The Puppet Masters
How MI6 Masterminded Ireland's Deepest State Crisis
Published on 28. June 2024
352 pages
978-1-78117-866-9 (ISBN)
Description
David Burke uncovers the clandestine activities of Patrick Crinnion, a Garda intelligence officer who secretly served MI6 during the early years of the Troubles. As the Garda Síochána launched a manhunt for the Chief-of-Staff of the IRA, Crinnion found himself playing a crucial role in the effort to track him down.
Before his disappearance, Crinnion's actions exposed a web of secrets including those of another British spy in the Irish police, damaging intelligence leaks, gunrunning by Irish politicians, and a cover-up related to the murder of a Garda.
Burke reveals MI6's shady dealings, from attempts to smear Irish politicians to plans for using criminals as assassins and the secret surveillance of a key IRA member.
Crinnion fled into exile. The Puppet Masters not only reveals what became of him but also provides an insightful look into a turbulent period marked by covert operations, betrayal, and the power struggle that shaped modern Irish history.
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06/2024
The Mercier Press
€36.50
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Person
David Burke, a practising barrister, writes on many issues for Village Magazine. He has contributed to documentaries, podcasts and current affairs programmes on RTE and the BBC. He is the author of Deception and Lies: The Hidden History of the Arms Crisis 1970, Kitson's Irish War, Enemy of the Crown: The British Secret Service Campaign against Charles Haughey.
Content
Author's Note 7
Dramatis Personae 9
Organisations, terms, locations and acronyms 12
Introduction - A Fog of Deceit 15
1. The Man from Mensa 19
2. The De Valera Bomb Plot 25
3. The Nerve Centre of Garda Intelligence 32
4. Serving Her Majesty 35
5. The Visitors from London 41
6. IRA Prince, IRA Pauper 46
7. Climbing the Republican Ladder 53
8. A Cuckoo in the Garda Nest 56
9. Sailing Close to Danger 59
10. The Director of IRA Intelligence 66
11. Northern Ireland, a Garda Blind Spot 70
12. MI6 in the Republic of Ireland 74
13. MacStíofáin's Friends in Saor Éire 79
14. Playing Catch Up 83
15. Ministers in Dublin Hatch a Plan 88
16. A Man Called Jock 91
17. SDU Tunnel Vision 95
18. The Parker-Hale Connection 100
19. MI6 and the Eltham Factory Sting 103
20. Crinnion Loses the Plot 107
21. The Truth about Knockvicar 111
22. The Rise of the Provisionals 119
23. MI6's Debt to Saor Éire 123
24. One of Crinnion's Darkest Secrets 129
25. The Cat Jumps Out of the Bag 134
26. The Midnight Postman 141
27. MI6 Links Fianna Fáil to Saor Éire 146
28. The Door Swings Open for the Provisionals 151
29. The State Betrays its 'Confidential Sources' 155
30. Her Majesty's Loyal Correspondents 159
31. High-Priced Chaps 165
32. The House on the Thames 170
33. Colonel Lee of MI5 lectures the Gardaí 179
34. Oldfield's Gloves Come Off 184
35. The Rita O'Hare Windfall 194
36. The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back 199
37. Crinnion's Bedside Manner 202
38. Don Carlos Haughey 207
39. We hava a Spy in the Camp, Find Him 214
40. Crinnion Blames the Provisionals 219
41. Offences Against the State 222
42. The Long Fuse that Blew Jack Lynch Out of Office 229
43. Deflection 236
44. The Third Man 241
45. The Spy left out in the Cold 244
46. 'I Only Knew Wyman for a Short Time' 250
47. Wyman the Spyman 253
48. Panic inside 10 Downing Street 258
49. The Manuscript in the Governor's Safe 263
50. Spies in the Dock 268
51. The Crinnion Misnomer 275
52. Hung Out on the Bleachers 280
53. The Cache in the Attic 285
54. MI6 Ignores an Opportunity for Black Propaganda 288
55. Old Habits Die Hard 291
56. Crinnion's Veiled Threats 296
57. C3 Hoodwinks the Press 302
58. High Flyer 305
59. The Forgotten Man 314
Endnotes 318
Bibliography 340
Index 343
