1:52:14 > 1:52:16Tonight on Spotlight...
1:52:16 > 1:52:18Thomas "Slab" Murphy -
1:52:18 > 1:52:21millionaire smuggler,
1:52:21 > 1:52:23IRA godfather.
1:52:23 > 1:52:26He was the one that sent those people out to commit murder
1:52:26 > 1:52:27on behalf of the IRA.
1:52:27 > 1:52:31Thomas Murphy awaits sentencing following his conviction
1:52:31 > 1:52:37in the Republic for tax offences, and now faces the prospect of jail.
1:52:37 > 1:52:41I am on a journey to discover how he was brought to book
1:52:41 > 1:52:44and how decades of IRA terror brought him
1:52:44 > 1:52:47a multi-million-pound criminal empire.
1:52:51 > 1:52:55I want to know why the Sinn Fein leadership moved to defend
1:52:55 > 1:52:58their one-time comrade in arms as a hero,
1:52:58 > 1:53:02just weeks before a crucial election.
1:53:02 > 1:53:05What we have achieved in the North of Ireland
1:53:05 > 1:53:08over the last 20 years has been nothing short of amazing.
1:53:08 > 1:53:10The amazing wouldn't have happened without
1:53:10 > 1:53:13the support of people like Tom Murphy.
1:53:15 > 1:53:17In searching for the answers,
1:53:17 > 1:53:22we reveal a hidden history that some prefer would remain in the past.
1:53:24 > 1:53:28There was a great desire by the British Government to not admit
1:53:28 > 1:53:32that the IRA were still active in crime, or active at all.
1:53:55 > 1:53:58It's show time.
1:53:58 > 1:54:02For Sinn Fein, the forthcoming election in the Republic may bring
1:54:02 > 1:54:04its greatest electoral reward -
1:54:04 > 1:54:07government on both sides of the border.
1:54:07 > 1:54:09But the party's rush to the defence
1:54:09 > 1:54:11of a convicted tax evader has,
1:54:11 > 1:54:14for some, tested its credibility.
1:54:18 > 1:54:21The recent conviction of party colleague and senior IRA man
1:54:21 > 1:54:25Thomas Murphy for agricultural tax offences
1:54:25 > 1:54:29marked the culmination of years of work by authorities north and south.
1:54:32 > 1:54:34It's the only conviction of a man
1:54:34 > 1:54:37who says he makes his living from farming -
1:54:37 > 1:54:39but whom authorities believe controlled
1:54:39 > 1:54:42a vast smuggling operation
1:54:42 > 1:54:47that has exploited oil, cigarettes, even farm subsidies.
1:54:49 > 1:54:51Murphy's position right on the border -
1:54:51 > 1:54:54it ran literally through his property -
1:54:54 > 1:54:58allowed him, authorities say, to exploit and cheat the revenue
1:54:58 > 1:55:01north and south for decades.
1:55:01 > 1:55:05The officers were in the South of Ireland, and the main generating
1:55:05 > 1:55:07oil industry within the North of Ireland,
1:55:07 > 1:55:10so you can imagine an imaginary line going through the building,
1:55:10 > 1:55:12so that meant the officers had
1:55:12 > 1:55:15to come from both sides, to actually conduct, shall we say,
1:55:15 > 1:55:17a professional search.
1:55:21 > 1:55:25In recent years, Murphy has been the subject of a number of raids.
1:55:25 > 1:55:30This raid in 2013 was a major cross-border operation.
1:55:35 > 1:55:40But the origins of his current conviction lie over a decade ago,
1:55:40 > 1:55:44when Murphy moved to publicly claim that he was just a simple farmer.
1:55:46 > 1:55:50Former Assistant Chief Constable Alan McQuillan was attending
1:55:50 > 1:55:53a cross-border police conference in Dublin at the time,
1:55:53 > 1:55:56when his attention was drawn to a TV news report.
