In 1987, journalist and author Derek Dunne wrote a piece for In Dublin magazine in which he pointed out that the Official IRA was still in existence. At that stage, the Official Republican movement had transformed itself into the Workers Party and was holding itself out as an organisation which was dedicated to peace. In 1982, Magill magazine published a series of articles which established that the Official IRA was still in existence. Derek Dunne’s piece brought the story up to date. His investigation revealed that the Official IRA was:
“alive and well and living mainly in Belfast and Newry. In the days when both organisations were operating in an overt way, the leadership of the party and the army overlapped to a certain degree. Tomas MacGiolla, the man who led the Official Party for the last 25 years has always maintained the position that the army went out of existence in 1972. But the Official IRA still march on, not an army fighting the British, but as a fund collecting agency.“
Dunne’s six page article can be downloaded by clicking on the link below: