Stormontgate is the name given to the controversy surrounding an alleged Provisional Irish Republican Army spy-ring based in Stormont, the parliament building of Northern Ireland. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Óglaigh na hÉireann ( IRA; also referred to as the PIRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the Parliament Buildings, known as Stormont because of its location in the Stormont area of Belfast, served as the seat of the Parliament of Northern Ireland Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of The term was coined in October 2002 after the arrest of Sinn Féin’s Northern Ireland Assembly group administrator Denis Donaldson, his son-in-law Ciarán Kearney, and former porter William Mackessy for intelligence-gathering on 4 October 2002. October 2002: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - Sinn Féin () is a political party in Ireland. The current party led by Gerry Adams was formed following a split in January 1970 Denis Martin Donaldson ( Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1950 &ndash April 4, 2006 in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland) was Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar.
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Immediate repercussions
Ten days following the arrests devolved government in Northern Ireland arising from the Good Friday Agreement collapsed. The Agreement, most often referred to as the Belfast Agreement (Comhaontú Bhéal Feirste Belfast Greeance or the Good Friday Agreement (Comhaontú Aoine an The raid involved "scores" of PSNI officers who entered the building to remove two computer disks from the Sinn Féin offices. The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the Police service that covers Northern Ireland. The raid took place in what was described as a "blaze of publicity". The two computer disks were quietly returned later. Thousands of documents were reportedly discovered by the police in Donaldson's Belfast home. Belfast ( is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of government in Northern Ireland.
Charges dropped 2005
On 8 December 2005 the charges against all three men were dropped by the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service. Events 1609 - Biblioteca Ambrosiana opens its reading room the second public library of Europe. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Lawyers for the service said that
"the prosecution for the offences in relation to the accused are no longer in the public interest". [1]
Sinn Féin claimed that the prosecutions had been politically motivated and were dropped because of lack of evidence. Some unionists suggested that dropping the charges was a "reward" for the final act of decommissioning by the Provisional IRA announced on 26 September 2005. Unionism in Ireland, is a belief in the desirability of a full constitutional and institutional relationship between Ireland and Great Britain based on the terms and The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD was established to oversee the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons in Ireland, as part of the peace The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Óglaigh na hÉireann ( IRA; also referred to as the PIRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a
British agent
On 16 December 2005, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams announced to a press conference in Dublin that Donaldson had been a spy in the pay of MI5 for over twenty years. Events 755 - An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Gerry Adams, MLA, MP (Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh born 6 October 1948 is an Irish Republican politician and abstentionist Westminster Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. This was confirmed by Donaldson in a statement to broadcast media outlet RTÉ shortly afterwards.
In his statement Donaldson described the alleged Sinn Féin spy ring in Stormont as "a scam and a fiction". [2] Adams has asserted that both the planned leaking of Donaldson's name as an informer and the original Stormontgate allegations were engineered by the security forces to discredit Sinn Féin and cause a crisis in the peace process. [3] The affair had been investigated by Nuala O'Loan, the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman, who ruled that the raid was not politically motivated. Dame Nuala Patricia O'Loan DBE (born 20 December 1951) is a noted public figure in Northern Ireland. The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland is a Non-Departmental Public Body intended to provide an independent impartial police complaints system for the people O'Loan found that the
"decision to seek a warrant authorising a search of a specific desk in the Sinn Féin offices was reasonable, proportionate and legal"
but was critical of the number of vehicles used and the scale of the police operation. [4] Normally the Ombudsman's office is given access to all relevant codenames and reports relating to informants. Yet O'Loan was unaware that Donaldson was by his own admission, an informant. Following the public unmasking of Donaldson, O'Loan stood by her 2004 judgement on the search. The Northern Ireland Office has also strenuously denied that Donaldson was an agent. The Northern Ireland Office ( NIO) is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs
Political fallout
Both the Irish and British governments have ruled out inquiries into the controversy. The Government of Ireland (Rialtas na hÉireann n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ is the Cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. Her Majesty's Government, or when the monarch is male His Majesty's Government, is the title used by the Government of the United Kingdom, based at Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) of Ireland , at that time , Mary Harney said: "I think the last thing we probably need right now is some form of inquiry which may not get very far"[5] British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain described the unfolding scandal as turbulent, but said that inquiries
"cost hundreds of millions of pounds. The Tánaiste (ˈtɑːnəʃtʲə plural Tánaistí) or more formally An Tánaiste, is the deputy prime minister of Ireland. Mary Harney (Máire Ní Áirne born 11 March 1953 is an Irish politician and is the current Minister for Health & Children. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is the chief minister in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland Peter Gerald Hain (born 16 February 1950, Nairobi, Kenya) is a British Labour Party Politician who has I am not going down that road when it is quite clear that it is not in the public interest to do so"[6]
The Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) Bertie Ahern, described events surrounding the incident as "bizarre". The Taoiseach (ˈtiːʃəx in English t̪ˠiːʃʲəx (plural Taoisigh ( or) in Irish) also referred to as An Taoiseach ( t̪ˠiːʃʲəx is the the Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern ( Irish: Pádraig Parthalán Ó hEachthairn, born 12 September 1951 is an Irish politician who served [7]
Immediately after the December revelation, unidentified security sources said that a second informer acting independently of Donaldson disclosed the alleged spy ring [1]. Former PIRA prisoner and critic of Gerry Adams, Anthony McIntyre, has claimed that a more important British agent is operating in the organisation, and that Donaldson was sacrificed by Sinn Féin to deceive people into thinking that the most serious infiltration had been ended. [8]
Donaldson killed
Since his admission Donaldson had been living in the Republic of Ireland where he was debriefed by republicans about the extent of his work for British intelligence. Denis Martin Donaldson ( Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1950 &ndash April 4, 2006 in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland) was Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. The following is a partial list of current intelligence agencies. On 4 April 2006 he was found shot dead at house he had been using as a retreat near Glenties, County Donegal. Events 1581 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Glenties (official name Na Gleannta, meaning The Glens) is a small town in the northwest of Ireland in central County Donegal. County Donegal (ˌdʌnəˈgɔːl Irish: Contae Dhún na nGall. Irish Justice Minister Michael McDowell said that Donaldson had been shot in the head and that his right forearm was almost severed. The Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform (Aire Dlí agus Cirt Comhionannais agus Athchóirithe Dlí is the senior minister at the Department of Justice Equality Michael McDowell (Mícheál Mac Dubhghaill born 29 May 1951 Senior Counsel of the Irish bar is a former Irish politician who helped found the Progressive [9] However, a post mortem revealed that he had died from a shotgun blast to the chest. Donaldson's death is now the subject of an ongoing murder inquiry.
See also
References
- ^ See BBC News Thursday, 8 December 2005 available here. The Suffix -gate derives from the Watergate scandal of the United States in the early 1970s which resulted in the resignation of U Alfredo ("Freddie" or "Frederick" Scappaticci was accused in the Irish & British media on 11 May Stakeknife is the code name of a spy who infiltrated the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA at a high level as an agent working for the top secret Operation Taurus was the name of a planned prosecution by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC against Martin McGuinness. Martin Ingram is the Pseudonym of an ex- British Army soldier who served in the Intelligence Corps and Force Research Unit (FRU
- ^ See Guardian newspaper December 17, 2005 available here.
- ^ See BBC News 17 December 2005 available here.
- ^ See Ombudsman statement for 01 August 2004 available here. Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "
- ^ See The Irish Times Dec 19, 2005 available here.
- ^ See Guardian December 20, 2005 available here.
- ^ See comments of Bertie Ahern available here.
- ^ See The Telegraph report for 20/12/2005 available here.
- ^ See Irish Times report Apr 05, 2006 available here.
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