1:55:57 > 1:56:00A senior Garda officer came to me and said,
1:56:00 > 1:56:02"Quick, come and see this."
1:56:02 > 1:56:05He said that he was a simple farmer.
1:56:05 > 1:56:08At that point my Garda colleague turned round and said,
1:56:08 > 1:56:09"Fuck me, I've got him."
1:56:09 > 1:56:12He said, "For years he's been refusing to put in a tax return,
1:56:12 > 1:56:16"saying he has no income. He's just admitted that he's a farmer.
1:56:16 > 1:56:19"He's filed false tax returns."
1:56:19 > 1:56:22And he said, "I've got enough now to open an investigation."
1:56:22 > 1:56:27Murphy's own words, in effect, led the authorities to his door.
1:56:27 > 1:56:32Just months later, Felix McKenna led a major cross-border raid
1:56:32 > 1:56:33on Murphy's complex.
1:56:35 > 1:56:39For the frantic efforts they were making when we hit the scene,
1:56:39 > 1:56:41and hit the locations ourselves,
1:56:41 > 1:56:47I would say the max they would have had warning was about 30 minutes.
1:56:50 > 1:56:54The Army were out in force with us as well, plus helicopters,
1:56:54 > 1:56:56uniformed PSNI and British Army.
1:56:56 > 1:57:00As our officers drove into one of the residences, they were met
1:57:00 > 1:57:04by a car, discarding items, throwing them into the ditch,
1:57:04 > 1:57:07in various places, like hard drives and disks.
1:57:07 > 1:57:10There was a kind of panic and a frantic effort to, kind of,
1:57:10 > 1:57:14hide and conceal material that we would have been searching for.
1:57:17 > 1:57:21In that farmyard and cattle shed, they located a number of black
1:57:21 > 1:57:25plastic bags, concealed in the bales of straw or hay.
1:57:25 > 1:57:30In them plastic bags we found large amounts of cash,
1:57:30 > 1:57:35strangely enough company records, ledgers, computers, hard drives
1:57:35 > 1:57:39and disks, and that painted a picture of what was going on.
1:57:39 > 1:57:43But it's the timing of Thomas Murphy's conviction
1:57:43 > 1:57:45that is both highly symbolic
1:57:45 > 1:57:48and politically inconvenient for Sinn Fein.
1:57:51 > 1:57:54The Irish State is heading to the polls, at a time
1:57:54 > 1:57:57when the country is preparing to honour and commemorate
1:57:57 > 1:57:59its Republican heroes.
1:58:02 > 1:58:05And as the election campaign gets underway,
1:58:05 > 1:58:07all the parties must decide,
1:58:07 > 1:58:11when is a Republican a good Republican?
1:58:16 > 1:58:18I'm pretty good on 1916.
1:58:18 > 1:58:20It's about all I know about, so if you've any questions,
1:58:20 > 1:58:22throw them out there.
1:58:22 > 1:58:26Lorcan Collins has run tours celebrating the people and places
1:58:26 > 1:58:28of the Easter Rising for 20 years.
1:58:29 > 1:58:31A lot of money would flood in,
1:58:31 > 1:58:34would be used by the Fenians or the IRB to buy weapons.
1:58:34 > 1:58:38We get some from Germany in 1914,
1:58:38 > 1:58:41in a shipment that came in in a place called Howth.
1:58:41 > 1:58:45We did try the democratic process but we got nowhere.
1:58:45 > 1:58:48The next thing would be they'd distribute those weapons
1:58:48 > 1:58:51around the west coast, and the uprising would kick off
1:58:51 > 1:58:52on Easter Sunday, OK?
1:58:52 > 1:58:55So what can go wrong? Well, it's Ireland,
1:58:55 > 1:58:57so everything goes wrong at the last minute, all right?
1:59:07 > 1:59:09Dublin became a battleground.
1:59:09 > 1:59:12But confusion over the arrival of arms for the rebels
1:59:12 > 1:59:16led to the Rising being cancelled in many other parts of Ireland.
