Denis Donaldson
This article needs to be updated.(August 2022) |
Denis Donaldson | |
---|---|
Born | 1950 |
Died | 4 April 2006 | (aged 55–56)
Nationality | Irish |
Known for | Sinn Féin informer |
Notable work | Friends of Sinn Féin |
Denis Martin Donaldson (1950 – 4 April 2006) was a
Paramilitary and political career
Donaldson had a long history of involvement in
Donaldson was a friend of IRA
In 1981, he was arrested by French authorities at
As the Sinn Féin leadership under
In the early 2000s, Donaldson was appointed Sinn Féin's Northern Ireland Assembly group administrator in Parliament Buildings.[9]
In October 2002, he was arrested in a raid on the Sinn Féin offices as part of a high-profile Police Service of Northern Ireland investigation into an alleged republican spy ring during the Stormontgate affair[10]
In December 2005, the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland dropped the espionage charges against Donaldson and two other men on the grounds it would not be in the public interest to proceed with the case.[11]
British agent
On 16 December 2005, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams announced to a press conference in Dublin that Donaldson had been an agent for British intelligence. This was confirmed by Donaldson in a statement which he read out on RTÉ, the Irish state broadcaster, shortly afterward.[12] According to the British agent known as 'Martin', leading South Armagh republicans blamed Donaldson for IRA operations which had been compromised and suspected he had planted covert listening devices which they had found.[13] Donaldson stated that he was recruited after compromising himself during a vulnerable time in his life, but did not specify why he was vulnerable or why he would risk his life as an intelligence agent for the British Government in an area such as West Belfast.[14]
Donaldson's daughter, Jane, is married to Ciarán Kearney, who was arrested along with Donaldson in the Stormontgate affair.[15][further explanation needed]
On 19 March 2006, Hugh Jordan, a journalist for the
Death
On 4 April 2006, Donaldson was found shot dead inside a cottage where he had been living for several months, and which was owned by a relative.
A statement by
The Provisional IRA issued a one-line statement saying that it had "no involvement whatsoever" with the murder. The murder was also condemned by Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams. The Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley blamed republicans for the killing, saying that "eyes will be turned towards IRA/Sinn Féin on this issue".[24]
In May 2005, Minister McDowell advised a US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland that he believed the outing of Donaldson as an informant was a clear message from the British Government that it had another, more valuable, source of information within the republican leadership.[25] On 8 April 2006 Donaldson was buried in Belfast City Cemetery, rather than at Milltown Cemetery, the more common burial place for republicans.[26]
In February 2009, Gardaí announced they had a new lead in the inquiry into his death.
In April 2016 two men, Patrick Gillespie (aged 74 at the time) and another man (in his 40s), were detained under the Republic's
On 20 September 2016, BBC Northern Ireland's Spotlight aired a programme in which a British spy (known only as "Martin") who had infiltrated the IRA claimed that Thomas “Slab” Murphy and other leading South Armagh Republicans had demanded the killing of Donaldson and that it would have been sanctioned by Gerry Adams. The agent stated, "I know from my experience in the IRA that murders have to be approved by the leadership". When he was asked specifically who he was referring to, he went on: "Gerry Adams, he gives the final say." 'Martin' also dismissed claims the Real IRA was responsible for Donaldson's killing, saying they made the claim "for the kudos, a forlorn hope that someone might take them more seriously these days".[32][33][13]
On 23 September the solicitor of the Donaldson family after speaking with senior members of the Gardaí said that the allegation was "absolute nonsense" and also that "It does not marry in any way with the lines of inquiry that have been progressed by the Garda or by the police ombudsman."[34] Adams's solicitor also denied his client had any knowledge or involvement in the killing.[35]
A Real IRA army council member also denied the claim, he said "Let me be clear about this. A claim of responsibility was made by (the Real IRA) in 2009 and it was correct. Gerry Adams had absolutely nothing to do with the execution of British agent Denis Donaldson. The Provisional IRA wasn't involved in any shape or form. I don't know why allegations that the Provos did it are now being made but they are totally untrue."[36]
In 2019, Gardaí announced they would be charging a man with the murder of Donaldson, but did not release the name.[37]
References
- ^ "The 'informer' and the political and organisational culture of the Irish republican movement: old and new interpretation", Stephen Hopkins, Irish Studies Review, Volume 25, 2017
- ^ Sunday Times18 December 2005
- ^ "Obituaries: Denis Donaldson". The Daily Telegraph. 6 April 2006.
