Thurles Information

Some Sinn Féin and Fine Gael County Councillors appear to have received little or no history education or are inflicted with very short term memories, when it comes to understanding the current Israeli conflict.
I base this statement having read a pre-Xmas report on the Irish Independent newspaper, dated December 19th last, when two Kerry councillors called for the incoming, new Irish Coalition Government to make a stand against US military stop-over flights at Shannon Airport, as the latter, in their view, undermined Irish neutrality.

Fly’s on the wall, on listening to that same Kerry County Council discussion, must certainly have winked and sniggered at each other.
One can only wonder was any of these councillors or their political I.R.A. friends, involved with the aborted shipment of eight RPG-7 anti-tank rocket launchers and the 496 warheads, which were due to land at Farranfore Airport, in 1972, latter destination now known as Kerry Airport in 1972.

It was on November 15th, in 1972, [just a mere 52 years ago], that the then Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.) successfully landed their first ever consignment of weapons, gifted by the Libyan revolutionary, politician and political theorist Muammar Gaddafi*.

* Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (1942 – 2011) was a Libyan revolutionary, politician, political theorist and an international pariah, who ruled Libya from 1969 until his assassination by rebel forces in 2011.
In 1976 after a series of indiscriminate bombings by the Provisional IRA, Colonel Gaddafi announced that “the bombs which are convulsing Britain and breaking its spirit, are the bombs of Libyan people. We have sent them to the Irish revolutionaries so that the British will pay the price for their past deeds”.
Note: In 1992, Libya admitted to British officials, that it gave the IRA over $12.5 million in cash (€12,122,387), the equivalent of roughly of $40 million (€38,802,000) today.

A plane, with its interior stripped out, ferried a consignment of 2.5 tons of Russian weapons due to land at Kerry Airport, [then better known as Farranfore Airport] was aborted and instead landed at Shannon Airport.
Onboard, was the first of an expected four Provisional IRA arms shipments, which included eight RPG-7 anti-tank rocket launchers and 496 warheads, same purchased by Libya from Russia. The plane entered into a SRS Aviation hanger, having landed at Shannon Airport, before being unloaded and driven away, by individuals who smiled and waved to customs officials, latter who failed to carry out any checks.

At the same time, American funding and Arms smuggling was being organised via Mr George Harrison, an I.R.A. veteran, who had resided in New York since 1938; and who spent an estimated $1 million in the 1970s, in purchasing over 2,500 guns for the I.R.A.
Nine years later, (March 1, 1981), the New York Times Magazine would report that the I.R.A had come a long way since its early days of dependence upon the United States. They stated “Fund raising is mostly done at home nowadays, by means of protection rackets, brothels, massage parlours and bank stickups, while the incoming hardware is largely Soviet-made”.
However, one year later, in February 1982, three Canadian republicans with Mr Edward “Ted” Howell (a close friend of Mr Gerry Adams) and Mr Dessie Ellis from Dublin, were all arrested for trying to enter the U.S. illegally from Canada, with a cache of money and a shopping list of weapons for the I.R.A.

Meanwhile, in 1972 back in Ireland, the empty plane from Libya, left Shannon Airport to fly back home to Canada, but not before the pilot had received five thousand dollars, to cover the cost of fuel for three further Libyan trips.
Colonel Gaddafi had actually committed to gifting the provisional I.R.A. at least 10 tons of Russian weapons and the plan was now to get the remaining 7.5 tons of same, from Libya; all of which were to be delivered into the hands of the IRA here in Ireland.

The returning now empty plane landed for a fuel stopover in Iceland, before attempting to progress its flight to Toronto. Nearing its destination, with the weather now turning severe, the plane crashed into the freezing waves of the North Atlantic sea. Later reports claimed that the pilot had miscalculated how much fuel was needed to return home and he was forced to ditch the aircraft, due to double engine failure. The pilot also had refused to accept the forecasters suggested route to Goose Bay, in Newfoundland, which promised lower flight headwinds.

A nearby ship had actually observed the plane being ditched into the water and on arriving quickly to the scene; located the dead body of the pilot floating nearby. The body of his co-pilot; the only other person on the flight, has to date never been located or recovered. The pilot was found to still have the five thousand dollars on his now deceased person.

This episode would be the first of many great upsets to the plans of the IRA and no doubt this discountenance itself would change the future course of Irish history, with the next three shipments of weapons due from Libya, never to be placed into the hands of the I.R.A. or their Sinn Féin friends.

RPG rocket launchers are only 50% precise weapons in professional trained hands; however it can destroy tanks and armoured vehicles by firstly penetrating the tank’s outer walls before then exploding inside the vehicle, thus killing all personnel seated inside.
Reportedly, two of Muammar Gaddafi’s rocket launchers together with 8 war heads found themselves stored at a premises in the area, known as John’s Street, Cashel, Co. Tipperary, during this short period of necessary training.

