Irish People's Liberation Organisation
Encyclopedia
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
(INLA) whose factions coalesced in the aftermath of the supergrass trials
. It developed a reputation for intra-republican violence and criminality, before being forcibly disbanded by the Provisional Irish Republican Army
(PIRA) in 1992.
, in which three of its members died, the INLA began to break apart. The mid-1980s saw the virtual dissolution of the movement as a coherent force. Factions associated with Belfast
and Dublin respectively, fell into dispute with each other. When INLA man Harry Kirkpatrick
turned supergrass
, he implicated many of his former comrades in various activities and many of them were convicted on his testimony. After this, the death knell seemed close to sounding for the movement. It could be argued that by this time the INLA, and the associated political group the Irish Republican Socialist Party
(IRSP) no longer existed as coherent national organisations. As a result, members both inside and out of prison broke away from the INLA and set up the IPLO. Some key players at the outset were Tom McAllister, Gerard Steenson
, Jimmy Brown
and Martin 'Rook' O'Prey. Jimmy Brown formed a minor political group, known as the Republican Socialist Collective
, which was to act as the political wing of the IPLO.
The IPLO's initial priority was to forcibly disband the Irish Republican Socialist Movement
from which it had split, and most of its early attacks reflected this, being more frequently against former comrades than on the security forces in Northern Ireland
. The destructive psychological impact of the feud on the communities that the combatants came from was huge as it was viewed as a fratricidal conflict between fellow republicans.
The INLA shot and killed the IPLO's leader Gerard Steenson
in March 1987, and following revenge killings by the IPLO, the organisations agreed to go their separate ways.
s trade, especially in ecstasy. Some of its Belfast members were also accused of the prolonged gang rape of a north Down woman in Divis Flats in 1990. Many of its recruits had fallen out of favour with the PIRA: the portents for its future were not good. Sammy Ward
, a low level IPLO member and a few supporters broke away from the main body of the organisation when the IPLO were severely depleted and weak in Belfast
. His faction attacked the IPLO culminating in the killing of Jimmy Brown
. A full-scale feud followed between two factions terming themselves, "Army Council" - led by Jimmy Brown and "Belfast Brigade" (Sammy Ward
) which led to the 3000th killing of the Troubles Hugh McKibbon a 21 year old "Army Council" man. Brown had been the previous victim when he was shot dead in West Belfast on 18 August 1992. This feud was portrayed by the IPLO's critics as a lethal squabble over money and drugs.
killing the breakaway Belfast Brigade leader Sammy Ward
in the Short Strand. There were also raids on pubs and clubs where IPLO members were kneecapped and attacked. On the 2 November 1992 the second-in-command of the IPLO Belfast Brigade formally surrendered to the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade adjutant
which brought an end to the group in Belfast
.
Outside Belfast
the PIRA did not attack any IPLO units, subsequent statements absolved the IPLO units in Newry
and Armagh
from any involvement in the drugs trade that was alleged against those in Belfast. In Dublin the IRA reprieved the IPLO Chief of Staff in return for surrendering a small cache of arms held in Ballybough
.
's CAIN project, the IPLO was responsible for 22 killings during the Troubles
. Among its victims were twelve civilians, six INLA members, two loyalist
paramilitary figures and two members of the British security forces including a Royal Navy
reservist and an RUC
constable.
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...
paramilitary organization which was formed in 1986 by disaffected and expelled members of the Irish National Liberation Army
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....
(INLA) whose factions coalesced in the aftermath of the supergrass trials
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...
. It developed a reputation for intra-republican violence and criminality, before being forcibly disbanded by 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...
(PIRA) in 1992.
Foundation: an INLA split
The IPLO emerged from a split within the INLA. After the 1981 Irish hunger strike1981 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...
, in which three of its members died, the INLA began to break apart. The mid-1980s saw the virtual dissolution of the movement as a coherent force. Factions associated with Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
and Dublin respectively, fell into dispute with each other. When INLA man Harry Kirkpatrick
Harry Kirkpatrick
Henry 'Harry' Kirkpatrick 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...
turned supergrass
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...
, he implicated many of his former comrades in various activities and many of them were convicted on his testimony. After this, the death knell seemed close to sounding for the movement. It could be argued that by this time the INLA, and the associated political group the 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...
(IRSP) no longer existed as coherent national organisations. As a result, members both inside and out of prison broke away from the INLA and set up the IPLO. Some key players at the outset were Tom McAllister, 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....
