Tag: mi6
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Learning to kill
Frank Kitson’s first overseas military assignment was to Germany, in 1946, with the rank of second lieutenant. He remained there for seven years. He found plenty of sport to occupy his spare time such as racing horses in Rhine Army competitions, trout fishing and ‘many wonderful opportunities for shooting … and by shooting I don’t…
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Bring Back The Phoenix, Part III. Check out 50 plus stories from 2025.
Continuing our campaign to bring back The Phoenix magazine, here is a selection of stories from 2025 which underline what we are missing. They cover MI5 and MI6 dirty tricks, neutrality, and much more besides. A selection from 2026 will appear next week. The PDF at the end of this article includes a selection of…
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Bring back The Phoenix Part II: 50+ espionage and dirty trick stories from 2024.
Click on the link below to read a selection of stories from The Phoenix 2024, including: Brig. Frank Kitson’s dirty war; what really happened on Bloody Sunday (not the nonsense in the Savile Inquiry report); Patrick Crinnion, MI6’s spy inside the Gardaí; the Dublin and Monaghan bombings; Barrie Gane of MI6; Freddie Scappaticci; the Kincora…
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Bring back The Phoenix. In the meantime here are approximately 30 dirty trick intelligence stories from 2020 to 2023.
The Phoenix ceased publication in June 2026. The magazine was the only real source of articles about collusion, the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, Kincora, MI5 dirty tricks and attacks on Irish neutrality, etc, on Irish newsstands. It has to be brought back – somehow. Otherwise, we will be relying on The Irish Times and other similar publications…
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From Russia with Lethality.
By David Burke. In October 1977, Hibernia, a weekly Dublin periodical, published an article by Brian Trench about the assassination of Seamus Costello, Chief of Staff of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). The Hibernia article is rich in detail about the feuding between the INLA and the Official IRA. Costello had once been a…
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Sir Garret (Webbook)
Introduction. Charles Haughey of Fianna Fáil and Garret FitzGerald of Fine Gael took very different approaches when dealing with Britain’s covert intelligence services and the more questionable diplomats assigned to the Dublin embassy. While FitzGerald was happy to dance with Her Majesty’s emissaries and spooks, Haughey recoiled. This contrast was never more apparent than when…
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Mooney (Webbook)
Hugh Mooney, a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, worked at The Irish Times before becoming the UK’s foremost black propagandist in the early 1970s. Among his many successes, he distorted the truth about what happened on Bloody Sunday, the bombing of McGurk’s bar and circulated smears about John Hume. The Bloody Sunday and John Hume…
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Psyop (Webbook)
In November 2025, a British ‘security expert’ inadvertently disclosed the broad outline of a British-led psychological operation (PsyOp) to undermine Irish neutrality to London’s Financial Times. The paper revealed that an anti-neutrality campaign was underway, although ‘still far from fruition and would have to be extremely carefully managed‘. The purpose of the operation was to…
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Nest of Spies (Webbook).
1. Introduction. Part 1: A bloodsoaked start, after which cooperation was achieved. 2. From the elimination of the Cairo Gang to intelligence cooperation. 3. Spying on a Zionist TD for MI5. 4. Cooperation during the IRA’s Operation Harvest. Part 2. An aristocratic spy ring. 5. ‘It was as simple as picking up a phone.’ 6.…
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The Prince and the Pauper (Webbook).
1. A FOG OF FEAR AT BREFFNI NURSERY 1969-1974. INCARCERATING TODDLERS WHO CRIED AT NIGHT IN A PITCH-BLACK BOILER ROOM. ALAN AGED 0-6. 2. RAPE AT WILLIAMSON HOUSE, 1974-1978. ALAN KERR WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED ON HIS FIRST NIGHT AT WILLIAMSON HOUSE. HE WAS ONLY 6 YEARS OLD. ALAN AGED 6-9. 3. MISERY AND MORE SEXUAL…
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Donaldson Dossier (Webbook)
Introduction: A lesson in real-life politics for slow learners. The Kincora Boys’ Home child sex abuse scandal erupted in 1980. It never went away. There are links between it and the case of Jeffrey Donaldson, the former DUP leader who was arrested in 2024 on child abuse charges, and convicted in 2026. Shadowy intelligence agencies…
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Mountbatten exposed, 1990.
