Stakeknife ✏ A Meeting Of Minds

Seamus Kearney ✍ recalls visiting Brendan Hughes In Divis Tower twenty years ago.

The Dark

After my brother Michael was cleared from any suspicion that he was a paid informer, on 28th January 2003, the IRA Leadership not only cleared him but continued to meet me in a series of clandestine meetings until September of that year.

I had been informed by the IRA Leadership that Freddie Scappaticci had been involved in the court martial and subsequent execution of my brother, but had not played a central role, which I accepted. However, in May 2003 a journalist, Greg Harkin, appeared at the front door of Freddie Scappaticci 's house, in the Riverdale area of West Belfast, and accused him of being a British agent with a codename, 'Stakeknife'.

I was still meeting the IRA Leadership at the time, so raised my concerns with them at our next meeting, underlining that if true, then Michael had been interrogated by the British more so than the IRA. My concerns were dismissed and I was told by the two IRA staff officers that Scappaticci was "innocent until proven guilty".

Before the IRA investigation commenced in October 2001, I had deliberately organised and set up a secret strategic 'think tank' of 5 former IRA soldiers, which included myself, with a 6th man in place designed to be a ' spearhead'. The role of this 6th man was to coordinate and impress upon the IRA Leadership the need to commence an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the execution of Volunteer Michael Kearney, on the 12th July 1979. He succeeded in carrying out that task and hence the unprecedented IRA investigation came about as a result.

After meeting the IRA Leadership in May 2003, I then reported back to my own group and discussed the current situation. To confuse matters further, all shades of the Republican Movement were informing their base that Freddie Scapppaticci had been the victim of a gutter press with a sinister British Intelligence motive to undermine the Peace Process. Incredibly, people who I had earlier thought were intelligent and free thinkers, were accusing me of being a 'dissident', which I was not, and for attempting to 'smear a hard working Republican from Riverdale, the victim of an anti Republican media campaign'.

A member of my own group then suggested that I settle the matter and arrange a meeting with Brendan Hughes (The Dark), who had particular knowledge on the IRA 's Internal Security Unit (ISU), as he was in charge of GHQ Intelligence, which overseen the workings of the Internal Security Unit. I was informed that Brendan took on this role after his release from prison in November 1986.

Consequently, a few weeks later, in June 2003, after climbing the stairs of Divis Tower, I appeared outside the small flat, at the top of the tower, and rapped the front door, eager with anticipation.
When the door opened I met my old comrade with a smile on his face and we embraced. When I entered his living room he motioned me toward his sofa, with the words: "be careful what you say in here, because a bug was discovered recently under that sofa". I automatically asked, "was it RUC Special Branch?" But he replied, "no, Sinn Fein!". With a puzzled look upon my face we moved on with the matter in hand.

I told him that my brother Michael had been cleared by the IRA Leadership and he became emotional, a common trait of his, hugging me and wiping a tear from his eye. He said, "that is fantastic news and well done to you for staying the course and showing such loyalty to your dead brother". I informed him that the publicity would come later in the year, as I was still meeting the Army Leadership with a view to agreeing a text for a public statement - and the official statement had to be agreed by the IRA Army Council. The IRA had wanted to release their own statement, but I disagreed and had come up with a novel idea of a joint 'Army/Family Statement', which seemed to have caught their interest and attention.

He enquired about my mother and I was happy to tell him that she was still alive, which brought a sigh of relief from him, as we both understood how poignant and important that was in the scheme of things.

We then discussed the current media speculation concerning Scappaticci and the confusion from all sides. When I informed him that my brother Michael had been interrogated by Scappaticci, he replied:

Seamus, your brother was interrogated by a British Military Officer, not a member of the IRA. Standing over your brother was an enemy officer, the only thing missing was the fact that Scappaticci wasn't wearing his British Army uniform, complete with his riding crop.

At that moment it was my turn to become emotional and I began to weep uncontrollably. Brendan then got up out of his chair and sat beside me on the sofa, with his loving arms wrapped around me, with him repeatedly saying, "I know, I know, what a horrible war. So much pain, too much pain".

After sitting together for what seemed like ages, he returned to his seat opposite mine and began to explain:

I believe that whole unit was infiltrated. When I took charge of GHQ Intelligence I realised that the Internal Security Unit had been compromised and voiced my concerns to the Leadership, but they dismissed them, accusing me of being in jail too long and being paranoid. After the Joe Fenton case, when I specifically ordered Freddie Scappaticci and that other enemy agent in the Special Boat Service, to bring Fenton to me across the border, they failed to do that. They both had Fenton executed in February 1989, rather than bring him to me for in depth interrogation. When I asked Scap why he shot Fenton out of hand, rather than bring him to me, he came off with some feeble excuse about the need to execute Fenton because of Brit activity in the area. I never believed that for one second. But I finally realised that that whole unit was rotten and full of enemy agents. I got scared and resigned from the Army after that. I had nothing more to do with them from February 1989.

When I asked Brendan the names of those involved in the Internal Security Unit he got up and opened a drawer, taking out a sheet of paper and a pen. I watched as he wrote the names of the British agents down on paper, and then handed the paper to me. I studied the names, five names in total, and then asked about the mechanics of the Internal Security Unit and its role in the war.

He explained to me that the plan to execute my brother, as in other subsequent cases, would have been hatched in Castlereagh by RUC Special Branch and the military. The decision to release my brother Michael, instead of charging him, would have triggered a chain of events from Castlereagh to the streets of West Belfast, to Dundalk and finally to a lonely border road. Freddie Scapatticci could not have operated on his own, that was impossible, so he needed others in the ISU to cooperate or at least acquiesce in his endeavours to satisfy his British masters.

The personnel inside the Internal Security Unit should have been rotated, as is standard procedure in any army, but the enemy agents were allowed to remain in situ, as was the case with Scap and his Special Boat Service superior, who both remained in position from Autumn 1978 to at least 1990. That was simply incredible, Brendan explained.

At exactly 2pm that day Brendan Hughes suddenly stood up and told me he had to leave. When I asked him the reason why the Republican Movement were muddying the waters and confusing the issue with regards Scappaticci, the Dark replied:

Damage Limitation. Seamus, Freddie Scappaticci shot his bolt in January 1990 after the Brits hit the house in Lenadoon and rescued Sandy Lynch. They were too eager to capture the 'Lord Chief Justice', than rescue Sandy Lynch. They weren't interested in saving Sandy Lynch, too eager to capture their main prize, and as a result compromised all three British agents in that house, including Scap, his big mate from the SBS and that other agent who brought Lynch to the house in the first place. Your focus should be on the honour of the IRA and the oath you gave when you joined Oglaigh na hEireann. For those who compromised or were British agents, whether with RUC Special Branch or Military Intelligence, you should give them no quarter, whether certain people want to cover for them or not. Your loyalty should be to the Army, not the British Army .

Brendan and I then shook hands and I gave him a final hug, thanking him for his honesty and time. I returned to my own group and informed them of developments, whereupon we came to the conclusion that Michael and his story would not be straight forward and our journey toward truth and justice would be a long one.

Seamus Kearney is a former Blanketman and author of
No Greater Love - The Memoirs of Seamus Kearney.