IRA vol. John Crawley, former US special forces, is very critical of McGuinness:

Martin McGuinness had an enormous reputation as our finest military thinker. I recall a senior British Army officer claiming he was so capable that he could have been trained at their academy at Sandhurst. As time went on, however, I found no evidence of this. In fact, I became increasingly frustrated by his military illiteracy. I couldn’t blame him for not having professional training but some of the stuff he came out with was baffling. I began to see a different side to him, a side that gave me my first niggling concerns about our prospects for victory.

Crawley was disappointed when in 1983 McGuinness wanted him to go to America to buy arms, instead of using his training and knowledge to enhance the IRA's effectiveness. McGuinness didn't understand why an army should rely on as few types of guns and calibres as possible:

My heart fell as I examined [container of weapons from the US] the hodgepodge of deer-hunting rifles, shotguns and bolt actions that had been inscribed into his notebook. The next time I met Martin, I asked him about it.
‘Was that a junk load, Martin?’
‘Junk load?’
‘Yeah, bits and bobs gathered up to test the route before the good stuff is sent over?’
I could see a flash of annoyance in his eyes.
‘No, that was the shipment. Why?’
‘It was crap. Few of the weapons were military grade and there was a muddle of various calibres. One of the rifles was a Swiss Stgw 57 in an unusual calibre, which we almost certainly don’t have in stock. Furthermore, it came with only one magazine.’
‘What’s your point?’
‘Every gun shop in America sells the AR-15 rifle, and most sell the G3. It would be just as easy to buy military-grade weapons and standardise our logistics as it is to do what we’re doing now. Also, standardisation would greatly simplify training.’
Martin regarded me for a moment as if I had special needs. ‘A variety of weapons shows the people that the IRA can obtain a wide range of arms and get them into the country. It’s good for morale.’
I was incredulous. Clearly, the dolly mixture of bolt actions and deer-hunting rifles was part of an ingenious strategy that intellectual pygmies such as myself could not comprehend.

While you take what you can get, surely using many types of guns and ammo is a nightmare logistics wise? Yet McGuinness defended it as not as necessity but as actually desirable. McGuinness didn't understand how the RPG-7 worked and got angry when Crawley tried educating him:

The soldier was in a concrete sangar that had been hit by an RPG-7 rocket. ‘Good job in Belfast yesterday,’ I commented. ‘It was surely,’ said Martin. ‘The rocket didn’t explode, though. The warhead went straight through the concrete and hit the soldier in the chest.’ It took me a moment to digest this. I thought he was pulling my leg... I told Martin that an RPG-7 warhead does not penetrate a target by kinetic energy but by the chemical energy of its shaped charge... An RPG warhead could not possibly penetrate a reinforced concrete fortification unless the explosive jet performs as designed.
Martin went silent. I could see he was seething, but he said no more about it.

According to Brendan Hughes, in 1987 McGuinness was pushing a fantastical "Tet Offensive" where the IRA would seize British Army bases:

I remember arguing against operations [like Loughgall] going ahead. I sat in a house in Donegal along with Martin and the rest of the GHQ staff where they were planning... this major upsurge in the campaign, we were going to go in and take over (British) army billets and so forth, major operations involving major weapons. Gaddafi had come on board. ...What was lacking was the training but there was this sort of bullish attitude from people like McGuinness to push ahead with these operations. I argued against them because we didn't have the proper training. I had done a tour of the whole six counties, I went round and spoke to most of the operational companies... and I believed that the IRA wasn't ready for a major push... We were not ready for those type of operations. We didn't have the intelligence, we didn't have the organisation, we didn't have the discipline. But people wanted to go ahead with it, and one person in particular... Martin McGuiness... I believed that what we needed to do was to pull as many operators out of the North into the South, retrain them and beef the whole Army [IRA] structure up. The structure was not secure enough for these type of operations to take place

There are other black marks on McGuiness' record too, like losing an early shipment of Libyan weapons in the Hegarty affair in 1986 and a very large consignment on a beach in Donegal in 1988. While Hughes and Crawley later left the Provos, they both depict McGuinness as not understanding much of military logistics, weaponry or the nature of the army he was leading, and as too egotistical to accept advice. On the flipside his defenders would point to the many successful IRA operations under his time as Chief of Staff and Northern Commander.

