Peter Cleary
Peter Cleary | |
---|---|
Birth name | Peter Joseph Cleary |
Born | 18 September 1950 Northern Ireland |
Died | 15 April 1976 Forkhill, County Armagh |
Allegiance | Provisional Irish Republican Army |
Rank | Staff Officer |
Unit | 1st Battalion South Armagh Brigade |
Conflict | The Troubles |
Peter Joseph Cleary (18 September 1950 – 15 April 1976) was an
Life and career
Cleary was born on 18 September 1950 in Northern Ireland, the second eldest of the 13 children of Hugh and Mary Cleary.
Author and journalist Joe Tiernan claims that Cleary was part of the three-man IRA unit that ambushed and killed part-time Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) corporal Robert McConnell in the garden of his home at Tullyvallen, near Newtownhamilton. Cleary and his team hid in the bushes and when McConnell appeared, Cleary shot him twice in the head, killing him. McConnell had allegedly been a member of both the UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade and the Glenanne gang, both of which carried out sectarian killings.[6] In 1993 Yorkshire Television aired a programme, The Hidden Hand: The Forgotten Massacre, which implicated McConnell in the 1974 Dublin car bombings. The narrator also claimed McConnell was an Intelligence Corps agent with links to Captain Robert Nairac.[7] RUC Special Patrol Group officer John Weir affirmed this in an affidavit and named McConnell as the perpetrator of a series of sectarian attacks. He also alleged that McConnell had been set up by the Intelligence Corps who passed on confidential information about McConnell to the IRA, through Nairac, in an attempt to infiltrate the organisation. Upon receiving this information, the IRA ordered the execution of McConnell.[6]
Killing
Cleary was on the run, living in the Republic of Ireland; however on 15 April 1976 (ten days after the McConnell shooting), he returned secretly to Northern Ireland where he was promptly arrested at the home of his pregnant girlfriend outside Forkhill.
as he lurched at me my instincts as an SAS soldier took over. I released the safety catch on my weapon and started shooting. There was no chance to warn Cleary. I went on firing until the danger to me was over.[11]
An open verdict was returned by the inquest.
Author Mike Ryan claimed in his book Secret Operations of the SAS that Cleary had actually managed to escape and was shot by the pursuing soldiers who had ordered him to stop as he tried to make his way to the Republic of Ireland border.[12] Cleary received three shots to the chest.[13]
Peter Cleary was the first person killed by the SAS since they were deployed to Northern Ireland in full force in January 1976 by order of British Prime Minister
John Weir claimed in his affidavit that Robert Nairac's cover had been blown when he was recognised at the SAS shooting of Peter Cleary, the implication being that Nairac had been present when the incident took place.[6]
On 17 April 1976 the
References
- ISBN 1-85635-320-6.
- ^ Tony Geraghty (998): The Irish War: The Hidden Conflict Between the IRA and British Intelligence, p. 129, Google Books. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ a b c d Tony Geraghty (1998). The Irish War: The Hidden Conflict Between the IRA and British Intelligence. London: HarperCollins Publishers, p. 120. Google Books. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ Peter Cleary, South Armagh Memorial Garden, retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ David McKittrick. Lost Lives, p. 640.
- ^ a b c Weir, John (3 January 1999), Affidavit, Seeing Red, archived from the original on 19 June 2009.
- ^ The Barron Report, Dublin Monaghan Bombings, 2003, pp. 134, 136, retrieved 1 March 2011.
- ^ Clarke, Liam (25 May 2008), "Murdered Maverick Robert Nairac Showed How to Beat the IRA", The Sunday Times, UK, retrieved 1 March 2011.
- ^ Mike Ryan (2003). Secret Operations of the SAS. St. Paul, MN: MBI Publishing Company, p. 108. Google Books. Retrieved 1 March 2011
- ^ Raymond Murray (1990). The SAS in Ireland. Ireland: Mercier Press, p. 170. Google Books. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
- ^ Geraghty, p. 121.
- ^ Ryan, p. 108.
- ^ Peter MacDonald (1990). The SAS in Action. UK: Sidgewick and Jackson, p. 62. Google Books. Retrieved March 2011.
- ^ The Barron Report, 2003, p. 221.
- ^ Murray, p. 175.