- ^ "Donaldson was La Mon Bomber; Hotel Massacre Revelation". Sunday Mirror. 19 February 2012.
- ^ "East Belfast", ARK Northern Ireland; accessed 4 September 2017.
- ^ "Obituary: Denis Donaldson". The Guardian. 6 April 2006.
- Irish News, 12 June 2017
- ^ "The Soldier, The Spy, the U.S. Connection", Irish Abroad, 21 December 2005.
- ^ "Obituary: Denis Donaldson", The Guardian, 4 April 2006
- ^ "Police raid Sinn Fein offices", BBC News, 4 October 2002.
- ^ "Sinn Fein man admits he was agent", BBC News, 16 December 2005.
- ^ "Donaldson admits role as British agent", by Laura Friel. An Phoblacht, 5 January 2006
- ^ Irish News, 21 September 2016.
- ^ "Veteran republican's spy statement" BBC News, 16 December 2005
- ^ "DUP chase 'Stormontgate' answers", BBC News, 10 December 2005
- ^ "'Spy' Donaldson living in Donegal" Archived 27 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Derry Journal, 21 March 2006.
- ^ Lonely life and death in home that was no refuge, The Guardian, 6 April 2006
- Irish Times, 6 April 2006
- ^ Spy 'told life was in danger', The Guardian, 5 April 2006
- ^ "Last hours of a man shrouded in mystery", Irish Times, 5 April 2006
- ^ "Donaldson 'cheerful' in 'cosy cottage': census man", Irish Independent, 9 April 2006.
- ^ "Reaction to death of Denis Donaldson", BBC News, 5 April 2006.
- ^ "Spy and former SF official Donaldson shot dead", Irish Times, 4 April 2006.
- ^ "I.R.A. Turncoat Is Murdered in Donegal", The New York Times, 5 April 2006.
- ^ "Britain exposed IRA mole Donaldson to taunt Provos", Irish Independent, 4 June 2011
- ^ "Funeral service for murdered spy", BBC News, 8 April 2006.
- ^ "'New lead' in Donaldson inquiry", BBC News, 6 February 2009, retrieved on 6 February 2009
- ^ "How Real IRA Killed Denis Donaldson" Archived 14 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Irish Tribune 12 April 2009, accessed 13 April 2009
- ^ "Man charged in connection with Denis Donaldson murder", Irish Independent, 28 July 2016.
- ^ Two men arrested over Denis Donaldson murder, Irish Times, 26 July 2016
- ^ "Man arrested in Ireland over murder of British spy Denis Donaldson", The Guardian, 4 August 2016.
- ^ "Gerry Adams rejects claim he ordered Denis Donaldson killing", Irish Times, 21 September 2016
- ^ "Gerry Adams denies sanctioning murder of British spy Denis Donaldson", Irish Examiner, 21 September 2016.
- ^ "Denis Donaldson's family say Provisional IRA did not kill him", The Guardian, 23 September 2016
- ^ "Gerry Adams considers legal action over claims he sanctioned killing", The Guardian, 21 September 2016.
- ^ "Real IRA: We killed spy Donaldson - it had nothing to do with Sinn Fein chief Gerry Adams", Belfast Telegraph, 29 September 2016
- ^ "Denis Donaldson: Man to be charged with MI5 agent's murder". BBC. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
External links
- Denis Donaldson: Profile, The Irish Times, 17 December 2005 (subscription required)
- The spy at the heart of the IRA, The Sunday Times, 18 December 2005
- Irish Republican News 20 December 2005 (subscription required)
- Sinn Féin British agent shot dead – BBC News reports on his death
- Statement by the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern on circumstances of death
- Dan Keenan, "Real IRA claims responsibility for 2006 murder of Denis Donaldson", The Irish Times, Monday, 13 April 2009.