1. Media disinterest allowed child abuse to continue. 2. Robin Bryans. 3. A wider vice network than just Kincora. It included Portora Royal, Williamson House and Bawnmore. 4. Mountbatten and Portora. 5. Lord Rosse of Birr Castle. 6. A fear of certain elements of the press in the Republic of Ireland. 7. A pair of…
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Tara’s roots.
In this article, Roy Garland describes the origins of Tara, an armed Loyalist paramilitary organisation. Garland was once a member of Tara. It was led by William McGrath. Tara was once part of the Orange Order. It had supporters in the Republic of Ireland and later linked up with the UVF. There were also international…
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Returning the Serve, the Dublin-Monaghan bombings of 1974. [WebBook]
Introduction: Dublin City was rocked by three car bomb explosions on 17 May 1974. The devices detonated in a coordinated fashion at approximately 5.30; all within ninety seconds of each other. Twenty-six people and a full-term unborn child (Baby Doherty) were slaughtered. No warnings were provided. Ninety minutes later, a fourth car bomb exploded in…
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The Mountbatten Dossier. [WebBook]
UPDATE: 30 June 2026: Richard Kerr, a victim of child sex abuse perpetrated by Lord Louis Mountbatten and others, has accepted the sum of £100,000 in compensation from the UK state. Richard Kerr was abused by Mountbatten at Classiebawn, Co. Sligo, in 1977. Kerr’s case was that a paedophile ring subjected him to years of…
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Operation Clockwork Orange Vol 1 [WebBook.]
By David Burke. Introduction: the fish rots from the head. The United Kingdom is paying a ghastly price for the decades during which the State turned a blind eye to a wide spectrum of sexual offences committed by the elite of British society. At least three forces became the instruments of amoral politicians and their…
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Our Man in Dublin. [WebBook]
1. Introduction. There was a deeply clandestine aspect to the Troubles. It involved the manipulation of public opinion via propaganda. All of the parties involved in the conflict participated in the process to one extent or another. Britain’s Foreign Office was by far the most successful. The British Secret Service (MI6) and the Information Research…
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Read and destroy
1. “A certain degree of guidance”. In October 1969, Maj. Thomas McDowell, an ex-British army officer from Belfast, asked the British Ambassador to Dublin, Sir Andrew Gilchrist, for “guidance, in respect of which lines were helpful and which unhelpful” for publication in The Irish Times. McDowell and a number of his colleagues owned the paper.…
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Hidden agendas.
1. The Irish Times gave a platform to the Official IRA during the Troubles. Dick Walsh, the political correspondent of The Irish Times during the Troubles, was an adviser to Cathal Goulding. Cathal Goulding was chief-of-staff of the IRA and, after it split in 1969, he held the same position with the Official IRA. The…
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Dining for Her Majesty.
Introduction: The Irish Times apologetically sought guidance on what to report from London. In an earlier article in this series – which looks at British intelligence propaganda operations and The Irish Times – I outlined how Maj. Thomas McDowell, the Belfast-born Unionist, ex-British Army, ex-MI5, owner of the paper, had approached 10 Downing Street in…
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MI6 smeared John Hume. He was also placed under MI5 surveillance in Dublin with the assistance of the Gardaí. [WebBook]
A webbook by David Burke. An official portrait of the late Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume is to be unveiled in Westminster today. A sculpture of him was put on display at the European Parliament in Strasbourg earlier this year. The new portrait by Colin Davidson – which is magnificent – will hang in Portcullis…
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Whitehall sought dirt on John Hume.
By David Burke. A memo released from Britain’s National Archives in 2020 revealed discussions at the apex of the British government about salacious rumours relating to John Hume’s private life. It was sent to Sir Robin Butler, Cabinet Secretary to John Major’s government, and also to Major’s private secretary, Sir Alex Allan. Allan is not…
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Libya
The British Government are refusing to directly compensate victims of IRA Libyan supplied weapons and semtex explosives out of the former overthrown leader Muammaur Gaddafi’s funds frozen in British banks. They also refuse to publish a report they commissioned on the issue of compensation from ex-journalist and member of the Charity Commission, William Shawcross.The PSNI…
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Reputations in tatters.
1. A David and Goliath battle involving the survivor of child rape. The Kincora Boys’ Home child sex abuse scandal has tarnished, if not demolished, the reputations of an array of people, including politicians, who have tried to cover it up. (See section 8 below.) Some of them will be remembered by history for nothing…
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The Collusion Spectrum. By Deirdre Younge.
