Murder of Sir Norman Strong -

Sir Norman Strong




On the 22nd of January 1981 an IRA active service unit from Monaghan Town and under the leadership of IRA Commander, Jim Lynagh, carried out what most normal people would describe as a cowardly act of double murder. The IRA unit travelled in two vehicles to the picturesque village of Glaslough in County Monaghan, from here the IRA unit using a back road, crossed the border into Tynan close to Middletown in County Armagh. The IRA unit then held two families hostage and stole their cars. The IRA unit then proceeded to drive to the home (Tynan Abbey) of 86 year old Sir Norman Strong and his 48 year old son James. Sir Norman had been the former Speaker of the Stormont Government but had retired in 1969. His son James was a former Member of Parliament.



The IRA men then forced the front door of the Abbey. Upon hearing the door being forced Sir Norman and his son set off distress flares to alert the police that they were under attack. However, the IRA men continued with their plan. Sir Norman and his son James were summarily executed in the library by Jim Lynagh (shot dead 1987) and another IRA member who remains alive today. The men then planted two incendiary bombs that had been earlier prepared by Lynagh. The incendiaries had been planted in order not only to burn the Abbey but also to help destroy any possible forensic evidence of the gang’s identity. As the IRA gang tried to drive away from the Abbey in the cars they had stolen earlier, they were confronted by members of the RUC (police) who had been alerted by the flares set off minutes earlier by the now dead Sir Norman and his son James. The police car blocked the gangs escape.



Members of the IRA gang opened fire on the police and Lynagh actually jumped up onto the bonnet of one of the Police cars and opened fire at the windscreen, however, the bullet proof glass saved the police officers inside. The gang did not know that the roof was the only part of the car that was not protected against gun fire. The gang were forced to abandon their vehicles and run off into the surrounding fields. The men lead by Lynagh ran through fields and ditches until they found their way to the home of IRA supporter Harry Lavery who lived at Glaslough. Harry then arranged for transport for the men and they were eventually returned to Monaghan Town on the morning of the 23rd of January 1981. In follow up searches over the following days, Gardai detectives raided premises in Monaghan Town and arrested a number of the IRA gang. The men were found hiding in the cellar of the Round House Bar which was owned at that time by Mr Robert Loane, however, Mr Loane’s nephew, Owen Mc Cartan Smyth who worked in the bar for Mr Loane and who constantly tried to ingratiate himself with the IRA, had given the IRA men access to the cellar of his uncle’s bar.



Following these arrests Owen Smyth was warned by Jim Lynagh not to go into the north as he would be arrested for allowing the IRA men to stay in the cellar of his Uncle’s pub. However, Smyth who was described by IRA men in Monaghan as a ‘Walter Mitty’ type character ignored Lynagh’s warning, and Smyth without logical reason drove into the north where he was duly arrested. According to notes taken by an RUC Det. Sgt J. Toner, Owen Smyth had already started talking to them before the police car in which he was being transported had reached Gough Barracks in Armagh City. Over the following three days Smyth would fill dozens of pages of statements implicating republicans in Monaghan in various activities including the murders of Sir Norman Strong and his son James.



Smyth had come from a good family, his father was a school teacher and Smyth’s own siblings were teachers and Doctors, however, Owen Smyth had been unable to stay focused on anything for very long and so ended up working in his Uncle’s pub. Smyth was constantly trying to emulate other Monaghan men who were in the IRA such as Lynagh, however, to the IRA Smyth was nothing more than someone whom they could use to get free drinks or some one who would give them somewhere to hide if they were stuck. Smyth talked so much in Gough Barracks that he was eventually charged with counselling and procuring others to carry out the murders of Sir Norman Strong and his son James, he was also charged with IRA membership. While there was nothing to connect Smyth with the murders and he most certainly was not involved in the actual murders, he had talked himself into a hole.



When Smyth entered Crumlin Road Jail he asked to be placed in the Republican, A Wing, of the jail. Smyth told the IRA Intelligence Officer, big Joe (big Joe would be back in jail again in 1984 charged with the murder of Mary Travers), that he had remained silent during his detention. However, Smyth also befriended a young boy from Monaghan when he was in Crumlin Road Jail, and Smyth told this young boy that he had indeed been the brains behind the plan that lead to the murder of Sir Norman and his son James. As Smyth’s trial approached Smyth was forced to admit that he had in fact signed many, many statements. Word was sent to the IRA in Monaghan that Smyth had touted and the IRA had expected as much. When Smyth went before the Courts he denied the charges. The case against Smyth was transferred from Belfast to Dublin so that the trial judge could hear certain evidence. Mr Justice Hamilton in Dublin said Smyth was a liar when he alleged he had not been offered the opportunity of trial in the Republic under the Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1975. Smyth was returned to Belfast where the more serious charges were dropped on a ‘technicality’ and Smyth would serve only a couple of years for IRA membership.



