Denis Donaldson
Encyclopedia
Denis Martin Donaldson was a volunteer
in the Provisional Irish Republican Army
(IRA) and a member of Sinn Féin
who was exposed in December 2005 as an informer
in the employment of MI5
and the Special Branch
of the Police Service of Northern Ireland
(formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary
). It was initially believed that the Provisional IRA were responsible for his killing although the Real IRA claimed responsibility for his murder almost three years later.
. He joined the IRA in the mid-1960s while still in his teens, well before the start of the Troubles
. According to his former friend, Jim Gibney, writing in the Irish News, he was a local hero in Short Strand
in 1970 because he took part in the IRA's defence of St. Matthew's chapel against a loyalist
attack. See Battle of Saint Matthew's. He was a friend of IRA hunger striker
Bobby Sands
, and the two men served time together in Long Kesh for paramilitary offences in the 1970s.
In 1981 he was arrested by French
authorities at the airport at Orly
along with fellow IRA volunteer, William "Blue" Kelly. The duo were using false passports and Donaldson said that they were returning from a guerrilla training camp in Lebanon
. At the 1983 general election
, Donaldson was the Sinn Féin
candidate in Belfast East
.
In the late 1980s, he travelled to Lebanon again and held talks with both Lebanese Shia militias Hezbollah and Amal
, in an effort to secure the freedom of the Irish hostage Brian Keenan. He also represented Sinn Féin in the United States
, isolating future hard-line dissidents such as Bronx-based Irish-American attorney, Martin Galvin
. Galvin later claimed that he had warned the republican leadership that he suspected Donaldson of being a British government informer.
In the early 2000s, Donaldson was appointed Sinn Féin's Northern Ireland Assembly
group administrator in Parliament Buildings
. In October 2002, he was arrested in a raid on the Sinn Féin offices as part of a high-profile police investigation into an alleged Irish republican
spy-ring — the so-called Stormontgate
affair. In December 2005, the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland
dropped the spy-ring charges against Donaldson and two other men on the grounds that it would not be in the "public interest" to proceed with the case.
announced to a press conference in Dublin that Donaldson had been a spy in the pay of British intelligence. This was confirmed by Donaldson in a statement which he read out on RTÉ
, the Irish state broadcaster, shortly afterwards.
He 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 a mole
for British Intelligence (sometimes referred to as "Tout
") in an area such as West Belfast. Common methods of recruiting informers include entrapment, assistance with criminal charges, financial inducement, or seduction and subsequent blackmail.
Donaldson's daughter Jane is married to Ciaran Kearney who was arrested along with Donaldson in the Stormontgate affair. The couple had two young daughters at the time of the arrest. Kearney is a son of the civil rights
and MacBride Principles campaigner, Oliver Kearney.
On 19 March 2006, Hugh Jordan, a journalist for the Sunday World
tracked him down to an isolated pre-famine cottage near Glenties
, County Donegal
. The dwelling had not been modernised and so there was no running water or electricity, and Donaldson chopped his own firewood.
(Irish police) said they had been aware of his presence since January and they had warned him of a threat to his life. They had offered him protection and exchanged phone numbers with him. The cottage was located in the townland of Classey, 8 km from village of Glenties
on the road to Doochary, County Donegal
, Republic of Ireland
.
The last person he is believed to have spoken to is Tim Cranley, a census taker, who spoke to him in the cottage around 8.30 p.m. on the previous day. His body was found by Gardaí about 5 p.m. after a passer-by reported seeing a broken window and a smashed-in door. Chief Superintendent Terry McGinn, the local Garda Commander, said that the cottage belonged to Donaldson's "son in law Ciaran Kearney" and that members of his family had been visiting him in the days before his death.
A statement by Northern Ireland Secretary of State Peter Hain
, referred to his death as a "barbaric act", while Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern
condemned "the brutal murder" of Donaldson. Two shotgun cartridges were found at the threshold of the cottage and a post mortem revealed that he had died from a shotgun blast to the chest. Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Michael McDowell
initially said that Donaldson had been shot in the head. He was dressed for bed when he died. The first two shots were fired through the front door, apparently as he attempted to bolt it, and the second two hit him as he retreated into the cottage.
His right hand was also badly damaged by gunshot. 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". 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. On 8 April 2006 Donaldson was buried in Belfast City Cemetery
, rather than at Milltown Cemetery
, the more common burial place for republicans.
In February 2009, Gardaí announced they had a new lead in the inquiry into his death. On 12 April 2009, the Real IRA claimed responsibility for his death.
In April 2011, 2 arrests were made in County Donegal connection with the murder - a 69 year old man and a 31 year old man. They were subsequently released without charge.