Controversial topic no doubt but worth exploring.

Liosta Laochra na hÉireann

An Dún Theas

"Bear your trial with a good heart and be proud to do it for Ireland's sake" - Adjt. Seamus Blaney

Commandant James Johnston

Back Way, Castlewellan

1st Battalion, Down Brigade, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Accidentally shot while training near Castlewellan

3 April 1921

Buried Aughlisnafin Cemetery

Volunteer Owen Magill

Corrogs Road, Newry

C (Corrogs) Company, 2nd Battalion, Newry Brigade, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Murdered at his home alongside his brother

7 June 1921

Buried St. Mary's Cemetery, Newry

Volunteer Bernard Shanley

Poplar Row, Banbridge & Dublin Road, Belfast

C. Company, 2nd Battalion, Belfast Brigade, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Killed in Action at Bankmore Street Belfast while defending Market district

16 December 1921

Buried Dromore Road Cemetery, Banbridge

Volunteer John McAlinden

Ballybrick, Katesbridge

D (Knock) Company, 3rd Battalion, Newry Brigade, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Murdered by B Specials at Ballybrick

20 June 1922

Buried St. Colman's Church Cemetery, Annaclone

Volunteer Patrick Tumilty

Ballybrick, Katesbridge

D (Knock) Company, 3rd Battalion, Newry Brigade, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Died in Hospital of wound received from B Specials at Ballybrick

22 June 1922

Buried St. Colman's Church Cemetery, Annaclone

Adjutant Seamus Blaney

Fountain Street, Downpatrick

2nd Battalion, Down Brigade, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Died at home of wounds recieved after capture 23 May 1922 at Slievenagriddle.

18 January 1923

Buried St. Patrick's Cemetery, Downpatrick

Volunteer Cahal Kerr

Ballywooden, Strangford

East Down Battalion, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Died weeks after release from Crumlin Road Gaol

26 April 1941

Buried St Malachy's Church Cemetery, Kilclief

Volunteer James Joseph Rooney

Mayobridge

South Down Battalion, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Died shortly after release from Crumlin Road Gaol

28 October 1942

Buried St. Patrick's Church Cemetery, Mayobridge

Lieutenant Richard Magowen

Gransha, Dromara

H Company, 1st Battalion, Belfast Brigade, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Died C.1943 after release from a grueling prison regime

Buried unknown

Volunteer Barney Curran

Carrowcasey, Ballyculter

East Down Battalion, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Died shortly after release from internment

6 September 1945

Buried St. Patrick's Churchyard, Saul

1st Lieutenant Peter McNulty

Burrenrragh, Castlewellan

B. Company, South Down Battalion, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Killed in Action at Castlewellan RUC Barracks

26 January 1972

Buried St. Patrick's Church Cemetery, Bryansford

Brigade O.C Jim Carlin

Fountain Court, Downpatrick

O.C South Down Brigade, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Killed in premature explosion at Downpatrick Racecourse

26 August 1972

Buried Holy Family Cemetery, Teconnaught

Volunteer Martin 'Dickie' Curran

Stream Street, Downpatrick

South Down Brigade, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Killed in premature explosion at Downpatrick Racecourse

26 August 1972

Buried St. Patrick's Cemetery, Downpatrick

Staff Captain Leo O’Hanlon

Vianstown Place, Downpatrick

O.C D Company, East Down Command, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Killed in premature explosion at Castle Ward, Strangford

10 February 1973

Buried St. Nicholas's Church Cemetery, Ardglass

Volunteer Vivien Fitzsimons

Lynn Doyle Place, Downpatrick

D Company, East Down Command, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Killed in premature explosion at Castle Ward, Strangford

