The soldier they hung out to dry to conceal government conspiracy

THE late Captain James Kelly, who died during the week, seemed almost obsessed with clearing his name for having supposedly conspired to import arms illegally in 1970. He was cleared in court, along with Charlie Haughey and two others, but some people were never prepared to accept that verdict.

Captain Kelly seized on the opportunity to clear his name by suing the author of a recent book in which his acquittal was depicted as a perverse verdict. He was awarded €70,000 in May, but he did not have long to enjoy it.

People may question the captain's judgment, but there can be no doubt that he was acting with the knowledge and approval, not only of his commanding officer, but also the Minister for Defence. The latter, who secured authorisation for Captain Kelly to go to Germany to buy the weapons, admitted that Kelly had fully briefed him on what was happening. With the opening of the State papers for 1970 a couple of years ago, Captain Kelly made a startling discovery.