Thomas 'Slab' Murphy
Encyclopedia
Thomas "Slab" Murphy is believed to be the former Chief of Staff of the Provisional Irish Republican Army
. His farm straddles County Armagh
and County Louth
, the border between the Northern Ireland
and the Republic of Ireland
. The nickname 'Slab' was inherited from Murphy's father, who was a large and imposing man. One of three brothers, Murphy is a lifelong bachelor
who lives at his farm at Ballybinaby, Hackballscross, County Louth.
of the IRA before becoming Chief of Staff of the IRA Army Council
. Toby Harnden
(ex-correspondent for the Daily Telegraph) has named him as planning the Warrenpoint ambush
of 1979, in which 18 British soldiers were killed, and was also allegedly implicated in the Mullaghmore bombing the same day, which killed four people including Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
. As early as 1985, he was identified in a veiled way by the Chief Constable
of the Royal Ulster Constabulary
, Sir John Hermon
, when in 1985 he claimed that a "wealthy pig smuggler" living on the border with the Republic of Ireland
was behind an IRA bombing that killed four RUC officers close to the border in May, earlier that year. Murphy was involved in smuggling in huge stockpiles of weapons from Libya
in the 1980s and was part of the IRA army council that decided to end its first ceasefire with the London Canary Wharf
Docklands bomb in 1996 that killed two men.
Accused by the Sunday Times
of directing an IRA bombing campaign in Britain, in 1987 Murphy unsuccessfully sued the paper for libel in Dublin. The original verdict was overturned by the court of appeal because of omissions in the judge's summing up and there was a retrial which he also lost. At this retrial both Sean O'Callaghan
and Eamon Collins
, former members of the IRA
testified against him, as did members of the Gardaí
, Irish Customs, British Army and his local TD
. Collins, who also had written a book about his experiences entitled Killing Rage, was beaten and killed by having a spike driven through his face near his home in Newry
eight months later. In 1998, an Irish court dismissed Murphy's case after a high-profile trial during which Murphy stated that he had: "Never been a member of the IRA, no way" and claimed not to know where the Maze prison was. The Irish jury ruled, however, that he was an IRA commander and a smuggler.
The Sunday Times subsequently published statements given by Adrian Hopkins, the skipper of the boats which ferried weapons from Libya
to the IRA, to the French authorities who intercepted the fifth and final Eksund shipment. Hopkins told how Murphy had met a named Libyan agent in Greece, paid for the weapons importation and helped unload them when they arrived in Ireland.
According to Ed Moloney's A Secret History of the IRA
, Murphy has been the IRA Army Council's Chief of Staff since 1997. Toby Harnden's Bandit Country: the IRA and South Armagh also details Murphy's IRA involvement.
and the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau
carried out raids on a number of businesses in Manchester
and Dundalk
. It has been extensively reported in the media – as a result of briefings by the Criminal Assets Bureau in the Republic of Ireland who were involved in parallel raids – that the investigation is aimed at damaging the suspected multi-million pound empire of Murphy, who according to the BBC
's Underworld Rich List, has accumulated up to £40 million through smuggling oil, cigarettes, grain and pigs; as well as through silent or partial ownership in legitimate businesses, and in property.
In his first-ever press release, issued on October 12, 2005, Murphy denied he owned any property and denied that he had any links with co-accused Cheshire
businessman Dermot Craven (Frank Murphy, Murphy's brother, was a client of Cravens). Thomas Murphy stated:
Furthermore, Murphy claimed that he had to sell property to cover his legal fees after his failed libel case against the Sunday Times and that he made a living from farming. He went on to say:
On 9 March 2006 police, soldiers and customs officials from both the Republic of Ireland
and the United Kingdom
launched a large dawn raid on his house and several other buildings in the border region. Several arrests were made. A fleet of tankers, computers, documents, two shotguns, over 30,000 cigarettes and the equivalent of 800,000 euros in sterling bank notes, euro bank notes and cheques were seized. Four laundering facilities attached to a major network of storage tanks, some of which were underground, were also found. The Irish Criminal Assets Bureau later obtained seizure orders to take possession of euro cash and cheques and sterling cash and cheques, together worth around one million Euros.
Sinn Féin
President Gerry Adams
made a public statement in support of Murphy following the March 2006 raids. Under political and media pressure over allegations of the IRA's continued presence in South Armagh, Adams said:
He also said:
And also:
, County Louth
on 7 November 2007 by detectives from the Criminal Assets Bureau
on charges relating to alleged revenue offences. The following day, he was charged with tax evasion under the Tax Consolidation Act. Murphy was later released on his own bail of €20,000 with an independent surety of €50,000.