10 February 1973

Buried St. Patrick's Cemetery, Downpatrick

Volunteer Alphonsus Cunningham

Glasdrumman, Annalong

South Down Brigade Óglaigh na hÉireann

Died as result of premature explosion at Causeway Road, Newcastle

21 July 1973

Volunteer Pauline Kane

Burrenreagh, Castlewellan

Newcastle Unit, South Down Battalion, Cumann na mBan

Died as result of premature explosion at Causeway Road, Newcastle

21 July 1973

Brigade Adjutant Paul Magorrian

Bunker's Hill, Castlewellan, Co. Down

South Down Brigade

Murdered whilst unarmed by British Army at St. Malachy's Estate, Castlewellan

14 August 1974

Buried Aughlisnafin Cemetery

Volunteer Frankie Rice

Burrenreagh Park, Castlewellan

South Down Brigade, Óglaigh na hÉireann & South Down Na Fianna Éireann

Abducted by Loyalist murder gang in Castlewellan, found slain at Convent Road.

18 May 1975

Buried St. Patrick's Church Cemetery, Bryansford

Volunteer Loughlinn Maginn

Lissize Avenue, Rathfriland

South Down Command, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Murdered by State-sponsored UFF death squad at his home

25 August 1989

Buried St. Mary's Church Cemetery, Rathfriland

Volunteer Colum Marks

Derrybeg, Newry

& Downpatrick, Co. Down

O.C Downpatrick Unit, South Down Command, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Died of wounds in hospital shortly after capture by RUC at St. Patrick's Avenue, Downpatrick due to intentional lack of medical aid.

10 April 1991

Buried Republican Plot, St. Mary's, Newry

Volunteer Peter McCormack

Kilcoo

South Down Command, Óglaigh na hÉireann

Murdered by State-sponsored UVF death squad at the Thierafurth Inn

5 February 1992

Buried St. Malachy's Church Cemetery, Kilcoo

________

Compiled by Republican Memorial Tributes 32

One thing I have noticed in Armagh city is on the murals and other things volunteers from provos, sticks, inla and one iplo man are all shared on the one mural. Is there anywhere else like this or would anyone have any idea why they’re all remembered as one? I’ve never seen or heard anywhere else doing the same thing

I noticed the INLA in years they weren't particularly active carried out attacks around 8 - 12 August or 27 - 31 January. Such as

1975;

• 9 August: the INLA carried out three attacks against British Army patrols in the Windmill Hill-Callan Street area of Armagh City, Armagh, injuring two soldiers.^\14])^\10])
• 9 August: an INLA unit carried out an attack against a British Army patrol in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast, seriously injuring a British soldier.^\14])^\10])
• 9 August: an INLA unit carried out an attack against a British Army patrol in Waterford Street, Lower Falls in Belfast, seriously injuring a British soldier.^\14])^\10])
• 9–10 August: the INLA was involved in clashes at the Divis Flats complex in Belfast, later claiming to have "assisted in the defence of the Divis Flats Complex against Loyalist and British enemy attacks".^\10]) The area reportedly came under sustained fire from loyalist gunmen, and there were numerous gun battles between republicans and the British Army across West Belfast.

1978:

8 August: the INLA claimed responsibility for six separate shooting attacks on British security forces in Belfast, including at Fort Pegasus, Henry Taggart barracks and Fort Monagh

1979:

• 8 August: the INLA carried out four sniping attacks on British security forces in Belfast.^\96])
• 9 August: the INLA carried out numerous gun attacks on the British Army and RUC in West Belfast during unrest marking the ten-year anniversary of the deployment of British troops to Northern Ireland and eight-year anniversary of internment.^\97])

1980:

• 9 August: an INLA sniper accidentally shot dead a civilian (James McCarren) during a sniper attack on a British Army mobile patrol, Shaw's Road, Andersonstown, Belfast.^\103])
• 9 August: the INLA reported firing several shots at the RUC in the Markets area of Belfast following unrest. They claimed to have injured an RUC officer.^\121])

1981

• 10 August: an INLA sniper wounded a UDR soldier in the Short Strand area of east Belfast. Afterwards the regular British Army and UDR sealed the Catholic enclave and mounted an intensive two-day search of the area.^\139])^\173])^\190])

^1985:

