A Short History of the IRA by O'Brien Brendan;

Author:O'Brien, Brendan; [Brendan O’Brien]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 5606492
Publisher: The O'Brien Press
Published: 2019-02-01T16:00:00+00:00

THE LIBYAN ARMS

The IRA’s Libyan route had been reopened for a number of years, probably since back in 1981 during the hunger-strikes period. Col Ghadaffi had been threatening to support anti-imperialist groups, including the IRA. His regime had come in for sustained attack and criticism from the Anglo–American duo of Margaret Thatcher and US President Ronald Reagan. A new low in British–Libyan relations was reached in April 1984 when a British police constable, Yvonne Fletcher, was shot dead at the Libyan Embassy in London, leading to the expulsion from Britain of Ghadaffi’s diplomatic representatives. Two years later, in April 1986, Reagan and Thatcher combined to launch no-warning air strikes on Tripoli and Benghazi from British military bases. All the while, the IRA was going through an exhaustive process of securing arms from the Libyan regime. Ghadaffi was delivering on his threats.

When the shipments came, they represented the greatest boost to the IRA arsenal in its entire history. The shipments also revealed an international intelligence lapse of mammoth proportions. Coming from Libya via Malta and using the Wicklow coast as a landing spot, about seven tons of arms were brought ashore in August 1985; a further ten tons in October 1985; fourteen tons in July 1986 and, the largest shipment, 105 tons in October 1986. It amounted to a massive haul, enough to sustain the long war for up to twenty more years. The shipments contained forty general purpose machine guns; 1,200 Kalashnikov semi-automatic assault rifles; 130 Webley revolvers; fifty pistols; 750 detonators; perhaps a million rounds of ammunition. But most importantly for the IRA leadership they had been given the equipment to intensify and escalate the armed assault against the British: about five tons of powerful Semtex commercial explosives; twenty-six huge DSHK armour-piercing Russian machine guns and ample ammunition to match; 130 RPG rocket launchers; ten surface-to-air missiles. All of this came free gratis, plus cash estimated at £2million. It was staggering and unbelievable.

Part of the deal with Ghadaffi was that none of the equipment would be used until all the shipments were in. And a fifth shipment was due. This time disaster struck. The ship, the Eksund, was seized off the French coast in October 1987. It was carrying 120 tons of arms, almost as much as all of the earlier four shipments combined. The disaster was not so much the loss of equipment. The IRA was well supplied with the successful loads, which by that stage had been hidden in bunkers, principally in the Munster area. The Eksund seizure alerted the British and Irish authorities to the contents of the first four shipments and led to a massive countrywide search of suspect houses and locations south of the Border. In those searches a great deal of disruption was caused to IRA activities and many arms and some significant bunkers were uncovered. North of the Border and in London the British authorities were now forewarned about the coming assault and knew precisely the new weaponry in IRA hands. Still, the IRA had the gear, especially the Semtex explosives.

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