1:59:17 > 1:59:20Those who carried on seized the General Post Office,
1:59:20 > 1:59:24before losing to the might of an imperial army.
1:59:26 > 1:59:30The Rising had ultimately failed in its aims.
1:59:30 > 1:59:32The city did not fall to the rebels.
1:59:32 > 1:59:36The ringleaders were rounded up and executed.
1:59:38 > 1:59:41The rebellion and the image of the rebel leaders
1:59:41 > 1:59:43who died for their country
1:59:43 > 1:59:48gave new life to the idea of a blood sacrifice for a united Ireland.
1:59:55 > 1:59:58You don't have to be the winner to be the victor -
1:59:58 > 2:00:01that's a key aspect of 1916 Uprising.
2:00:05 > 2:00:08So history is obviously a living thing for Lorcan,
2:00:08 > 2:00:10who runs these tours on a daily basis,
2:00:10 > 2:00:12but the 1916 Rising,
2:00:12 > 2:00:15its significance and its commemoration
2:00:15 > 2:00:18will certainly feed into the forthcoming elections
2:00:18 > 2:00:21here in the Republic soon.
2:00:21 > 2:00:26I think the 1916 commemorations are undoubtedly part of the context
2:00:26 > 2:00:27for the general election.
2:00:27 > 2:00:29Most of the debate in the South around 1916
2:00:29 > 2:00:31has actually been pretty mature.
2:00:31 > 2:00:34Ten or 15 years ago, it would have been completely polarised
2:00:34 > 2:00:38between people saying, "These people were terrorists and criminals",
2:00:38 > 2:00:40and people saying they were saints and martyrs.
2:00:40 > 2:00:42I think most people now know that it's somewhere in between.
2:00:44 > 2:00:46Thomas Murphy's upcoming sentencing
2:00:46 > 2:00:50may determine where he spends Easter 2016 -
2:00:50 > 2:00:54a time when Republican heroes of old will be commemorated.
2:00:55 > 2:00:58For some, Thomas Murphy is the manifestation
2:00:58 > 2:01:01of a modern Republican hero.
2:01:01 > 2:01:05Sinn Fein's defence of the so-called Good Republican, however,
2:01:05 > 2:01:07has left the party open to criticism
2:01:07 > 2:01:10that it's more interested in protecting its own
2:01:10 > 2:01:12than respecting the rule of law.
2:01:17 > 2:01:20Thomas Murphy, known as Slab,
2:01:20 > 2:01:23is a man who has fought hard to keep his IRA past a secret.
2:01:26 > 2:01:29His ascent to IRA leadership began in the 1960s.
2:01:32 > 2:01:37Former senior IRA member Kieran Conway, now a solicitor,
2:01:37 > 2:01:40first met Murphy in the early 1970s.
2:01:42 > 2:01:45I was Director of Intelligence.
2:01:45 > 2:01:50I went to a series of meetings in the border areas with the IRA.
2:01:50 > 2:01:53And that would be the first time I met Tom Murphy.
2:01:53 > 2:01:58We might discuss mutual acquaintances or, you know,
2:01:58 > 2:02:00a bad IRA operation, or, er...
2:02:02 > 2:02:06Or whatever, but no, no, the small talk would be very minimal.
2:02:06 > 2:02:10In the mid 1980s, Conway was arrested with Murphy,
2:02:10 > 2:02:12just over the border in County Louth,
2:02:12 > 2:02:14on suspicion of IRA membership.
2:02:16 > 2:02:18I think it was just a routine meeting, as far as I recall.
2:02:18 > 2:02:22They were probably making arrangements for something or other.
2:02:22 > 2:02:25But just to be sure, you were on IRA business?
2:02:25 > 2:02:27Oh, absolutely, yeah, yeah, yeah.
2:02:37 > 2:02:42The area had become a war zone for police and army.