Volunteer (Irish republican)
Volunteer, often abbreviated Vol., is a term used by a number of Irish republican paramilitary organisations to describe their members. Among these have been the various forms of the Irish Republican Army and the Irish National Liberation Army...
in the Provisional Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
(IRA) and a member of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
who was exposed in December 2005 as an informer
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
in the employment of MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
and the Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
of the Police Service of Northern Ireland
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....
(formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
). It was initially believed that the Provisional IRA were responsible for his killing although the Real IRA claimed responsibility for his murder almost three years later.
Political career
Donaldson had a long history of involvement in Irish republicanismIrish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
. He joined the IRA in the mid-1960s while still in his teens, well before the start of the Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
. According to his former friend, Jim Gibney, writing in the Irish News, he was a local hero in Short Strand
Short Strand
The Short Strand is a mainly-nationalist area in east Belfast, surrounded by a mainly-unionist area. It is within the townland of Ballymacarret and sits on the east bank of the River Lagan in County Down.-Security issues:...
in 1970 because he took part in the IRA's defence of St. Matthew's chapel against a loyalist
Loyalist
In general, a loyalist is someone who maintains loyalty to an established government, political party, or sovereign, especially during war or revolutionary change. In modern English usage, the most common application is to loyalty to the British Crown....
attack. See Battle of Saint Matthew's. He was a friend of IRA hunger striker
1981 Irish hunger strike
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...
Bobby Sands
Bobby Sands
Robert Gerard "Bobby" Sands was an Irish volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and member of the United Kingdom Parliament who died on hunger strike while imprisoned in HM Prison Maze....
, and the two men served time together in Long Kesh for paramilitary offences in the 1970s.
In 1981 he was arrested by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
authorities at the airport at Orly
Orly
Orly is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.The name of Orly came from Latin Aureliacum, "the villa of Aurelius"....
along with fellow IRA volunteer, William "Blue" Kelly. The duo were using false passports and Donaldson said that they were returning from a guerrilla training camp in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. At the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
, Donaldson was the Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
candidate in Belfast East
Belfast East (UK Parliament constituency)
Belfast East is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Naomi Long of the Alliance Party, elected in 2010...
.
In the late 1980s, he travelled to Lebanon again and held talks with both Lebanese Shia militias Hezbollah and Amal
Amal Movement
Amal Movement is short for the Lebanese Resistance Detachments the acronym for which, in Arabic, is "amal", meaning "hope."Amal was founded in 1975 as the militia wing of the Movement of the Disinherited, a Shi'a political movement founded by Musa...
, in an effort to secure the freedom of the Irish hostage Brian Keenan. He also represented Sinn Féin in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, isolating future hard-line dissidents such as Bronx-based Irish-American attorney, Martin Galvin
Martin Galvin
Martin Galvin is an Irish American lawyer and Irish republican political activist.-Background:Galvin was born on January 8, 1950, and was raised in New York City, although he may have been born in the Republic of Ireland as he once, during an interview with 60 Minutes, referred to the "partition...
. Galvin later claimed that he had warned the republican leadership that he suspected Donaldson of being a British government informer.
In the early 2000s, Donaldson was appointed Sinn Féin's Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
group administrator in Parliament Buildings
Parliament Buildings (Northern Ireland)
The Parliament Buildings, known as Stormont because of its location in the Stormont area of Belfast is the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive...
. In October 2002, he was arrested in a raid on the Sinn Féin offices as part of a high-profile police investigation into an alleged Irish republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
spy-ring — the so-called Stormontgate
Stormontgate
Stormontgate is the name given to the controversy surrounding an alleged Provisional Irish Republican Army spy-ring and intelligence gathering operation based in Stormont, the parliament building of Northern Ireland...
affair. In December 2005, the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland
Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland
The Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland is the department of the Northern Ireland Office responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in Northern Ireland. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland...
dropped the spy-ring charges against Donaldson and two other men on the grounds that it would not be in the "public interest" to proceed with the case.
British agent
On 16 December 2005, Sinn Féin president Gerry AdamsGerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
announced to a press conference in Dublin that Donaldson had been a spy in the pay of British intelligence. This was confirmed by Donaldson in a statement which he read out on RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
, the Irish state broadcaster, shortly afterwards.
He 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 a mole
Mole (espionage)
A mole is a spy who works for an enemy nation, but whose loyalty ostensibly lies with his own nation's government. In some usage, a mole differs from a defector in that a mole is a spy before gaining access to classified information, while a defector becomes a spy only after gaining access...
for British Intelligence (sometimes referred to as "Tout
Tout
In British English, a tout is any person who solicits business or employment in a persistent and annoying manner...