In 2019 the BBC’s investigative ‘Spotlight’ programme added significantly to a body of evidence exposing widespread collusion across the Loyalist spectrum from the DUP to the UVF to MI5. Deirdre Younge revealed more in an article in Village magazine. It can be downloaded here:
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Donaldson and Molyneaux.
Sir Jeffery Donaldson described James Molyneaux MP (later Lord Molyneaux of Killead), as one of ‘greatest’ politicians with whom he ever worked. Molyneaux led the dominant Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), between 1979 and 1995. The praise appeared on Donaldson’s official website. Donaldson served as Molyneaux’s Personal Assistant in the 1980s. The other figure Donaldson admired…
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Blackmailing Thatcher.
Peter Wright CBE, formerly of MI5, defeated Margaret Thatcher in a volcanic legal battle in Australia in the late 1980s. Thatcher tried – and failed – to injunct the publication of Wright’s book, Spycatcher, in Australia. The publication cast MI5 and MI6 in a deplorable light: little more than organisations riddled with traitors and immersed in…
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‘Get him’, the British Prime Minister ordered. By Kevin O’Connor.
Author and broadcaster Kevin O’Connor reflects on a declassified UK file about his fellow Limerickman, Sean Bourke. O’Connor is the author of Blake and Bourke & the End of Empire (2003), the story of Sean Bourke, the Irishman who staged one of the most audacious prison breaks in Britain’s history, that of George Blake. Blake…
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Kincora’s darkest secret.
By David Burke. Kincora Boys’ Home was demolished in 2022. One part of the complex, however, was taken down and removed decades ago, the ‘tool shed’ at the rear of the premises. It hid what I fear is the darkest of Kincora’s many black secrets, one MI5, the RUC – and now – the PSNI,…
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Operation Clockwork Orange Vol 4: The Never Ending Cover-Up. MI5 will never admit what it did in Ireland.
By David Burke. [Volumes 1-3 of this ebook can be found by clicking on the top section of this page (purple lettering) which will return you to the home page.] 167. The Cabinet Office knew the report into the sex abuse at Kincora Boys’ Home by Sir George Terry contained a lie. While David Calcutt…
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Operation Clockwork Orange Vol 3. Margaret Thatcher and William Whitelaw cover-up child abuse.
By David Burke. Chapter 8. Framing Colin Wallace for Manslaughter. 113. The Home Secretary (former NI Secretary) and Deputy Prime Minister. On 7 July 1980, Jeff Edwards of London’s Evening News, revealed the Metropolitan police had passed files to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Twelve men faced up to 350 sexual offences including allegations…
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Operation Clockwork Orange Vol 2.
By David Burke. Chapter 4. A Clash of Interests. 040. Stepping on the toes of MI5. The British Army was not aware that William McGrath, the commander of Tara, a Loyalist paramilitary organisation, was a critical player in MI5’s endeavours to spy on Unionist paedophiles. To the military, he was a terrorist and, therefore, a…
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From the Vaults: NOW magazine May 1990. Linking MI5 agents to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974. By Frank Doherty and David Burke.
At the end of the 1980s, the late Frank Doherty set up NOW magazine. It published a number of stories about MI5 malfeasance. Two of them stick out in my mind. First, one which linked Mountbatten to the abuse of boys at Kincora which Frank and I wrote together. MI5 ran Kincora as a ‘honey…
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The Spy in Leinster House. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris cannot be asked to investigate due to a conflict of interest. Harris used to work with MI5. By David Burke.
1. The British agent in Leinster House. The Joint Support Group (JSG) ran British agents in the Republic of Ireland for British military and civilian intelligence agencies during the Troubles. A former British military intelligence agent known by the pseudonym, Sam Rosenfeld, has alleged that a senior Irish government figure has served as an agent…
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Misrepresenting Haughey’s relationship with the Provos.
The Irish Times promoted the Official IRA’s version of the Arms Crisis
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Updated: The very best (and worst) of British.
Dolphin Square VIP sex abuse. Dolphin Square was opened in London’s Pimlico in 1936. It soon became a magnet for all sorts of scandal and intrigue: espionage, political, sexual, not to mention mysterious deaths. ‘Scandal at Dolphin Square’ provides a riveting account of the lives of a rolling maul of fascinating and complex characters. As…
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According to Sir George Terry’s report, the children at Kincora derived “sexual satisfaction or pleasure” from being raped. By David Burke.