2:02:42 > 2:02:47For the IRA, under its leading lights like Thomas Murphy,
2:02:47 > 2:02:49it was a fortress.
2:02:49 > 2:02:51It was the safest area in Ireland to be in.
2:02:51 > 2:02:54It was safer than Kerry or Cork or anywhere.
2:02:54 > 2:03:00South Armagh was the centre for experimentation with explosives,
2:03:00 > 2:03:02test firing weapons, er,
2:03:02 > 2:03:06mortars, rockets, various other items,
2:03:06 > 2:03:10and also as a centre for the interrogation of suspect informers.
2:03:13 > 2:03:15For the security forces, however,
2:03:15 > 2:03:19South Armagh was one of the most dangerous postings...
2:03:21 > 2:03:23..in the world.
2:03:24 > 2:03:28Soldiers who served there have been long familiar with Thomas Murphy
2:03:28 > 2:03:30and the IRA unit he led.
2:03:31 > 2:03:34Colonel Richard Kemp worked in intelligence
2:03:34 > 2:03:38at the Cabinet Office after several tours in Northern Ireland.
2:03:39 > 2:03:42My role, both when I was in intelligence in Northern Ireland
2:03:42 > 2:03:45and in London, was to monitor the activities
2:03:45 > 2:03:46of the Provisional IRA.
2:03:46 > 2:03:51Thomas Murphy, of course, remained a major player in the IRA operations,
2:03:51 > 2:03:53throughout all of these years.
2:03:55 > 2:03:59I had access to the intelligence that was available
2:03:59 > 2:04:02to the British Army and to the British Government,
2:04:02 > 2:04:06and that did include information about what Murphy's activities were
2:04:06 > 2:04:10and his links to other members of the IRA and his position
2:04:10 > 2:04:11and the reason for it.
2:04:14 > 2:04:19Thomas Murphy had risen to a senior position in the South Armagh IRA
2:04:19 > 2:04:21by the early 1970s.
2:04:21 > 2:04:24And the IRA in South Armagh has been linked to
2:04:24 > 2:04:27some of the bloodiest attacks of the Troubles.
2:04:31 > 2:04:34Narrow Water - 18 soldiers killed.
2:04:38 > 2:04:41The murder off the coast of Sligo of Lady Brabourne,
2:04:41 > 2:04:46Lord Mountbatten, his grandson as a local boy that same day.
2:04:51 > 2:04:54A series of border bombings.
2:05:04 > 2:05:05Civilian killings.
2:05:10 > 2:05:12RUC Murders.
2:05:14 > 2:05:18And the shooting dead of so-called IRA informers.
2:05:20 > 2:05:23We were briefed on the main IRA terrorists
2:05:23 > 2:05:24operating in South Armagh.
2:05:24 > 2:05:27Was Thomas Murphy on that list?
2:05:27 > 2:05:29Thomas Murphy was one of the main people on that list -
2:05:29 > 2:05:32in fact, he was... As we understood it,
2:05:32 > 2:05:35he was the head of the Provisional IRA in South Armagh.
2:05:35 > 2:05:37We did not believe that he was necessary the trigger man,
2:05:37 > 2:05:41the one who would actually position the bombs or pull the trigger
2:05:41 > 2:05:44of a sniper rifle, but we did know that he was the one that sent
2:05:44 > 2:05:47those people out to commit murder on behalf of the IRA.
2:05:49 > 2:05:50On the watchtowers,
2:05:50 > 2:05:55attempted morale-boosting visits by ministers came and went.
2:05:55 > 2:05:58The IRA's armed campaign continued.
2:06:00 > 2:06:04During my tour in South Armagh in 1986, we lost three soldiers
2:06:04 > 2:06:07from my battalion, the 2nd Royal Anglians.