") in an area such as West Belfast. Common methods of recruiting informers include entrapment, assistance with criminal charges, financial inducement, or seduction and subsequent blackmail.
Donaldson's daughter Jane is married to Ciaran Kearney who was arrested along with Donaldson in the Stormontgate affair. The couple had two young daughters at the time of the arrest. Kearney is a son of the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and MacBride Principles campaigner, Oliver Kearney.
On 19 March 2006, Hugh Jordan, a journalist for the Sunday World
Sunday World
The Sunday World is an Irish newspaper published by Sunday Newspapers Limited, a division of Independent News and Media. It is the largest selling "popular" newspaper in the Republic of Ireland and is also sold in Northern Ireland .-Origins:The Sunday World was Ireland's first tabloid newspaper...
tracked him down to an isolated pre-famine cottage near Glenties
Glenties
Glenties is a village in the northwest of Ireland in central County Donegal. It is situated where two glens meet, northwest of the Blue Stack Mountains, near the confluence of two rivers. Glenties is the largest centre of population in the parish of Iniskeel...
, County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
. The dwelling had not been modernised and so there was no running water or electricity, and Donaldson chopped his own firewood.
Death
On 4 April 2006, Donaldson was found shot dead inside his cottage, where he had been living for several months. The extended Donaldson family had used it as a holiday retreat for several years. GardaíGarda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
(Irish police) said they had been aware of his presence since January and they had warned him of a threat to his life. They had offered him protection and exchanged phone numbers with him. The cottage was located in the townland of Classey, 8 km from village of Glenties
Glenties
Glenties is a village in the northwest of Ireland in central County Donegal. It is situated where two glens meet, northwest of the Blue Stack Mountains, near the confluence of two rivers. Glenties is the largest centre of population in the parish of Iniskeel...
on the road to Doochary, County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
.
The last person he is believed to have spoken to is Tim Cranley, a census taker, who spoke to him in the cottage around 8.30 p.m. on the previous day. His body was found by Gardaí about 5 p.m. after a passer-by reported seeing a broken window and a smashed-in door. Chief Superintendent Terry McGinn, the local Garda Commander, said that the cottage belonged to Donaldson's "son in law Ciaran Kearney" and that members of his family had been visiting him in the days before his death.
A statement by Northern Ireland Secretary of State Peter Hain
Peter Hain
Peter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for...
, referred to his death as a "barbaric act", while Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern
Bertie Ahern
Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....
condemned "the brutal murder" of Donaldson. Two shotgun cartridges were found at the threshold of the cottage and a post mortem revealed that he had died from a shotgun blast to the chest. Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell is a Senior Counsel in the Bar Council of Ireland and a former politician. A grandson of Irish revolutionary Eoin MacNeill, McDowell was a founding member of the Progressive Democrats political party in the mid-1980s...
initially said that Donaldson had been shot in the head. He was dressed for bed when he died. The first two shots were fired through the front door, apparently as he attempted to bolt it, and the second two hit him as he retreated into the cottage.
His right hand was also badly damaged by gunshot. 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
Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
. The Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
leader Ian Paisley
Ian Paisley
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding...
blamed republicans for the killing, saying that "eyes will be turned towards IRA/Sinn Féin on this issue". 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. On 8 April 2006 Donaldson was buried in Belfast City Cemetery
Belfast City Cemetery
Belfast City Cemetery is a cemetery in west Belfast, Northern Ireland. It lies within the townland of Ballymurphy, between Falls Road and Springfield Road, near Milltown Cemetery...
, rather than at Milltown Cemetery
Milltown Cemetery
Milltown Cemetery is a large cemetery in west Belfast, Northern Ireland.It lies within the townland of Ballymurphy, between Falls Road and the M1 motorway. Milltown Cemetery opened in 1869 and there are now approximately 200,000 of Belfast's citizens buried there. Most of those buried there are...
, the more common burial place for republicans.
In February 2009, Gardaí announced they had a new lead in the inquiry into his death. On 12 April 2009, the Real IRA claimed responsibility for his death.
In April 2011, 2 arrests were made in County Donegal connection with the murder - a 69 year old man and a 31 year old man. They were subsequently released without charge.
Sources/further information
- Denis Donaldson: Profile, The Irish TimesThe Irish TimesThe Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
, 17 December 2005 (subscription required) - The spy at the heart of the IRA, The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times (UK)The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
, 18 December 2005 - Irish Republican News 20 December 2005 (subscription required)
- Sinn Féin British agent shot dead – BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
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, April 13, 2009.