Martin Dillon
Encyclopedia
Martin Dillon is an author
and journalist
from Northern Ireland
. He worked for eighteen years at the BBC
and has written a number of plays and novels, but he is best known for his non-fiction books about the Troubles
.
He gained particular acclaim for his book on the Shankill Butchers
, although this and other works on terrorism
lead to him receiving death threats from a number of terrorist groups, which resulted in his migration to France
, and later to the United States
. He also wrote books about the loyalist
paramilitary Michael Stone
and Special Air Service
founder Paddy Mayne
.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
from 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...
. He worked for eighteen years at the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and has written a number of plays and novels, but he is best known for his non-fiction books about 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...
.
He gained particular acclaim for his book on the Shankill Butchers
Shankill Butchers
The Shankill Butchers is the name given to an Ulster loyalist gang, many of whom were members of the Ulster Volunteer Force . The gang conducted paramilitary activities during the 1970s in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was most notorious for its late-night kidnapping, torture and murder of random...
, although this and other works on terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
lead to him receiving death threats from a number of terrorist groups, which resulted in his migration to France
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...
, and later to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He also wrote books about the 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 Michael Stone
Michael Stone (loyalist paramilitary)
Michael Stone is a Northern Irish loyalist who was a volunteer in the Ulster Defence Association . Stone was born in England but raised in the Braniel estate in East Belfast, Northern Ireland. Convicted of killing three people and injuring more than sixty in an attack on mourners at Milltown...
and Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
founder Paddy Mayne
Paddy Mayne
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair "Paddy" Mayne DSO & Three Bars was a Northern Irish soldier, solicitor, Ireland rugby union international, amateur boxer, polar explorer and a founding member of the Special Air Service .-Early life and sporting achievements:Robert Blair "Paddy" Mayne was born in...
.
Books
- The Shankill Butchers
- The Trigger Men
- The Assassination of Robert Maxwell: Israel's Superspy
- Stone Cold: The True Story of Michael Stone and the Milltown Massacre
- The Dirty War
- Rogue Warrior of the SAS: The Blair Mayne Legend
- God and the Gun: The Church and Irish Terrorism