, Jimmy Brown
Jimmy Brown (Irish nationalist)
Jimmy Brown was a Belfast member of the Irish Republican Socialist Party , the Irish National Liberation Army , and the Irish People's Liberation Organisation ..Jimmy Brown left the IRSP in the mid-eighties to join up with the IPLO...
and Martin 'Rook' O'Prey. Jimmy Brown formed a minor political group, known as the Republican Socialist Collective
Republican Socialist Collective
The Republican Socialist Collective was a fringe Irish republican political group in Northern Ireland formed in 1986.The RSC formed the political arm of the Irish People's Liberation Organisation, a splinter group of the Irish National Liberation Army, under the leadership of Jimmy Brown...
, which was to act as the political wing of the IPLO.
The IPLO's initial priority was to forcibly disband the Irish Republican Socialist Movement
Irish Republican Socialist Movement
The Irish Republican Socialist Movement is an umbrella term for the political-paramilitary grouping of the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the Irish National Liberation Army, prisoners who belong to either the IRSP or the INLA, the Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America, and the...
from which it had split, and most of its early attacks reflected this, being more frequently against former comrades than on the security forces in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The destructive psychological impact of the feud on the communities that the combatants came from was huge as it was viewed as a fratricidal conflict between fellow republicans.
The INLA shot and killed the IPLO's leader 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....
in March 1987, and following revenge killings by the IPLO, the organisations agreed to go their separate ways.
Internal feud
The IPLO was accused of becoming involved in the drugPsychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
s trade, especially in ecstasy. Some of its Belfast members were also accused of the prolonged gang rape of a north Down woman in Divis Flats in 1990. Many of its recruits had fallen out of favour with the PIRA: the portents for its future were not good. Sammy Ward
Sammy Ward
Sammy Ward was the leader of the Irish People's Liberation Organisation's Belfast Brigade.The IPLO was made up of ex-members of the Irish National Liberation Army...
, a low level IPLO member and a few supporters broke away from the main body of the organisation when the IPLO were severely depleted and weak in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. His faction attacked the IPLO culminating in the killing of Jimmy Brown
Jimmy Brown (Irish nationalist)
Jimmy Brown was a Belfast member of the Irish Republican Socialist Party , the Irish National Liberation Army , and the Irish People's Liberation Organisation ..Jimmy Brown left the IRSP in the mid-eighties to join up with the IPLO...
. A full-scale feud followed between two factions terming themselves, "Army Council" - led by Jimmy Brown and "Belfast Brigade" (Sammy Ward
Sammy Ward
Sammy Ward was the leader of the Irish People's Liberation Organisation's Belfast Brigade.The IPLO was made up of ex-members of the Irish National Liberation Army...
) which led to the 3000th killing of the Troubles Hugh McKibbon a 21 year old "Army Council" man. Brown had been the previous victim when he was shot dead in West Belfast on 18 August 1992. This feud was portrayed by the IPLO's critics as a lethal squabble over money and drugs.
Disbandment
The Provisional IRA - by far the largest armed republican group in Ireland - decided this was an opportunity to attack and remove the IPLO given the IPLO's involvement in the drug trade. They mounted an operation to wipe out the IPLO. On Saturday 31 October 1992, in an event that was later dubbed "Night of the Long Knives' by locals in Belfast, the PIRA attacked the two IPLO factions in BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
killing the breakaway Belfast Brigade leader Sammy Ward
Sammy Ward
Sammy Ward was the leader of the Irish People's Liberation Organisation's Belfast Brigade.The IPLO was made up of ex-members of the Irish National Liberation Army...
in the Short Strand. There were also raids on pubs and clubs where IPLO members were kneecapped and attacked. On the 2 November 1992 the second-in-command of the IPLO Belfast Brigade formally surrendered to the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
which brought an end to the group in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
.
Outside Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
the PIRA did not attack any IPLO units, subsequent statements absolved the IPLO units in Newry
Newry
Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...
and Armagh
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
from any involvement in the drugs trade that was alleged against those in Belfast. In Dublin the IRA reprieved the IPLO Chief of Staff in return for surrendering a small cache of arms held in Ballybough
Ballybough
Ballybough is a district of north Dublin, Ireland situated northeast of Summerhill, between the Royal Canal and the River Tolka. Adjacent areas are North Strand, Fairview and Drumcondra/Clonliffe. The name derives from the Irish baile "town" and bocht "poor"...
.
Casualties
According to the Sutton database of deaths at the University of UlsterUniversity of Ulster
The University of Ulster is a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Northern Ireland. It is the largest single university in Ireland, discounting the federal National University of Ireland...
's CAIN project, the IPLO was responsible for 22 killings during 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...
. Among its victims were twelve civilians, six INLA members, two loyalist
Ulster loyalism
Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
paramilitary figures and two members of the British security forces including a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
reservist and an RUC
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...
constable.
Sources
- INLA - Deadly Divisions (Jack Holland and Henry McDonald)
- CAIN project