Just one—but only if there’s a spotlight on them while they do it.
In recent years, a pattern has emerged as new stories slip past the censors: being outed once no longer seems enough to damage a reputation. If anything, some lean into it.
Once, touts, informers, rats—and even paedos (a stretch in the past, but no longer)—were the scourge of Republican areas. Families of those exposed could barely show their faces. Meanwhile, being a ‘dissident’—the hardliners of the period—was seen as naughty but necessary, tolerated for putting their cojones on the line for good ole Éire. Now, those roles appear to have been cleverly reversed.
How so? Prominent touts today are not only kept within the Republican fold but rewarded: comfy jobs, public roles, meetings with presidents, trips to Washington. Agent Jude and Agent Shirley Temple, for instance, have held prestigious positions despite their past being widely known. When former comrades questioned them, the ‘dissident’ label was swiftly deployed to silence critics. ‘Friends’ have a word in their ear.
We’re not yet at the point where touts are falling from the trees, and those at the top still manage the narrative with care. But there’s a growing restlessness—a sense that people won’t be fooled forever.
Because the truth is simple: touts don’t change. They are driven by self-preservation, ambition, and exploitation. Having survived the worst of the Troubles, many now feel emboldened—confident enough to let it all show.
More troubling still is the failure of those who know better. Time and again, warnings have been ignored. Agents Jude and Shirley Temple have never been held accountable; they continue to enjoy political protection. At the very least, they should be expelled, condemned, and publicly ostracized—not quietly shuffled around like paedo priests.
But—and it’s a big but—there remains a chance to correct these failures.
If such agents are fully exposed, it could begin to restore faith in what remains of true Republicanism—a truth many of us ex-POWs are too proud, or too embarrassed, to admit we were once misled about.
In recent years, a pattern has emerged as new stories slip past the censors: being outed once no longer seems enough to damage a reputation. If anything, some lean into it.
Once, touts, informers, rats—and even paedos (a stretch in the past, but no longer)—were the scourge of Republican areas. Families of those exposed could barely show their faces. Meanwhile, being a ‘dissident’—the hardliners of the period—was seen as naughty but necessary, tolerated for putting their cojones on the line for good ole Éire. Now, those roles appear to have been cleverly reversed.
How so? Prominent touts today are not only kept within the Republican fold but rewarded: comfy jobs, public roles, meetings with presidents, trips to Washington. Agent Jude and Agent Shirley Temple, for instance, have held prestigious positions despite their past being widely known. When former comrades questioned them, the ‘dissident’ label was swiftly deployed to silence critics. ‘Friends’ have a word in their ear.
We’re not yet at the point where touts are falling from the trees, and those at the top still manage the narrative with care. But there’s a growing restlessness—a sense that people won’t be fooled forever.
Because the truth is simple: touts don’t change. They are driven by self-preservation, ambition, and exploitation. Having survived the worst of the Troubles, many now feel emboldened—confident enough to let it all show.
More troubling still is the failure of those who know better. Time and again, warnings have been ignored. Agents Jude and Shirley Temple have never been held accountable; they continue to enjoy political protection. At the very least, they should be expelled, condemned, and publicly ostracized—not quietly shuffled around like paedo priests.
But—and it’s a big but—there remains a chance to correct these failures.
If such agents are fully exposed, it could begin to restore faith in what remains of true Republicanism—a truth many of us ex-POWs are too proud, or too embarrassed, to admit we were once misled about.
⏩Michael Phillips is a former republican prisoner. Keep up with his work.
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