2:06:08 > 2:06:10The first one was Major Andrew French,
2:06:10 > 2:06:14who was killed by a remote-controlled bomb,
2:06:14 > 2:06:16and we also lost two other soldiers,
2:06:16 > 2:06:21Private Bertram and Private Davis, near my observation post.
2:06:21 > 2:06:24I believe that Slab Murphy was behind those killings.
2:06:24 > 2:06:27We believed at the time that Slab Murphy was behind those killings,
2:06:27 > 2:06:29and I still believe it today -
2:06:29 > 2:06:32that he, while he almost certainly did not actually take the action,
2:06:32 > 2:06:35would have ordered the action, would have approved the plan,
2:06:35 > 2:06:36would have directed what happened,
2:06:36 > 2:06:39and therefore I consider Slab Murphy responsible
2:06:39 > 2:06:41for the death of those three men from my battalion.
2:06:41 > 2:06:44I think Thomas Murphy will be remembered -
2:06:44 > 2:06:47and I certainly remember him - for being a mass murderer.
2:06:47 > 2:06:50He killed and ordered the killing of many people.
2:06:50 > 2:06:52He had a regime of fear.
2:06:52 > 2:06:54Who was going to stand up in court
2:06:54 > 2:06:56and give evidence against Slab Murphy?
2:06:56 > 2:06:58He was a big Mafia boss, in effect.
2:06:58 > 2:07:00People were terrified of him.
2:07:04 > 2:07:08This is Eamon Collins, a former IRA man who went
2:07:08 > 2:07:12on the record about his own IRA activity.
2:07:12 > 2:07:16We were killing police, soldiers, and causing severe explosions.
2:07:16 > 2:07:17We were tying down thousands of troops
2:07:17 > 2:07:20and we were causing very severe problems.
2:07:20 > 2:07:24In 1990, Murphy took the Sunday Times to court for libel
2:07:24 > 2:07:26but eventually lost
2:07:26 > 2:07:29when he challenged a description of him in the newspaper
2:07:29 > 2:07:32as a top IRA commander.
2:07:32 > 2:07:35Eamon Collins gave evidence against Murphy at the trial.
2:07:35 > 2:07:40Collins outlined an IRA meeting he had attended in 1983,
2:07:40 > 2:07:43where Thomas Murphy had identified himself as
2:07:43 > 2:07:46a representative of the IRA's Army Council.
2:07:48 > 2:07:51Eight months after the trial, Eamon Collins was found
2:07:51 > 2:07:55beaten and stabbed to death a short distance from his home in Newry.
2:08:00 > 2:08:03Murphy has contested his links to criminality
2:08:03 > 2:08:08and role within the IRA, but his failed legal challenge
2:08:08 > 2:08:09only brought further exposure.
2:08:21 > 2:08:25I want to discover how Murphy's IRA influence had grown
2:08:25 > 2:08:27within South Armagh and beyond.
2:08:36 > 2:08:40In 1987, French Customs intercepted a ship
2:08:40 > 2:08:42off the coast of Brittany in France.
2:08:43 > 2:08:45- REPORTER:- Not much has emerged
2:08:45 > 2:08:48as to what the Eksund and her crew were up to.
2:08:48 > 2:08:51The Eksund first appeared as a riddle,
2:08:51 > 2:08:56cut adrift on the French coast, but it contained a deadly secret.
2:08:56 > 2:08:59Inside, a haul of arms that could have transformed
2:08:59 > 2:09:02the capabilities of the IRA.
2:09:02 > 2:09:06It seems that the shipment was masterminded by Murphy and others.
2:09:08 > 2:09:11And she's still yielding box after box after box of ammunition.
2:09:20 > 2:09:22This is the north coast of France.
2:09:23 > 2:09:28And this is where the Eksund's journey came to an end,
2:09:28 > 2:09:32beginning a major international police investigation.
2:09:43 > 2:09:46Jean-Louis Bruguiere was France's most senior
2:09:46 > 2:09:49anti-terrorism investigator.
2:09:49 > 2:09:52He led the Eksund investigation.