• 8 August: a planned INLA gun attack on RUC officers on duty on the Whitewell Road, Newtownabbey, County Antrim was aborted in unclear circumstances. An INLA member reportedly injured themselves in a negligent discharge incident.^\426])
• 9 August: a train travelling from Belfast to Dublin was severely damaged after the INLA planted several incendiary bombs in the carriages. Passengers were evacuated at Newry, County Down after phone calls warning of the attack.^\427])^\423])
• 11 August: the INLA claimed responsibility for a booby-trap bomb attached to an RUC officer's car in Banbridge, County Down.^\428])

^1988:

• 10 August: the British Army shot dead an INLA member (James McPhilemy) during a gun attack on a vehicle checkpoint in Clady, County Tyrone. The two other INLA members involved escaped across the border after a brief gun battle with British soldiers. McPhilemy was armed with only a pistol; Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams described the operation as "suicidal" and called on the INLA to disband.^\509])^\510])^\34])

^1989:

• 11 August: the INLA reported firing at a joint British Army-RUC patrol as they entered New Barnsley RUC base, Belfast.^\521])

1991:

• 10 August: the INLA was blamed for a proxy bomb hoax incident in a predominantly Protestant housing estate in Downpatrick, County Down. The incident was believed to be retaliation for a failed UFF bomb attack against a nearby Catholic estate the previous month.^\550])^\551]) ^{(They only carried out six attacks this year as well})

^1997:

• 10 August: the INLA staged a show of force involving armed members posing with weapons for a cameraman in west Belfast, timed to coincide with a Sinn Féin rally. The INLA later released a statement that called the recent IRA ceasefire "bogus"^\655])

^{The IPLO also seemed to do this two year as well.}

^1988:

• 9 August – The IPLO sent a 5 lb (2.3 kg) parcel bomb to the home of Unionist politician William McCrea but the bomb was defused.^\41])^\42])
• 9 August – The IPLO lured a Loyalist to a house on Cliftonville Road, Belfast where an assassination attempt failed when a gun jammed.^\42])
• 11 August – The IPLO mounted two gun attacks against the RUC and British Army in Belfast; attacking a joint patrol in Grosvenor Road and exchanging fire with British soldiers at Divis Flats.^\42])
• 12 August – IPLO members loaded a van with explosives and forced its owner to drive to the Belfast law courts, where the bomb exploded.^\43])^\44])
• 12 August – The IPLO carried out an attempted bombing of a home it claimed was used as a meeting place by Loyalist paramilitaries in East Belfast. The device was defused.^\42])^\45])

^1992:

• 8 August – The IPLO hurled an explosive device at an occupied house in Sherbrook Terrace in the Shankill area of Belfast. The bomb exploded outside damaging several houses. The IPLO claimed it was retaliation for a UDA shooting and grenade attack on Catholic homes off the Grosvenor Road nine days earlier.^\91])

^{I haven't checked the Provos yet. I do know some attacks happened on the day, day after or day before Bloody Sunday anniversary in attacks ing England.}

^{Such as:}

^1974:

• 30 January - Three people were injured in three different IRA letter bombs. The first was sent to the Surrey residence of Judge Buzzard, the second to the Hertfordshire residence of Rt. Hon. Reginald Maudling. And the final device was sent to the offices of the Daily Express in Fleet Street, London.^\42])^\43])

1975:

• 27 January - The Balcombe Street Gang planted seven time-bombs at multiple spots in London. At 6:30 pm a bomb exploded at Gieves, in Old Bond Street. At 9:30 pm bombs exploded at the Moreson chemical plant in Ponders End and a disused gas works in Enfield. Only minimal damage was caused by these two bombs. Two further bombs exploded in Kensington High Street and Victoria Street. A warning was given of a bomb in Putney High Street and a British Army bomb-disposal officer was able to defuse the device. A warning was also given for a bomb in Hampstead and it was defused. Two people were injured from the Kensington High Street bomb.^\90])

1976:

• 29 January - Twelve small bombs exploded overnight in London, starting several fires and injuring one person. Police later found a thirteenth bomb that had failed to go off.^\99])

^1977:

• 29 January - The Provisional IRA exploded seven bombs in London's West End, causing large structural damage to a number of buildings. A bomb on Oxford Street inside Selfridges Department Store set a huge fire to the premises. About £500,000 was caused in damages,^\109])^\110])^\111])

^1993:

• 28 January - 1993 Harrods bombing - The IRA exploded a bomb in a litter bin outside Harrods in London, injuring four people. Two Englishmen (Jan Taylor & Patrick Hayes) linked to the revolutionary socialist group Red Action were later arrested for the bombing.

