Harry Kirkpatrick
Encyclopedia
Henry 'Harry' Kirkpatrick (born c. 1958) is a former Irish National Liberation Army
member turned informer
against other members of the INLA. In February 1983 Kirkpatrick was arrested on multiple charges including the murder of two policemen, two UDR
soldiers, and Hugh McGinn, a Catholic member of the Territorial Army.
Following his segregation from other Republican prisoners the INLA kidnapped his wife Elizabeth, in order to expose a deal they believed he was making with the Special Branch
. They would later kidnap his sister and his stepfather too. All were released unharmed. INLA Chief of Staff Dominic McGlinchey
is supposed to have carried out the execution of Kirkpatrick's lifelong friend Gerard 'Sparky' Barkley because it was believed that he may have revealed the whereabouts of the Kirkpatrick family members to the police.
Despite the kidnap, in May 1983 ten men were charged with various offences based on evidence from Kirkpatrick. Those charged included Irish Republican Socialist Party
vice-chairman Kevin McQuillan and former councillor Sean Flynn. IRSP chairman James Brown was charged with the murder of a police officer. Others escaped; Jim Barr, an IRSP member named by Kirkpatrick as part of the INLA, fled to the USA where, having spent 17 months in jail, he won political asylum in 1993.
Gerard Steenson
was given five life sentences for the deaths of the same five individuals that Kirkpatrick himself had been convicted of. These included UDR soldier Colin Quinn, shot in Belfast in December 1980.
and leading to that organisation's murderous feud with the INLA in which 16 people were killed.
Kirkpatrick was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. It was recommended that he serve ten years as compared to the then normal tariff of twenty years plus.
He is now living under a secret identity, whereabouts unknown.
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
member turned informer
Supergrass (informer)
Supergrass is a slang term for an informer, which originated in London. Informers had been referred to as "grasses" since the late-1930s, and the "super" prefix was coined by journalists in the early 1970s to describe those informers from the city's underworld who testified against former...
against other members of the INLA. In February 1983 Kirkpatrick was arrested on multiple charges including the murder of two policemen, two UDR
UDR
UDR may refer to:*Ulster Defence Regiment*União Democrática Ruralista , a Brazilian right-wing association of farmers*Union des Démocrates pour la République, French political party*Union for Democracy and the Republic , Chadian political party...
soldiers, and Hugh McGinn, a Catholic member of the Territorial Army.
Following his segregation from other Republican prisoners the INLA kidnapped his wife Elizabeth, in order to expose a deal they believed he was making with 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...
. They would later kidnap his sister and his stepfather too. All were released unharmed. INLA Chief of Staff Dominic McGlinchey
Dominic McGlinchey
Dominic McGlinchey from Bellaghy, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland was an Irish republican paramilitary with the Irish National Liberation Army .-Background:...
is supposed to have carried out the execution of Kirkpatrick's lifelong friend Gerard 'Sparky' Barkley because it was believed that he may have revealed the whereabouts of the Kirkpatrick family members to the police.
Despite the kidnap, in May 1983 ten men were charged with various offences based on evidence from Kirkpatrick. Those charged included Irish Republican Socialist Party
Irish Republican Socialist Party
The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP is a republican socialist party active in Ireland. It claims the legacy of socialist revolutionary James Connolly, who founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in 1896 and was executed after the Easter Rising of 1916.- History :The Irish Republican...
vice-chairman Kevin McQuillan and former councillor Sean Flynn. IRSP chairman James Brown was charged with the murder of a police officer. Others escaped; Jim Barr, an IRSP member named by Kirkpatrick as part of the INLA, fled to the USA where, having spent 17 months in jail, he won political asylum in 1993.
Convictions
In December 1985 27 people were convicted based on Kirkpatrick's statements. By December 1986 24 would have their convictions overturned.Gerard Steenson
Gerard Steenson
Gerard Steenson was an Irish republican socialist paramilitary activist. He was a member of the Irish National Liberation Army group during the Troubles in Northern Ireland....
was given five life sentences for the deaths of the same five individuals that Kirkpatrick himself had been convicted of. These included UDR soldier Colin Quinn, shot in Belfast in December 1980.
Aftermath
The distrust and division that they sowed were the final act in splitting former comrades into warring factions and leading to the formation of the Irish People's Liberation OrganisationIrish People's Liberation Organisation
The Irish People's Liberation Organisation was a small Irish republican paramilitary organization which was formed in 1986 by disaffected and expelled members of the Irish National Liberation Army whose factions coalesced in the aftermath of the supergrass trials...
and leading to that organisation's murderous feud with the INLA in which 16 people were killed.
Kirkpatrick was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. It was recommended that he serve ten years as compared to the then normal tariff of twenty years plus.
He is now living under a secret identity, whereabouts unknown.