2:09:54 > 2:09:55I think we have the details.
2:09:55 > 2:09:57Details. Details.
2:09:57 > 2:10:01Anti-aircraft, explosives, semtex - two tonnes.
2:10:01 > 2:10:05And, of course, more than 1,000 Kalashnikovs.
2:10:09 > 2:10:11150 tonnes.
2:10:13 > 2:10:17150 tonnes of arms destined for the IRA.
2:10:17 > 2:10:20Intelligence services in several countries
2:10:20 > 2:10:24had known of a link between Libya and the IRA,
2:10:24 > 2:10:28but the discovery was proof that the Gaddafi regime
2:10:28 > 2:10:30was supplying arms to the Provisionals.
2:10:32 > 2:10:34TRANSLATION:
2:11:03 > 2:11:07Three IRA men, a crewman and their Irish skipper were arrested.
2:11:08 > 2:11:12The skipper, Adrian Hopkins, revealed the story of the Eksund
2:11:12 > 2:11:14and its deadly cargo.
2:11:18 > 2:11:21And French police had pieced together the supply line.
2:11:28 > 2:11:32The arms had been loaded onto the Eksund from a dock in Tripoli.
2:11:32 > 2:11:35A Libyan intelligence officer had been identified
2:11:35 > 2:11:40and, as the investigator recalls, so, too, had Thomas Murphy.
2:11:42 > 2:11:46Quite sure - sure - that Murphy was involved.
2:11:46 > 2:11:48TRANSLATION:
2:12:10 > 2:12:13In time, it was revealed that Murphy had been travelling abroad
2:12:13 > 2:12:15on a forged Irish passport
2:12:15 > 2:12:18in the months before the Eksund arms shipment.
2:12:19 > 2:12:24Thomas Murphy and the IRA had tapped into a crucial source of arms
2:12:24 > 2:12:26from Colonel Gaddafi's Libya.
2:12:28 > 2:12:33The Eksund shipment had been stopped by the French - but others had not.
2:12:40 > 2:12:44The French police investigation had learned that four previous Libyan
2:12:44 > 2:12:47shipments had already been landed
2:12:47 > 2:12:49back here on the County Wicklow coast.
2:12:52 > 2:12:57An account emerged, detailing how weapons were smuggled into Ireland
2:12:57 > 2:12:59from this very beach.
2:12:59 > 2:13:04The shipment was reportedly carried ashore by the armful
2:13:04 > 2:13:08by IRA personnel - Thomas Murphy amongst them.
2:13:13 > 2:13:17The capture of the Eksund helped scupper the IRA's plan
2:13:17 > 2:13:19for a major offensive.
2:13:19 > 2:13:24And it became clear that parts of the leadership were already
2:13:24 > 2:13:26seeking an alternative strategy.
2:13:28 > 2:13:31In the early years, every January the 1st was hailed
2:13:31 > 2:13:32as the year of victory.
2:13:32 > 2:13:36'72, '73, '74...
2:13:36 > 2:13:38It became obvious it wasn't going to happen that quickly.
2:13:38 > 2:13:45The search for heavy weaponry went on, and all the time the excuse
2:13:45 > 2:13:47for every failing of the IRA was,
2:13:47 > 2:13:51"Look, we need the heavy gear. We need proper equipment."
2:13:51 > 2:13:55There was then supposed to be a major IRA offensive,
2:13:55 > 2:13:58but they weren't able to deliver.
2:13:58 > 2:14:01They were heavily infiltrated in various areas.
2:14:01 > 2:14:05A military victory was not on the cards. Couldn't be done.
2:14:05 > 2:14:08And people... Well, I think Gerry Adams
2:14:08 > 2:14:12began to look for alternatives.
2:14:14 > 2:14:19But South Armagh remained at the cutting edge of the IRA.
