by Ed Moloney
After two attempts, Sinn Fein Ard-Fheis endorses Good Friday Agreement and lifts abstentionist ban on taking seats at Stormont
IRA prison OC floats idea of voluntary self-decommissioning once Good Friday Agreement is implemented
Botched dissident republican bomb kills 29 at Omagh; bombing is a joint
Real IRA, Continuity IRA and INLA operation but Real IRA gets blame
Death toll for year is 57, cumulative toll is 3630
1999
Second IRA Convention in twelve months restores Army Council’s power to decommission
Army Council agrees to locate the bodies of “disappeared”
Eamon Molloy’s body returned but not Jean McConville’s
IRA appoints a representative, believed to be Brian Keenan, to discuss decommissioning with de Chastelain international body
Power-sharing government set up; Martin McGuinness and Bairbre de Brun are the two Sinn Fein ministers
Death toll for year is 6, cumulative toll is 3636*
2000
IRA says that any move on decommissioning dependent on British military reductions
Peter Mandelson, NI Secretary, suspends Assembly and Army Council executive agrees in principle to initiate a process to put all its weapons “beyond use” and in the interim to international inspection of two arms dumps
British lift suspension of Assembly and Executive
Last IRA and loyalist paramilitary prisoners released
Revd William McCrea of the DUP wins the East Antrim by-election, normally a safe Ulster Unionist seat
Death toll for year is 19, cumulative toll is 3655
2001
Sinn Fein win two more Westminster seats, Michelle Gildemew in Fermanagh–South Tyrone and Pat Doherty in West Tyrone, giving it four seats to the SDLP’s three
Unionist leader David Trimble resigns as first minister
Weston Park Conference reaches agreement on decommissioning deal and British demilitarization
IRA agrees with IICD on method to decommission IRA weapons
British begin rolling suspension of Assembly
Three republicans, including GHQ director of engineering, his deputy and Sinn Fein representative to Cuba arrested in Colombia
IRA withdraws decommissioning proposals
September 11 attacks in New York and Washington kill nearly 3,000; Bush administration declares war on terrorism
President George Bush’s ambassador to the Irish peace process, Richard Haass, tells Adams and McGuinness that IRA needs to decommission
IRA decommissions unspecified amount of weaponry
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) replaces RUC
Assembly and Executive restored; Trimble is first minister, Mark Durkan of the SDLP is his deputy
Sinn Fein accepts office facilities and financial expenses at House of Commons
Death toll for year is 16, cumulative toll is 3671
2002
Sinn Fein’s four MPs occupy their offices at Westminster but still refuse to take their seats
Adams tells World Economic Forum in New York that he does not wish to force unionists into a united Ireland against their wishes
Adams states that he recognizes the Irish Defence Forces as the only legitimate army in the Irish Republic
Offices of PSNI Special Branch at Castlereagh in East Belfast broken into and files removed; IRA is suspected
Second act of decommissioning by IRA
Sinn Fein win five seats to Irish parliament
Trimble threatens to quit if IRA does not show it has left violence behind for good
IRA spy ring at government offices in Stormont complex uncovered; Sinn Fein Assembly office raided and three charged, including Denis Donaldson, the party’s head of administration
Assembly and Executive suspended by NI Secretary John Reid
Death toll for year is 10, cumulative toll is 3681
2003
Blair and Ahern announce delay in holding scheduled May Assembly election
On eve of U.S. occupation of Baghdad, Blair and Bush address parties at Hillsborough Castle on need for peace
Assembly election postponed until autumn over failure to clarify peace deal
IRA says full implementation of Good Friday Agreement could allow for completion of decommissioning
Freddie Scappaticci, former head of IRA’s internal security unit, exposed as a British agent
Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt sentenced to twenty-year jail term
Remains of Jean McConville discovered on County Down beach
Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) begins job of overseeing paramilitary cease-fires
Deal to restore Assembly and Executive collapses over lack of transparency in third act of IRA decommissioning
Postponed Assembly election takes place with Sinn Fein and DUP emerging as largest parties
Death toll for year is 11, cumulative toll is 3692
2004
DUP leader Ian Paisley meets Irish taoiseach in London
Republican dissident Bobby Tohill kidnapped by IRA but rescued by PSNI
Adams denies on Irish TV that he was ever an IRA member
Irish justice minister Michael McDowell alleges Sinn Fein funded by IRA
IMC says senior Sinn Fein members also in IRA
Sinn Fein’s Bairbre de Brun wins John Hume’s seat in European parliament
Joe Cahill dies
Talks aimed at reaching a settlement begin at Leeds Castle, Kent
Political talks founder over demand for photographs of IRA decommissioning; Paisley says IRA must wear “sackcloth and ashes”
£26.5 million stolen from Northern Bank cash center in Belfast
Death toll for year is 3, cumulative toll is 3695
2005
Irish taoiseach Bertie Ahern says Sinn Fein leaders knew of planned Northern Bank robbery while they were in peace talks with him
IRA denies involvement in robbery
Belfast man Robert McCartney beaten and stabbed to death by IRA gang
IMC says leading Sinn Fein figures also serve in key IRA leadership positions
McCartney sisters accuse Sinn Fein and IRA members of involvement in brother’s murder and subsequent cover-up
Seven people arrested in Republic in hunt for Northern Bank cash
Former IRA prison public relations officer, Richard O’Rawe, publishes account of hunger strike, alleging IRA leadership sabotaged deal to ensure election of Owen Carron
White House decides not to invite NI politicians to St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, in snub of Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams
Leading Irish-American politicians call for IRA disbandment as McCartney sisters meet President Bush
Adams calls on IRA to pursue goal through only political means
Sinn Fein win extra seat at Westminster election but fail to capture John Hume’s Foyle seat
Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, along with North Kerry TD
Martin Ferris, officially quit Army Council
IRA statement announces end to armed campaign against Britain; IRA ex-prisoner Seanna Walsh reads statement on DVD
IRA completes weapons decommissioning, witnessed by two clerics
Anti-racketeering agencies raid Manchester businesses linked to IRA chief of staff “Slab” Murphy
After charges in Stormont spy ring are dropped, Denis Donaldson admits he has been a long-term British agent
Death toll for year is 8, cumulative toll is 3703
2006
Anti-racketeering agencies raid Slab Murphy’s farm on Louth–Armagh border and confiscate cash
Denis Donaldson shot dead at isolated County Donegal cottage
IMC says no IRA activity in last three months
British and Irish governments restore Assembly and set November 24 deadline for final deal
Adams and McGuinness urge alleged kidnappers of Bobby Tohill to surrender to police
One of three new Army Co
uncil members quits in protest at fact that Adams and McGuinness still directing IRA policy
Adams nominates Paisley as first minister; he refuses
Conference at St. Andrews, Scotland, agrees outline deal for restoration of Assembly and Executive—Sinn Fein to recognize PSNI
Special Sinn Fein Ard Fheis called to approve St. Andrews deal and recognition of PSNI
Death toll (to October 12) is 6, cumulative toll is 3709*
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
&n
bsp; 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.