On 17 October 2008 in an agreed legal settlement, Murphy and his brothers paid over £1million in assets and cash to the authorities in Britain and Ireland, in settlement of a global crime and fraud investigation in relation to proceeds of crime associated with smuggling and money laundering. After an investigation involving the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau
and the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency
, over 625,000 euros (£487,000) in cash and cheques was confiscated by Irish courts, with nine properties in northwest England worth £445,000 were confiscated by British courts. Murphy is still fighting a claim in the Irish courts for tax evasion, relating to non-completion of tax returns for eight years from 1996.
On April 26, 2010 he was further remanded on bail.
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...
. His farm straddles County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
and County Louth
County Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
, the border between the 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...
and the 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 nickname 'Slab' was inherited from Murphy's father, who was a large and imposing man. One of three brothers, Murphy is a lifelong bachelor
Bachelor
A bachelor is a man above the age of majority who has never been married . Unlike his female counterpart, the spinster, a bachelor may have had children...
who lives at his farm at Ballybinaby, Hackballscross, County Louth.
IRA career
Murphy was allegedly involved with the South Armagh BrigadeProvisional IRA South Armagh Brigade
The South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army operated during the Troubles in south County Armagh. It was organised into two battalions, one around Jonesborough and another around Crossmaglen. By the 1990s, the South Armagh Brigade was thought to consist of about 40 members,...
of the IRA before becoming Chief of Staff of the IRA Army Council
IRA Army Council
The IRA Army Council was the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, more commonly known as the IRA, a paramilitary group dedicated to bringing about the end of the Union between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. The council had seven members, said by the...
. Toby Harnden
Toby Harnden
Toby Harnden is an Anglo-American journalist and author. He has been US editor of The Daily Telegraph since 2006.-Background:...
(ex-correspondent for the Daily Telegraph) has named him as planning the Warrenpoint ambush
Warrenpoint ambush
The Warrenpoint ambush or the Warrenpoint massacre was a guerrilla assault by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on 27 August 1979. The IRA attacked a British Army convoy with two large bombs at Narrow Water Castle , Northern Ireland...
of 1979, in which 18 British soldiers were killed, and was also allegedly implicated in the Mullaghmore bombing the same day, which killed four people including Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
. As early as 1985, he was identified in a veiled way by the Chief Constable
Chief Constable
Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...
of 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...
, Sir John Hermon
John Hermon
Sir John Hermon, OBE, QPM was the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary from 1980-89.John Charles "Jack" Hermon, was born in Castletown, Islandmagee, County Antrim. He had a grammar school education and gave up an early career in accountancy to join the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 1950...
, when in 1985 he claimed that a "wealthy pig smuggler" living on the border with the 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,...
was behind an IRA bombing that killed four RUC officers close to the border in May, earlier that year. Murphy was involved in smuggling in huge stockpiles of weapons from Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
in the 1980s and was part of the IRA army council that decided to end its first ceasefire with the London Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
Docklands bomb in 1996 that killed two men.
Accused by the Sunday Times
The 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...
of directing an IRA bombing campaign in Britain, in 1987 Murphy unsuccessfully sued the paper for libel in Dublin. The original verdict was overturned by the court of appeal because of omissions in the judge's summing up and there was a retrial which he also lost. At this retrial both Sean O'Callaghan
Sean O'Callaghan
Sean O'Callaghan is a former member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who became an informer for the Garda Síochána and who was later debriefed by the UK's MI5 in the Netherlands...
and Eamon Collins
Eamon Collins
Eamon Collins was a Provisional Irish Republican Army activist in the late 1970s and 1980s. He turned his back on the organisation in the late 1980s and later co-authored a book called Killing Rage telling of his experiences in the IRA...
, former members of the IRA
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...
testified against him, as did members of the Gardaí
Garda 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 Customs, British Army and his local TD
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
. Collins, who also had written a book about his experiences entitled Killing Rage, was beaten and killed by having a spike driven through his face near his home 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...
eight months later. In 1998, an Irish court dismissed Murphy's case after a high-profile trial during which Murphy stated that he had: "Never been a member of the IRA, no way" and claimed not to know where the Maze prison was. The Irish jury ruled, however, that he was an IRA commander and a smuggler.
The Sunday Times subsequently published statements given by Adrian Hopkins, the skipper of the boats which ferried weapons from Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
to the IRA, to the French authorities who intercepted the fifth and final Eksund shipment. Hopkins told how Murphy had met a named Libyan agent in Greece, paid for the weapons importation and helped unload them when they arrived in Ireland.
According to Ed Moloney's A Secret History of the IRA
A Secret History of the IRA
A Secret History of the IRA by award-winning journalist Ed Moloney. In The Blanket, an on-line journal, reviewer Liam O Ruairc described the book as potentially "the standard if not the definitive work on the history of the Provisional IRA"...