There was serious pressure on Jim Lynagh to take action against Smyth; however, it was thought that in the interests of Sinn Fein in Monaghan such punishment would only back fire. Upon his release Smyth failed to turn up for a party that had been arranged for him in the Clara Inn, at Park Street, Monaghan Town. Smyth was certain that certain individuals whom he had named would take action against him; however, such reprisals were simply in his imagination. It was standard procedure for individuals like Smyth to be allowed to carry on menial tasks for the movement as long as they had not given States evidence against republicans. Normally it was only those touts who had been in the pay of the police who were shot, although it all depended on the merits of each case, if the republican movement had shot every tout and agent in its ranks there would have been a lot of bodies. Even Super-grasses who had retracted their evidence were allowed back into the ranks of the republican movement, Bow Scally, Rab Mc Allister and others were allowed back into the republican A Wing, in Crumlin Road Jail, once they retracted their evidence, although they were never trusted with operational details. Depending on their abilities they could simply be asked to put up posters at election time or they could be nominated to run for Sinn Fein in local council elections, where their minds would be occupied with waste disposal and street cleaning.



In 1984 Jim Lynagh’s brother-in-law Seamus Shannon would face extradition from the Irish Republic in relation to his alleged role in the murders of Sir Norman Strong and his son James in 1981. Shannon’s extradition was directly linked to statements made against him by Smyth while Smyth was in Gough Barracks. Shannon claimed in the Dublin High Court that the murder of Sir Norman and his son James were political acts; however, the High Court judge stated that:



These crimes are so brutal, cowardly and callous that it would be a distortion of language if they were to be accorded the status of political offence.



While Shannon was extradited, the charges were eventually dismissed, due to lack of evidence. Shannon had plenty to say about Owen Smyth while he was in Crumlin Road Jail, but upon his acquittal Shannon was happy enough to return to the pub that had now been signed over to Smyth and enjoy a free pint.



Three weeks before the summary execution of Jim Lynagh and seven other IRA volunteers at Loughgall it is known that Patrick (Paddy) Kelly had travelled to Monaghan Town to meet Lynagh. Lynagh was not to be found and Kelly went to the Round House Bar to inquire if Lynagh was about. This was a cruel mistake; Kelly was unaware that this would be the first indicator the security forces would have that a major operation was being planned. When two people like Kelly and Lynagh were getting together the security forces knew that something big was going to happen. It is also worth mentioning that many republicans from the north who travelled south had a very naive understanding of how the Gardai operated. This was particularly evident after the IRA cease-fire announcement in 1994 when republicans went to RUC stations in West Belfast and wrote Gardai on them. It is clear that none of these ‘republicans’ had ever been held by the Gardai, under Section 30 of The Offences Against The State Act, if they had, they would have known that the Gardai were just as capable of being heavy handed as the RUC when dealing with IRA members, in fact in my own experience the RUC were much more curtailed by Human Rights and civil liberties legislation than were An Garda Siochana (Irish Police).



However, this would not be an end to Smyth’s lose talk. Smyth would in 1991 face charges of falsely imprisoning, Peter North, of Wattlebridge, Newtownbutler, Co Fermanagh, he was also charged with possessing a gun and explosives with intent to endanger life on November 22nd 1990. The only evidence against Smyth was his own alleged admissions to Gardai. At this point Smyth had been allowed to run for Sinn Fein in the urban elections in Monaghan and his arrest and alleged admissions caused embarrassment for the republican movement in Monaghan, which was and remains one of their few support bases in the Republic.



None of the above suggests that Smyth was not willing to ingratiate himself with the IRA. There is no doubt that he was willing to make himself, his property and his vehicle available to the IRA, however, Smyth like so many other fantasists who attached themselves to the IRA would never have been trusted with the operational details of any IRA operation, this did not mean that he did not have access to information. Unfortunately due to the way the republican movement operates few would have access to the information stated here and so it was that many republicans would have simply assumed that Smyth could have been trusted as he done time for IRA membership. Due to the location of the Bar that was given to Owen Smyth by his Uncle, uninformed republicans would drop into Smyth’s bar and assume it was a safe place and that he was someone with whom inquiries could be made. This would be a cruel mistake.



IRA activists such as Michael Pete Ryan, who was having an affair with the wife of Owen Smyth’s brother (Dr Brian Smyth) Dr Marian Smyth, appeared unable to realise that his open relationship with Dr Smyth was frowned upon by Owen who felt his family was being disgraced, Smyth however never openly confronted Ryan about his affair with Dr Marian Smyth. Pete Ryan’s motor bike would be openly parked outside Dr Smyth’s house each morning and this was a real bone of contention for Owen Smyth. Dr Marian Smyth would have a child (Michael) to Pete Ryan and Pete Ryan would be shot dead by the SAS in 1991. It is believed that someone talked out of shop and Laurence Mc Nally’s car was followed to the border as his friend dropped him off to travel with Ryan and Tony Doris to carry out an attack on a member of the security forces in Tyrone. There is no doubt that lose talk cost lives, however that lose talk had to be collected by someone and passed to their handlers in the security forces.



