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This
week's release of the highly anticipated A Secret
History of the IRA has generated a level of public
interest rarely associated with a book. Since last
Sunday's serialisation in the Sunday Tribune
followed by a Monday launch in London, the book has
been the subject of discussion and debate in both
print and broadcast media. Written by the award winning
journalist, Ed Moloney, it claims to offer an unrivalled
insight into the IRA and in particular into the alleged
role played by one man in taking the organisation
from being one of the most competent guerrilla forces
in the western world, waging a long war against a
finely tuned capitalist state, to a position of effective
defeat.
Although
the book is 600 pages in length and addresses what
is a highly complex process, the media spotlight has
focussed almost exclusively on one particular incident
- the 1972 kidnapping and subsequent disappearance
of Belfast mother of ten Jean McConville and the suggested
role of Gerry Adams in her fate. Allegations of previous
involvement in war crime, no matter how distant in
time, will cause serious concern for any politician
with the slightest awareness of the pitfalls of public
perception, especially when situated in an ever growing
discourse of human rights. Yet Professor
Paul Bew of Queen's University reminds those who
read this book:
But
even now, is there any hard proof against the Sinn
Fein president? Mr Moloney relies heavily on a range
of interviews with republican activists, many of
whom, it will be said, have an axe to grind against
the leader who brilliantly manipulated them to the
point where the IRA campaign ended without achieving
its stated objective of British withdrawal from
Ireland.
What
real novelty and value this book may lay claim to
will be put to the test of fire in its ability to
persuade its readership that the received wisdom on
the peace process - largely encapsulated in the work
of Eamonn Mallie and David McKittrick - is in fact
deeply flawed, and that an alternative explanation
offered by Ed Moloney is more consistent with the
evidence which is at present available.
The
substance of this book is certain to be contentious
and is likely, for some time to come, to shape the
ground on which claim and counter-claim shall lock
horns. Already, some senior Sinn Fein figures are
implying that it should be ignored. Contrary to such
a stifling authoritarian attitude toward public discussion
it is the intention of The Blanket to remain
consistent with its own libertarian ethos of openness.
Therefore, this journal will strive to carry as many
reviews as possible regardless of the slant of the
reviewer. Commentary pieces from our readership are,
as always, most welcome.
Ed
Moloney, despite infantile claims by some that he
is only concerned with selling books, is a journalist
of immense integrity who at one time risked imprisonment
to protect the integrity of his work. His contribution
to public knowledge on this occasion is the end result
of four years endeavour. He makes no claim to the
work being the definitive word. In the same humble
spirit so it should be read.
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