The IRA had never before seen or used these newly acquired modern weapons and therefore, were clueless as to their correct use. South Co. Tipperary, then had its own IRA brigade which trained regularly. Their main training being the Irish government funded ‘An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil’, the Second Line Reserve force or local Defence Force, initially transformed from the existing 1929 Reserve Defence Force, known as the F.C.A. (Latter then often referred to in jocund terms as ‘Fools Carrying Arms’ or the ‘Free Clothes Association’), which would be stood down in 1999, following a report begun by the then Fianna Fáil government.

Now, with these new Russian manufactured weapons in place in South Tipperary, expert training would be provided from Northern Ireland, with the arrival, in mid-November 1972, of a former paratrooper who had fought with the British Army against the National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA), latter a Greek Cypriot right-wing nationalist guerrilla organisation in Cyprus. This former soldier from Belfast, arrived in South Tipperary with a reputation of being one of the best known trainers, required to educate Tipperary IRA volunteers on the use of rocket launchers.

This qualified trainer (referred to often by those who were associated with him as a ‘psychopath’), had previously been involved in the murder of three unarmed, off-duty, British soldiers, aged 17 years, 18 years and 23 years, respectively. Their dead bodies had been located in a ditch, having been lured to their death, before being dumped on the outskirts of North Belfast; their bodies covered in broken beer glasses. This first off-duty episode would lead to the extreme future anger of their British Army comrades.

Finally, following training, the address chosen for the first rocket firing demonstration, was a disused anthracite shed, situated close to the village of Ballynonty, Killenaule, Co. Tipperary.
This first test, set for a Sunday morning, was regarded as a disappointment by those in attendance. The rocket, when fired, did pass through the concrete gable wall of the targeted shed, causing no real serious damage, but failed, as expected, to even flatten the building.
Those who had travelled down from Northern Ireland took their leave, taking with them, by land, 2 launchers and 8 warheads, using the route via Dublin city and on into Northern Ireland.

Mr Joe Cahill (a former member of “Na Fianna Eireann”; latter regarded as the “Junior Irish Republican Army” recruiting centre), had then been newly appointed as Chief of Staff of the I.R.A., a post which outranked all others I.R.A. posts.
It was he who planned the 10 future RPG-7 attacks in Northern Ireland, which was expected to come as a complete shock to the British army; to the Royal Ulster Constabulary and to the Gardaí in the Irish Republic. At this stage, do remember, no one person outside of the I.R.A. were aware that a consignment of such weapons was now in I.R.A. hands.
Travelling disguised as a priest, Mr Joe Cahill arrived from Belfast to South Tipperary, and later, carrying one of the RPG-7’s and a warhead, he travelled on in disguise to Kerry to meet the I.R.A. members, latter who had been involved in the initial aborted Farranfore Airport landing campaign.

Joe Cahill’s conceived plans were to attack a number of Royal Ulster Constabulary (R.U.C. Stations), however, he had been warned that targeting such buildings was not the true purpose of these weapons, rather Saracen six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier, then in use by the British Army.
Cahill refused to listen and the first target chosen by the Provisional Irish Republican Army was the Belleek Police and Army barracks in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh; an easy target, since it was so close to the Republic’s border; within stone throwing distance just across the river Erne, from a wooded area within the Irish Republic.

Six to nine gunmen took part in this 15 minute attack, operating from the Republic side of the border at 9:35am on November 28th 1972. The RPG warhead pierced the metal shutter of the R.U.C. building, before striking and killing officer Robert Keys, aged 55 years, [latter the only fatality, who was a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (R.U.C.)], before penetrating a wall and coming to a complete halt, without exploding. The troops within the building returned fire, but to no avail. No arrests were made and to date no one has ever been charged.

In the days, that followed ten such attacks took place across Northern Ireland with 15 warheads fired. Soon afterwards an RPG-7 launcher was dropped by an I.R.A. terrorist in Londonderry, identified as a brand new model in use by the Russian army and which it was believed could not be purchased without permission from Russian authorities.

The I.R.A Conflict in and around Northern Ireland resulted in the deaths of 3,720 people, with approximately 47,541 people injured. In that same year (1972), some 470 people lost their lives; 322 of whom were civilians, while, 4,876 people were injured; 3,813 of whom were civilians. Surely this is hypocrisy, coming from a party member, which one day hopes to govern Ireland; suddenly, Sinn Féin and their know I.R.A. associates are worried about U.S. planes landing at Shannon Airport in support of genocide being effected and pioneered by Hamas terrorists, against the State of Israel.

On October 31st 2009, a cross-party delegation of Northern Irish politicians travelled to the Libyan capital Tripoli, for a face to face meeting with the Libyan government, to discuss compensation claims for victims of I.R.A. violence.
Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams criticized this move, saying that there must be no hierarchy of victims.