2:14:19 > 2:14:22When it broke a ceasefire with the 1996 bombing
2:14:22 > 2:14:25of London's Docklands, it was they who provided
2:14:25 > 2:14:27the logistics for the operation.
2:14:29 > 2:14:32Less obvious in the political strategy of the armed campaign
2:14:32 > 2:14:36was the IRA's involvement in robberies and crime.
2:14:37 > 2:14:42These pictures of a £4 million cigarette robbery in Belfast
2:14:42 > 2:14:47record what police believe was an operation partly organised
2:14:47 > 2:14:50by Thomas Murphy's South Armagh IRA.
2:14:50 > 2:14:52One of the cigarette companies
2:14:52 > 2:14:54was moving a very large consignment
2:14:54 > 2:14:56of cigarettes in containers
2:14:56 > 2:14:58on a ship in Belfast Docks,
2:14:58 > 2:15:05when a party of IRA from Belfast arrived to rob it.
2:15:05 > 2:15:07A fleet of lorries then arrived,
2:15:07 > 2:15:11which had been provided by the IRA in South Armagh.
2:15:11 > 2:15:15The cigarettes were loaded onto them. That was a joint operation
2:15:15 > 2:15:19between the Belfast Brigade of the IRA, providing the muscle
2:15:19 > 2:15:23in Belfast, and the South Armagh Brigade providing the transport.
2:15:33 > 2:15:38For some in the security forces, the suspicion grew that the support
2:15:38 > 2:15:42of key Republicans for the peace process had come at a price -
2:15:42 > 2:15:47that smuggling and criminality would be allowed to continue,
2:15:47 > 2:15:50as long as they held the peace.
2:15:50 > 2:15:53There was a great desire by the British Government
2:15:53 > 2:15:55to play down these things,
2:15:55 > 2:15:59to not admit that the IRA were still active in crime,
2:15:59 > 2:16:01or active at all.
2:16:01 > 2:16:04We can only take cases on referral from other law enforcement agencies,
2:16:04 > 2:16:07so they had to give us the cases.
2:16:07 > 2:16:10We got lots and lots of cases of Loyalist crime
2:16:10 > 2:16:12and we were hugely successful against those -
2:16:12 > 2:16:15to the extent that the Unionists began to complain about bias.
2:16:15 > 2:16:20But what we would not get were the really hardcore entry
2:16:20 > 2:16:26into dealing with the criminality of Republican paramilitaries.
2:16:26 > 2:16:31Do you think that the intelligence services and the police
2:16:31 > 2:16:35were encouraged not to pass on referrals
2:16:35 > 2:16:38regarding Republican cases?
2:16:38 > 2:16:40I think the decisions were political -
2:16:40 > 2:16:42not operational.
2:16:42 > 2:16:47I think the issue here was the management of the peace process,
2:16:47 > 2:16:48and nothing must be done
2:16:48 > 2:16:50that would disturb the politics of the situation.
2:16:56 > 2:16:59Thomas Murphy has put his full support for the peace process
2:16:59 > 2:17:02on the record, and said that he will play whatever role
2:17:02 > 2:17:05he can to see it work.
2:17:05 > 2:17:09But in defending a fraudster, critics say Sinn Fein have
2:17:09 > 2:17:13undermined their credibility as a potential partner in government.
2:17:14 > 2:17:16What we have achieved
2:17:16 > 2:17:18in the North of Ireland
2:17:18 > 2:17:20over the last 20 years
2:17:20 > 2:17:23has been nothing short of amazing.
2:17:23 > 2:17:24That's what the world tells us.
2:17:24 > 2:17:28"What you have done here has been amazing."
2:17:28 > 2:17:32Well, the amazing wouldn't have happened without the support
2:17:32 > 2:17:33of people like Tom Murphy.
2:17:33 > 2:17:35And we need to understand that.
2:17:41 > 2:17:47There is a very unhelpful narrative being developed over the course
2:17:47 > 2:17:50of this one particular case.
