sting operation.
Oatley, Michael	Senior officer in the British secret intelligence service (MI6). He dealt indirectly and directly with Army Council figures from the mid-1970s on.
O Bradaigh, Ruairi	Chief of staff of the IRA at the end of the 1956–62 campaign and later president of Sinn Fein. His political defeat at the hands of Adams cleared the way for the peace process.
O Conaill, Daithi	An IRA veteran from County Cork who had fought in the Border Campaign of 1956–62 and became one of Adams’s chief political opponents. He died in 1991.
O Fiaich, Tomas	The Crossmaglen-born primate of all Ireland was the first to give support to Alec Reid and secured approval for the enterprise in the Vatican.
O’Hare, Gerry	A native from West Belfast, whose removal as editor of the Dublin IRA paper An Phoblacht signaled the start of Adams’s campaign to capture the Provisional leadership.
O’Neill, Terence	Reforming but patrician unionist prime minister in Northern Ireland when the Troubles broke out in 1968–69.
O’Rawe, Richard	IRA prison public relations officer during 1981 hunger strike. His 2005 account of the protest alleged that a deal to end the protest was sabotaged so as to advance Sinn Fein’s electoral strategy.
Paisley, Ian	Protestant leader whose agitation paved the way for the birth and growth of the Provisional IRA. After the fall of David Trimble, he led unionist negotiations with the Provisionals about power-sharing.
Pearse, Patrick	A leader of the secret Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) whose poetic oratory inspired the 1916 Rising.
Powell, Jonathan	Tony Blair’s chief of staff. He handled most of the minutiae of negotiations with Sinn Fein and the IRA.
Price, Marion	Along with her sister Dolours, she formed the core of the 1973 bombing team sent to London by the Belfast Brigade. Adams ignored evidence that an informer had betrayed the operation. Like Brendan Hughes, the two Price sisters eventually accused Adams of betraying the IRA’s struggle.
Qaddafi, Muammar	Libyan leader who supplied the IRA with weapons and cash from 1972 on.
Reid, Alec	The County Tipperary-born, West Belfast-based Redemptorist priest is the unsung hero of the Irish peace process. His secret diplomacy with Adams and the British and Irish governments laid the theological basis for the peace process.
Reiss, Mitchell	Bush admistration ambassador to the peace process after 2003. He took a touch line with the Provos over decommissioning and recognition of policing.
Reynolds, Albert	Haughey’s successor as taoiseach. He enthusiastically backed the peace process when he learned of Haughey’s diplomacy with Adams.
Sands, Bernadette	Sister of the dead IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands and wife of the dissident leader Micky McKevitt.
Sands, Bobby	Leader of IRA prisoners in the Long Kesh/Maze prison. He was the first to die during the 1981 hunger strikes. An IRA icon, his election as MP for Fermanagh–South Tyrone paved the way, indirectly, for the peace process.
Scappaticci, Freddie	Former head of IRA’s internal “spycatcher” unit. Outed as a British army agent, codename “Steaknife”, in 2003.
Spring, Dick	Irish deputy prime minister, or tanaiste, during the Reynolds and John Bruton governments.
Storey, Bobby	IRA director of intelligence. Organized the 2004 Northern Bank raid and a spy ring inside British government offices in 2002. Close ally of Adams.
Thatcher, Margaret	An avowed and bitter enemy of the IRA, the former British prime minister nevertheless sanctioned secret talks with Adams in 1986–87.
Tone, Wolfe	The founder of modern Irish republicanism. He inspired the 1798 United Irishmen rebellion composed of Protestant radicals roused by the writings of Tom Paine and the French Revolution and the anti-Orange, Catholic Defender Movement, from which the Provisionals trace their origin.
Trimble, David	Ulster unionist leader who backed the Good Friday Agreement, gambling that Adams was making a huge compromise. His failure to secure transparent IRA decommissioning led to his political downfall. He quit as unionist leader in 2005 after losing his Westminster seat to a DUP candidate.
Twomey, Seamus	A former Belfast commander and chief of staff who was dominated by Adams.
Walsh, Seanna	Former IRA prisoner. Read out IRA Army Council statement of July 2005 announcing end to the armed campaign against Britain.
Ward, Chris	Northern Bank official kidnapped along with a colleague, Kevin McMullan. Forced to assist IRA robbery of the bank’s cash centre.
Whitelaw, William	The first British secretary of state for Northern Ireland after the imposition of direct rule from London. He met the IRA leadership, including Adams, during secret cease-fire talks in 1972.
William of Orange	A Protestant member of the Dutch royal family who came to Britain at the invitation of the London parliament to oppose the ambitions of Catholic King James II. His victory over the Stuart pretender in the siege of Derry and then at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 led Irish Protestants to establish the Orange Order to perpetuate their ascendancy.
Wright, Seamus	An IRA double agent who worked for a secret arm of British military intelligence known as the MRF. His confession to the IRA made Adams’s name as a counterintelligence expert. Along with another IRA traitor, Kevin McKee, he was killed and secretly buried by “the unknowns.”