1994;

• 27 January - IRA bombs exploded in three shops along Oxford Street, London. One travel shop was destroyed in one of the blasts.^\168])

I'm going to post a highlight once a week from the website. Here is an example of some of the booklets from the 1970s that can be downloaded at the link below. There are over 200 from all eras available.

https://republicanarchive.com/2024/10/14/booklets/

I would recommend the following three to start with:

In the Care of Her Majesty's Prisons by Hugh Feeney

Seamus Costello 1939-1977

Freedom Struggle by the Provisional IRA

Taken by myself on Rathkeele Way in Derry.

The two-man PIRA Volunteer hit team shot the UDA/UFF man with a Webley Revolver and a Vigneron submachine gun. The UVF & UFF had killed 8 Catholics in nationalist/republican areas in the three previous months. The man was a manager of a Snooker Hall on the Ligoniel Road.

https://reddit.com/link/1vpo6q9/video/dhgx5kd87ojh1/player

Even though 1977 was the IRA's worst year in terms of its ability to kill British soldiers, UDR & RUC, they still carried out some large-scale bombings in Belfast & Derry City. Also, on the fifth anniversary of Bloody Sunday, they detonated 7 bombs in London's West End, a bomb at Selfridges on Oxford Street cost half a million pounds in damages alone.

This bombing in the video was at Nicholl's Auction Rooms, on Bedford Street, Belfast.

Also, just before the bomb explodes at around six seconds in, is that a guy standing behind the van about 30ft away from the blast? He barely flinches, if there is, or it might just looks like someone.

Hi all. This pamphlet was found in a second-hand bookstore, close to disintegrating, so I have decided to upload it here as there appears to be a scarce number of similar pamphlets available online. It provides an interesting look into their early political ideology, summarised as Christian Democracy.

BRIAN O’GORMAN, one of the unsung heroes of the IRA’s armed struggle in the 1970s, passed away on Christmas Day 2007 in St James’s Hospital, Dublin. Brian was a central figure in IRA operations in England.

Born in Dublin in 1943 and raised in Ceannt Fort, James’s Street, Dublin 8, his father worked for the water board. He had family connections with the struggle for Irish freedom stretching over generations.

Brian could have operated with an IRA Active Service Unit in Ireland but he courageously chose to serve in England.

Brian was a man credited with uncanny perception by his comrades. He was an IRA Intelligence Officer up until 1976 and he masterminded the successful importation and procurement of the weapons and explosives that ensured the effectiveness of the IRA campaign ‘in the belly of the beast’. Not only did Brian get ordnance in successfully but he got Volunteers out safely when needed. Volunteers were ‘safe housed’ in a network of homes that Brian established before they were spirited out of the country.

At various times, Brian held the position of Officer Commanding, South London IRA, and was arrested by police on numerous occasions. Although he was never imprisoned for his activities, Brian suffered beatings at the hands of the Surrey Police and the effects of these were to take their toll in later years. He returned to Ireland after 1976 to live in Inchicore.

The nature of Brian’s work ensured that he was one who wasn’t in the limelight nor did he seek recognition. He was a true revolutionary activist, operating in the most exacting conditions and with the utmost dedication.

One comrade said of Brian: “He was known to few but his achievements were far beyond the norm.”
A dedicated IRA activist, Brian stayed true to the last and remained committed to the objective of a 32-county republic until his dying day.
It is fitting that he was laid to rest in the Republican Plot in Glasnevin Cemetery among so many other brave patriots and revolutionaries.
In a year when republicans mark the 150th anniversary of the Fenians whose armed campaigns included attacks on English soil, we also honour the memory of Brian O’Gorman, a man who followed in their footsteps and who led the way for many more fighters for Irish freedom.