2:17:50 > 2:17:51What is it about?
2:17:51 > 2:17:55It's about trying to undermine Sinn Fein in the face of election.
2:17:56 > 2:17:59Sinn Fein has said that Republicans are not involved
2:17:59 > 2:18:02in criminal actions along the border,
2:18:02 > 2:18:04but security sources believe that
2:18:04 > 2:18:08Republicans still control a criminal empire
2:18:08 > 2:18:12that continues to generate huge sums of money.
2:18:15 > 2:18:19Sinn Fein have said it was a breach of Tom Murphy's rights
2:18:19 > 2:18:23to hold his case in front of judges and not a jury.
2:18:23 > 2:18:27The party's defence of Murphy was used by some political opponents
2:18:27 > 2:18:30in the Republic as evidence that the party is not
2:18:30 > 2:18:33fit for government.
2:18:33 > 2:18:38And when Gerry Adams stood by Murphy and said he was a good Republican,
2:18:38 > 2:18:40many asked why.
2:18:40 > 2:18:43I think one was a sense of historic debt he feels he owes him
2:18:43 > 2:18:47and he owes in going back to IRA decommissioning.
2:18:47 > 2:18:50I think this is part of the strange psychosis of Gerry Adams
2:18:50 > 2:18:53at the moment - that he has this official sense of himself,
2:18:53 > 2:18:55which has no connection with the IRA at all,
2:18:55 > 2:18:58and he has this dark side to himself which is this whole history.
2:18:58 > 2:19:00And that history contains Slab Murphy.
2:19:00 > 2:19:02You know, if you open that cupboard,
2:19:02 > 2:19:05Slab Murphy and a lot of other people are going to fall out of it.
2:19:13 > 2:19:17The 1916 Easter Rising was the seminal event
2:19:17 > 2:19:20that led to Irish independence.
2:19:20 > 2:19:24Kieran Conway was part of another generation of violent Republicans
2:19:24 > 2:19:28who fought for a vision of a united Ireland.
2:19:28 > 2:19:31A vision that is still unfulfilled.
2:19:31 > 2:19:36Sinn Fein believe that a united Ireland is on the cards.
2:19:36 > 2:19:38I think it's further away than it ever was.
2:19:38 > 2:19:40I think the union is safe for the foreseeable
2:19:40 > 2:19:42and, of course, has been made safe
2:19:42 > 2:19:48by the Provisionals underwriting the Unionist veto, and saying,
2:19:48 > 2:19:51"Yeah, we agree with this, and the only way to achieve Irish unity
2:19:51 > 2:19:55"is by the way that the British Government
2:19:55 > 2:19:57"told us to achieve it all along",
2:19:57 > 2:20:02so the entire 25-year struggle was a total futile waste of lives
2:20:02 > 2:20:04and the outcome could have been achieved
2:20:04 > 2:20:06without a drop of blood being spilled.
2:20:09 > 2:20:12Gerry Adams declined to be interviewed for the programme
2:20:12 > 2:20:16but, in a statement, said political opponents and sections of the media
2:20:16 > 2:20:20have used his defence of Murphy to attack him and his party.
2:20:20 > 2:20:23He added that Tom Murphy contests the verdict
2:20:23 > 2:20:27of the Special Criminal Court, and maintains his innocence.
2:20:27 > 2:20:31Thomas Murphy also declined to speak to Spotlight.
2:20:31 > 2:20:33He has previously challenged the portrayal of him
2:20:33 > 2:20:36as a senior member of the IRA.
2:20:36 > 2:20:39Government on both sides of the border could be
2:20:39 > 2:20:43on the horizon for Sinn Fein, but their embrace of Murphy suggests
2:20:43 > 2:20:48they see their own Republican heroes as first among equals.
2:20:48 > 2:20:53It remains to be seen to what extent loyalty to their Good Republican
2:20:53 > 2:20:57affects their prospects of one day holding power in the Republic.