Secret Soldiers Ulster

A true story about the authors experience as a young Catholic soldier who finds himself involved in intelligence work in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s during the worst part of the Provisional IRA campaign. Often working undercover and involved in all kinds of 'dirty tricks', he narrowly misses capture and death at the hands of his enemies. David's life is complicated by his falling for a beautiful republican girl who is on the fringes of the IRA and is eventually driven out of Ulster by her Special Branch tormentors. The task though was "The collection, collation and dissemination of intelligence." To this end David did everything from reading the newspapers to covertly photographing terrorist suspects, from interrogation and surveillance, to dirty tricks. Anything short of open criminality was acceptable. The fact that even his superiors often had little idea exactly what his role was, added to a feeling of freedom of action. A vivid description of the border war raged by the IRA, against the towns and villages of Counties Fermanagh and Tyrone, in the early seventies. It is a true story taken from the author's firsthand experience with historically valuable photographic evidence. An unlikely and dangerous love story which took place during a major conflict, fought on our very own doorstep that to a great extent was won by intelligence and covert actions. As well as being a recognition of unsung heroes, with their stories put in the public domain for the first time, this book takes a close look at the political machinations and secret double dealings that the government of the Irish Republic engaged in at that time.