{"id":2402,"date":"2013-09-18T09:31:14","date_gmt":"2013-09-18T08:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.longkeshinsideout.co.uk\/?p=2402"},"modified":"2013-09-18T09:31:14","modified_gmt":"2013-09-18T08:31:14","slug":"martin-mcguinness-ex-chief-of-staff-or-just-northern-commander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.longkeshinsideout.co.uk\/?p=2402","title":{"rendered":"Martin McGuinness: Ex Chief of Staff-or just Northern Commander?"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the day when Martin McGuinness–Deputy First Minister–is asked to speak at a ceremony in Warrington remembering thos killed by an IRA bomb we post a revealing interview given some years back to reporter Tom Mangold.
\nThis article first appeared in www.thebrokenelbow.com<\/a> .<\/p>\n

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New post on The Broken Elbow<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n

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\u201cAs The Officer Commanding The Derry Part Of The \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 IRA\u2026?\u201d \u2013 That Tom Mangold Interview With Martin McGuinness Now \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 On\u00a0YouTube<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

by The Broken Elbow<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Many thanks to \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Wicklow” for this tip that the famous Tom Mangold interview \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 with a young Martin McGuinness is now on YouTube, the one which begins \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 with the celebrated question: “As the officer commanding the Derry \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 part of the IRA Provisionals….?<\/p>\n

It was, allegedly, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the threat that this interview would be used against him that persuaded \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 him both to give evidence to the Saville Tribunal confirming his IRA \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 membership at the time of Bloody Sunday and to refine the description of \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 his IRA career so that he supposedly left the organisation back in 1974<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Up until then the \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 report in the London Independent<\/em> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 below<\/span><\/a> was how he normally dealt with the matter, which \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 more or less accorded with the traditional stance of IRA members when \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 confronted by the membership question, i.e. a non-denial denial. Given \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 his conviction in a Dublin court for IRA offences and his courtroom boast \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 of his pride at being an IRA activist he could hardly do anything else. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Unencumbered by such baggage, Gerry Adams is on the other hand able to \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 issue flat denials of IRA associations.<\/p>\n

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Wearing a moustache, Martin McGuinness in Garda custody \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 prior to one of his court appearances in Dublin<\/p>\n

The report, which was \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 published in August 1993, appeared after a screening of the Cook Report \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 on ITV which claimed that he was “the man in charge of the \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 IRA”. McGuinness’ assertion that he was not the Chief of Staff was \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 actually correct. Tom ‘Slab’ Murphy held that job. But his claim that he \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 was not a member of the IRA was untrue. He was Northern Commander in 1993, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 or just had been, and since the IRA’s war was fought largely in the North \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 one could argue that he was a very important member of the IRA at least, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 if not the man actually in charge. Here is the relevant part of The Independent<\/em> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 report:<\/p>\n

Mr McGuinness did not \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 appear on the programme, but yesterday gave a series of interviews in \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 which he denied its claims. He told a BBC interviewer that as a young man \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 he ‘took up a particular stance which I’m not prepared to elaborate on in \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 this programme’.<\/em><\/p>\n

Asked if he had ever \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 been a member of the IRA, he replied: ‘I’m not stating any opinion at all \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 about what I was in the past. What I’m saying is I’m not a member of the \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 IRA. I’m not chief of staff of the IRA and I’m not Britain’s number one \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 terrorist.’<\/em><\/p>\n

After his appearance \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 at the Saville Tribunal, McGuinness’ narrative was polished so that while \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 he was not denying IRA membership in the early 1970’s, he insisted he had \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 left the organisation in 1974 or thereabouts. For reasons that defy \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 understanding his half-lie is paraded by some in the media as evidence of \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 his ethical superiority to Gerry Adams when in fact it is qualitatively \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 no different and arguably is worse.<\/p>\n

Anyway here is the \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 YouTube video. The Mangold part is about half way through and starts at 4 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 minutes 30 seconds. Enjoy:<\/p>\n

The Broken Elbow<\/span><\/a><\/strong> | September 12, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2013 at 10:59 am | Categories: Uncategorized<\/span><\/a> | URL: http:\/\/wp.me\/p1iwpM-Da<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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