THE IRISH OBSERVER: Plan to Murder Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 2000

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Plan to Murder Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 2000

I openly campaigned for and begun the public conversation about the release of paramilitary prisoners, at a time when it was not popular to do so. This campaign to ensure that prisoners were part and parcel of any agreement, was not a campaign based on appeasement or to ignore the victims. The campaign was based on a very clear understanding of where those prisoners’ loyalties would lie if they did not benefit from any such settlement.

Prisoners were always going to be an integral part of any political settlement or they would simply fill the ranks of those who were opposed to any effort to bring an end to the violence. However, prisoner release was never meant to proceed beyond the pace of an unequivocal end to violence by the various terrorist groupings.

This ill-considered early release of prisoners, at a time when both The British and Irish Government knew that The PIRA remained active and that The PIRA had also armed The Real IRA to use them as Proxies, was going to cause problems.

When the RUC, in an Intelligence lead operation, stopped a 500LB bomb on it way to the home of The Secretary of State, for Northern Ireland, in March 2000, the folly of this early release of prisoners was realised.

Map that made up part of The Intelligence Report that would prevent mass murder

Gerard Mag Uaid who had just been released on licence under the terms of The Good Friday Agreement was one of the four would be bombers stopped on the M1 as they prepared to bomb the residence of The Secretary of State. The Secretary of State had to embarrassingly revoke the license of Gearoid Mag Uaid

Peter Mandelson, then Secretary of State, had to revoke Mag Uaid’s licence when Mag Uaid appeared before Lisburn Magistrates Court charged with possession of a 500LB bomb.

Exclusive: Map from Intel Report that stopped Mass Murder: The Bomb destined to Murder The Secretary of State, was designed to bring the ‘peace-process’ to an end, had The Secretary of State been Murdered, it is likely that the ‘peace-process’ would have stalled for many years, as one of the Bombers was out on License!

He said: "Under the terms of the Northern Ireland Sentences Act all prisoners benefiting from early release must abide by certain conditions and they are required to sign an undertaking to that effect.

"It was made absolutely clear that anyone in breach of these conditions would have their license suspended.

"Given the circumstances I have no hesitation in suspending this individual's licence and referring his case to the Sentence Review Commissioners for consideration." All four Belfast men were charged with possession of explosives with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property or to enable others to do so.

Mag Uaid, 36, a voluntary worker from Juniper Park, Twinbrook; Joseph Gerard Kearney, 41, a taxi-driver from Juniper Court, Twinbrook; Kevin Francis Rainey, 20, a production worker from Beechmount Parade; and Michael O'Coilean McGrogan, 36, unemployed from College Square North, were remanded in custody.

McGrogan was also charged with allowing his car to be used in connection with acts of terrorism.

Magistrates remanded Mag Uaid, Kearney and McGrogan in custody to reappear at the Magistrates Court in the Maze Prison on April 5.

Rainey was remanded to reappear at Lisburn Magistrates Court on April 17.