A blast from the past ... the IRA father figure overtaken by history

IN THE foreword to Joe Cahill: A Life in the IRA (O’Brien Press, 25), Brendan Anderson explains that Cahill, a former chief of staff of the Provisional IRA, spoke to him “frankly about those things that he is free to speak about”.

One hardly expects an outlaw to be totally candid about his illegal activities, but this book provides interesting insights that are worth analysing in the light of current developments.

As a 21-year-old in 1942, Cahill was part of a diversion that went horribly wrong. He and five colleagues were to shoot over the heads of the RUC in order to create a diversion that would allow republicans to hold a parade to commemorate the Easter rebellion elsewhere in the city.