The Terry Report (1983) has resurfaced despite claims that all copies of it had been destroyed. Aside from the fact it contained blatant lies and covered-up the abuse of children at Kincora Boys’ Home with the knowledge of MI5 and MI6, Terry engaged in a bout of victim blaming – in this instance blaming the…
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Prodigal Prince.
Introduction. King Charles III has recieved briefings from two British Secret Service (MI6) chiefs, Sir Richard Moore and Blaize Metriwell, thus far into his reign. Prince William has been courted by the intelligence community, notably making a high-profile visit to the HQ of GCHQ, where British cyber espionage takes place. Queen Elizabeth II received…
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Le Carré
John le Carré spent most of his career exploring the British psyche through the lens of its secret service. You’d think he might have mentioned Ireland once or twice.
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Robert Fisk.
By David Burke. It is no exaggeration to say that Robert Fisk, who has passed away, was one of the finest journalists of the last half-century. He reported on the Troubles during the 1970s for The Times of London before it was taken over by Rupert Murdoch, produced a book on the 1974 Ulster Workers…
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Carl Beech.
By David Burke. Introduction. The documentary on the liar and fraud Carl Beech raises the most serious questions about the competence of the BBC which broadcasted it on 24 August. For years Beech masqueraded as the survivor of a VIP sex-abuse ring that allegedly engaged in the rape, torture and murder of children. During his…
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Tune into BBC 2 tonight. From Jimmy Savile to Carl Beech, the BBC’s lamentable coverage of VIP sex abuse.
By Joseph de Burca. The BBC has a lamentable record insofar as VIP sex abuse is concerned. It allowed Jimmy Savile prey on children for decades while countless officials knew what he was like. Johnny Lydon (aka ‘Johnny Rotten’ of the Sex Pistols) was shut down when he tried to expose Savile. If Lydon –…
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A SLAP IN THE FACE: MORE ON LARRY WREN, THE MALEVOLENT TORMENTOR OF MAJELLA MOYNIHAN. By Joseph de Burca
Larry Wren has become front-page news again as the Garda Commissioner responsible for driving Majella Moynihan to despair such that she attempted suicide five times, and once ended up in St John of Gods after the witch-hunt to which he and the Garda top brass subjected her in the 1980s when she became pregnant out…
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THE ‘TRIAL’ OF LARRY WREN, THE BIBLE THUMPING BIGOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ABUSE OF FORMER GARDA, MAJELLA MOYNIHAN. By Joseph de Burca
No one who had the misfortune to serve in the Garda during Larry Wren’s bible thumping Reign of Terror as Garda Commissioner, 1983 – 1987, is in the least bit surprised by the Medieval cruelty meted out to former Garda Majella Moynihan by Wren and his lackies when she was a young recruit. Majella Moynihan Wren…
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Dial MI5 for Murder
HAS SPOOK-TURNED-THRILLER WRITER DAME STELLA RIMMINGTON FORGOTTEN WHAT IS IN MI5’s TOP SECRET FILES? Dame Stella Rimmington has just published another of her bestselling Liz Carlyle spy yarns The Moscow Sleepers in time for the Christmas market. In it, the redoubtable Liz is set against some very nasty men from Russia. This has all been…
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Guy Burgess in Ireland
The paperback edition of Andrew Lownie’s highly regarded Stalin’s Englishman is now on sale with updates which did not appear in the hardback version. It is a riveting biography of the notorious Eton- and Cambridge-educated British spy and traitor Guy Burgess, bristling with new information based on first-hand sources including hitherto unpublished letters and files. Significantly,…
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The dark side of the media
The British media is aghast at revelations that a man called David Floyd was a Soviet spy. Floyd worked for the Foreign Office in the 1950s and was assigned to a string of Eastern European embassies. He confessed his treachery shortly after the defection of Guy Burgess and Donald McClean to Moscow. Rather than admit…
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From the Vaults: Village magazine 2017: Not just Ted Heath: British Establishment paedophilia and its links to Ireland
In the wake of last week’s revelations about the inquiry into former British Prime Minister Ted Heath, Joseph de Búrca looks at a scandal which implicated figures on both sides of the Irish Sea.
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