The Dirty War

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

1969 was a year of rising tension, violence and change for the people of Northern Ireland. Rioting in Derry's Bogside led to the deployment of British troops and a short-lived and uneasy truce. The British Army soon found itself engaged in an undercover war against the Provisional IRA, which was to last for more than 20 years. In this book, the author of "The Shankill Butchers" examines the roles played by the Provisional IRA, the State forces, the Irish Government and the British Army during this troubled period. He sets out to unravel the mystery of a conflict involving informers, agents and double agents, and offers evidence of the way in which the terrorists and the intelligence agencies target, undermine and penetrate each other's ranks.

Reviews

This excellent book demands the attention of anyone concerned about civil liberties in the United Kingdom * Guardian *
Grippingly written with the pace of a thriller * Financial Times *
Makes Cold War duplicity a la Deighton and Le Carre seem positively endearing * Guardian *

Author Bio

Martin Dillon is a native of Belfast although educated in England. He lived in France for a time and returned to Northern Ireland to work as a journalist with the Irish News before joining the Belfast Telegraph. He also worked as a freelance journalist for several national newspapers and American periodicals. In 1973 he wrote Political Murder in Northern Ireland which is regarded as the definitive study of political assassination in Northern Ireland. His second book, Rogue Warrior of the SAS, is a biography of the Second World War hero, Lt. Col. Robert Blair Mayne, and is published by Arrow. The Shankill Butchers which was a bestseller in both Ireland and Britain was the first in his trilogy of books about Northern and Southern Ireland. Martin Dillon has written plays for BBC radio and television and has been Editor in Northern Ireland of many of the BBC's programmes in the area of current affairs. He now works for the BBC History Unit in London.