, Murphy has been the IRA Army Council's Chief of Staff since 1997. Toby Harnden's Bandit Country: the IRA and South Armagh also details Murphy's IRA involvement.
Smuggling allegations and denials
In October 2005, officers of the British Assets Recovery AgencyAssets Recovery Agency
The Assets Recovery Agency was a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom. It was established under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to reduce crime by confiscating the proceeds of any crime...
and the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau
Criminal Assets Bureau
The Criminal Assets Bureau is a law enforcement agency in Ireland, the purpose of which is to recover the proceeds of organised crime. It is a division of the Garda , but reports annually to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform...
carried out raids on a number of businesses in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Dundalk
Dundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
. It has been extensively reported in the media – as a result of briefings by the Criminal Assets Bureau in the Republic of Ireland who were involved in parallel raids – that the investigation is aimed at damaging the suspected multi-million pound empire of Murphy, who according to 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...
's Underworld Rich List, has accumulated up to £40 million through smuggling oil, cigarettes, grain and pigs; as well as through silent or partial ownership in legitimate businesses, and in property.
In his first-ever press release, issued on October 12, 2005, Murphy denied he owned any property and denied that he had any links with co-accused Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
businessman Dermot Craven (Frank Murphy, Murphy's brother, was a client of Cravens). Thomas Murphy stated:
I have been a republican all my life and fully support the peace process. I will continue to play whatever role I can, to see it work.
Furthermore, Murphy claimed that he had to sell property to cover his legal fees after his failed libel case against the Sunday Times and that he made a living from farming. He went on to say:
There is absolutely no foundation to the allegations about me which have been carried in the media for some time, and repeated at length over the past week, I want to categorically state, for the record, that all of these allegations are totally untrue."
On 9 March 2006 police, soldiers and customs officials from both the 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,...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
launched a large dawn raid on his house and several other buildings in the border region. Several arrests were made. A fleet of tankers, computers, documents, two shotguns, over 30,000 cigarettes and the equivalent of 800,000 euros in sterling bank notes, euro bank notes and cheques were seized. Four laundering facilities attached to a major network of storage tanks, some of which were underground, were also found. The Irish Criminal Assets Bureau later obtained seizure orders to take possession of euro cash and cheques and sterling cash and cheques, together worth around one million Euros.
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...
President 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...
made a public statement in support of Murphy following the March 2006 raids. Under political and media pressure over allegations of the IRA's continued presence in South Armagh, Adams said:
Tom Murphy is not a criminal. He's a good republican and I read his statement after the Manchester raids and I believe what he says and also and very importantly he is a key supporter of Sinn Féin's peace strategy and has been for a very long time.
He also said:
I want to deal with what is an effort to portray Tom Murphy as a criminal, as a bandit, as a gang boss, as someone who is exploiting the republican struggle for his own ends, as a multimillionaire. There is no evidence to support any of that.
And also:
He's a good republican ... Tom Murphy was one of the supporters of this peace process.
Assets seizure
Murphy was arrested in DundalkDundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
, County Louth
County Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
on 7 November 2007 by detectives from the Criminal Assets Bureau
Criminal Assets Bureau
The Criminal Assets Bureau is a law enforcement agency in Ireland, the purpose of which is to recover the proceeds of organised crime. It is a division of the Garda , but reports annually to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform...
on charges relating to alleged revenue offences. The following day, he was charged with tax evasion under the Tax Consolidation Act. Murphy was later released on his own bail of €20,000 with an independent surety of €50,000.
On 17 October 2008 in an agreed legal settlement, Murphy and his brothers paid over £1million in assets and cash to the authorities in Britain and Ireland, in settlement of a global crime and fraud investigation in relation to proceeds of crime associated with smuggling and money laundering. After an investigation involving the Irish Criminal Assets Bureau
Criminal Assets Bureau
The Criminal Assets Bureau is a law enforcement agency in Ireland, the purpose of which is to recover the proceeds of organised crime. It is a division of the Garda , but reports annually to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform...
and the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency
Serious Organised Crime Agency
The Serious Organised Crime Agency is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom under Home Office sponsorship...
, over 625,000 euros (£487,000) in cash and cheques was confiscated by Irish courts, with nine properties in northwest England worth £445,000 were confiscated by British courts. Murphy is still fighting a claim in the Irish courts for tax evasion, relating to non-completion of tax returns for eight years from 1996.
On April 26, 2010 he was further remanded on bail.
External links
- "Is 'Slab' Murphy's bloody reign drawing to an end?" Guardian report on the raid of Murphy's farm, as well as brief background on the allegations surrounding Murphy
- "CAB probes Slab Murphy’s UK property portfolio" A Times Online report about the Criminal Asset Bureau's investigation of a property folio belonging to Thomas 'Slab' Murphy