- Harry Kirkpatrick
Henry 'Harry' Kirkpatrick (born c. 1958) is a former
Irish National Liberation Army member turned informer against other members of the INLA. In February 1983 Kirkpatrick was arrested on multiple charges including the murder of two policemen, twoUDR soldiers, and Hugh McGinn, a Catholic member of theTerritorial Army . ["Five life terms...";The Times ; 4 Jun 1983; pg1 col G ]Following his segregation from other Republican prisoners the INLA kidnapped his wife Elizabeth, in order to expose a deal they believed he was making with the
Special Branch . ["Wife seized by INLA";The Times 17 May 1983; pg32 col A ] They would later kidnap his sister and his step-father too. All were released unharmed. INLA Chief of StaffDominic McGlinchey is supposed to have carried out the execution of Kirkpatrick's lifelong friend Gerard 'Sparky' Barkley because it was believed that he may have revealed the whereabouts of the Kirkpatrick family members to the police.Lost Lives, 2007 edition, ISBN 1-84018-504-X]Despite the kidnap, in May 1983 ten men were charged with various offences based on evidence from Kirkpatrick. Those charged included
Irish Republican Socialist Party vice-chairman Kevin McQuillan and former councillor Sean Flynn. IRSP chairman James Brown was charged with the murder of a police officer. [Ulster Youths throw..."; The Times"'; 23 May 1983; pg2 col A] Others escaped; Jim Barr, an IRSP member named by Kirkpatrick as part of the INLA, fled to the USA where, having spent 17 months in jail, he won political asylum in 1993. [USA v. James Barr: 84-CR-00272 ] [Greer 1990]Convictions
In December 1985 27 people were convicted based on Kirkpatrick's statements. By December 1986 24 would have their convictions overturned.
Gerard Steenson was given five life sentences for the deaths of the same five individuals that Kirkpatrick himself had been convicted of. These included UDR soldier Colin Quinn shot in Belfast in December 1980. In addition Steenson was convicted for the murder of UVF volunteer Trevor King.Aftermath
The distrust and division that they sowed were the final act in splitting former comrades into warring factions and leading to the formation of the
Irish People's Liberation Organisation and leading to that organisation's murderous feud with the INLA in which 16 people were killed.Kirkpatrick was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. ["Letters to the Editor";
Edgar Graham ;The Times ; 17 Sep 1983 ] . It was recommended that he serve ten years as compared to the then normal tariff of twenty years plus. ["Will supergrass sow...";The Times; 13 Sep 1983; pg12 col B ]He is now living under a secret identity, whereabouts unknown.
ource and References
*INLA Deadly Divisions (Holland and McDonald)
Further reading
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/troubles/factfiles/inla.shtml "Paramilitaries - Irish National Liberation Army", BBC History]
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