Smyth continued to get by on lies and half truths and most serious republicans simply ignored his actions. In 1998 Smyth turned up a press conference in New York that was being hosted by Bernadette Mc Kevitt Sands and her 32 County Sovereignty Committee. Bernadette was critical of the peace process and as she spoke the New York Observer recorded the following:



A burly Sinn Fein councillor from Monaghan Town called Owen Smyth, stood up in the audience and said: “I have been imprisoned and there have been four attempts on my life and I continue to support the Adams leadership”.



Of course non of the audience gathered there would have known that the only reason Smyth done time was because he was a tout, and there has never been a single attempt on his life, except those that he has invented or manufactured himself in order to garner publicity for himself. This can be confirmed with Kevin Mc Kenna, now retired to a pub in Smithboro, County Monaghan, or any other serious IRA player in Monaghan.



Smyth unable to garner his thirst for publicity through Sinn Fein created a proxy journalist through whom Smyth could exude his petty vindictiveness against those whom he despised because of their personal abilities and what he would have regarded as their success and status. Patrick ‘the dwarf’ Tierney was known in Monaghan Town as a drunk and had been given the menial task of selling An Phoblacht around a small housing estate in Monaghan Town (Belgium Park). However, Owen Smyth who regularly filled Tierney’s glass free of charge asked Tierney if he would be interested in making some money. Smyth told Tierney that he wanted someone to issue press releases as if they were coming from an independent sourse rather than from Smyth himself. Smyth told Tierney that he could get two ‘journalists’ to propose and second him in order that he might obtain a National Union of Journalist (NUJ) card, and this would allow him to get paid as a freelance journalist. Tierney short of money and intellect agreed and was sworn to secrecy.



Smyth then approached two ‘journalists’ in Monaghan and both being fond of the drink were easy to convince that proposing and seconding Tierney would be helpful to Sinn Fein. Tierney then began to issue Press releases that had been written by Owen Smyth, these press releases were normally issued from the Round House Bar and usually presented Smyth as a man of stature and reliability. Smyth also issued press releases through Tierney to discredit Sinn Fein TD, CO’C, whom Smyth despised because of his status within the republican movement. It was Smyth who informed the media that CO’C was in difficulty with the Department of Social Welfare, having claimed money that he was not entitled to claim.



Tierney was a willing partner in this relationship and could be regularly seen falling drunk out of the Round House bar that was owned and run by Smyth. The Smyth Tierney relationship would reach fever pitch when former IRA member turned anti-terrorist campaigner, Vincent Mc Kenna, faced charges of sexual assault. Smyth despised Mc Kenna as much as he despised CO’C, Mc Kenna had left behind his association with the republican movement in Monaghan and had went on to be educated as a mature student at Queens University in Belfast. Mc Kenna had become a fierce critic of the criminality and sectarianism of Sinn Fein/IRA and was regularly featured on CNN, CBS and other media around the world. It would be Owen Smyth’s sister-in-law, Dr Marian Smyth who would be involved in the claims of sexual assault against Mc Kenna. Mc Kenna’s ex-wife worked as a cleaner for Dr Marian Smyth and Fiona’s fondness of the drink made her an easy target for manipulation. Both Dr Marian Smyth and Owen Smyth meet on many occasions in order to generate further publicity against Mc Kenna. Smyth would go on to claim in the Irish Voice and British Independent that Mc Kenna had never been in the republican movement and was never trusted, this of course was Smyth’s way of trying to conceal the fact that he (Smyth) made dozens of statements against Monaghan Republicans when he was arrested by the RUC.



Before Mc Kenna’s release from prison in My 2005, Owen Smyth issued a press statement through Tierney, the press release invented by Smyth and Tierney stated that a group called ‘Families Against Paedophiles’ in Monaghan were going to kill Mc Kenna upon his release. Tierney was paid thousands of Euro by media outlets all over the country for a story that he and Smyth had invented. Following many years of internal dispute about Smyth’s bizarre behaviour, Smyth was finally gone from the republican movement. However, even Smyth’s former colleagues on Monaghan Urban Council became tired of him. Smyth had asked Sinn Fein members to table a motion:



(a) That Monaghan Town Council supports the call by former Monaghan Town Councillor, Owen Smyth, for an independent inquiry into the circumstances concerning his arrest, detention, charging and the Garda handling of the surrounding incidents in 1991.



The motion was rejected. Smyth even in the face of overwhelming evidence continued to seek out publicity for his Walter Mitty type existence. Indeed Smyth has even placed a short video on You Tube where he claims that he taught Jim Lynagh everything he knew, the same Jim Lynagh that said of Smyth:



“I would not trust him to deliver a pizza”.



By 2008 Smyth was finished, republicans no longer drank in his pub and he was forced to close up shop and sell his pub which is presently being turned into offices. In July 2010 Owen Smyth, the man who regularly claimed to his customers and anyone who would listen to him, that he was unable to go into the north as the Brits were after him, openly attended a funeral in County Tyrone and was ignored by many life long republicans who attended the same funeral.