Northern Ireland

Family of John Kelly claim he and other Arms Crisis accused were 'hung out to dry'

The Arms Crisis was a political scandal that engulfed Ireland in 1970 leading to government ministers Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney being dismissed from the cabinet for alleged involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle weapons to nationalists in the north. A daughter of John Kelly, an IRA man involved in the scandal, tells how 50 years on she believes her father and others were "hung out to dry" and says the Irish government should apologise for the way they were treated. Connla Young reports

Bronagh Mulholland, daughter of the late John Kelly. Picture by Mal McCann.
Bronagh Mulholland, daughter of the late John Kelly. Picture by Mal McCann. Bronagh Mulholland, daughter of the late John Kelly. Picture by Mal McCann.

THE family of a Belfast republican caught up in the 1970 Arms Crisis have said the accused were 'hung out to dry' by the Irish government.

Relatives of John Kelly spoke out on the anniversary of the trial, which gripped the nation 50 years ago this month.

Loved ones of those caught up in the controversy have called for the Irish government to apologise for the way they were treated, including the family of Irish army officer Captain James Kelly, who was originally from Co Cavan.

Fresh claims have also been made about events surrounding the crisis including allegations that former Provisional IRA 'Chief of Staff' Seán Mac Stíofáin tipped off gardaí about the plot to smuggle arms into Ireland for use by nationalists in the north.

The claim was made in the Dáil last month by TD Sean Haughey, whose father, former taoiseach Charlie Haughey, was one of five men charged in connection with the plot. He has called for State papers from that time to be released.

One of his co-accused was Belfast republican John Kelly, who was a founding member of the Provisional IRA.

The north Belfast native, who died in 2007, came from a staunchly republican background and emerged as an early leader in the Provisional movement along with his brother Billy.

Another brother, Oliver, was a well known solicitor during the Troubles and represented republican prisoners in high-profile cases.

Jailed for nine years in Crumlin Road prison during the IRA's 'Operation Harvest' campaign in the 1950s, John Kelly settled in south Derry in the 1990s.

He later served as a Sinn Féín MLA for Mid Ulster.

At the time of the Arms Crisis he was a leading figure in the Citizen Defence Committees (CDC), set up to defend nationalist districts from loyalist attack in the late 1960s.

The Provisionals were formed after a split within the IRA just months before the arms trial took place.

The fracture emerged during the rise of the Civil Rights campaign and an upsurge in sectarian attacks against Catholics across the north, with the RUC and B-Specials sometimes accused of looking on or taking part.

As pressure on Catholic districts grew throughout 1969, particularly in Belfast, Taoiseach Jack Lynch declared that the Irish government “can no longer stand by and see innocent people injured and perhaps worse” and revealed plans to set up field hospitals along the border.

A year later the alleged plan to import weapons was eventually uncovered by Gardaí special branch.

The plot was said to have involved government ministers Charlie Haughey - whose parents were from the Swatragh in Co Derry - and Neil Blaney, a Donegal native.

Taoiseach Jack Lynch later sacked Haughey and Blaney from their cabinet posts.

A third minister, Kevin Boland, also resigned in solidarity with his colleagues.

Despite the passage of 50 years, some Irish government records relating to the affair continue to remain under lock and key.

In May 1970, Haughey, Blaney, John Kelly and Irish army Captain James Kelly all went on trial.

They were joined in the dock by Belgian-born businessman Albert Luykx.

All charges against Blaney were dropped and the trial collapsed in July 1970.

A second trial began in October that year but the remaining accused were eventually also cleared.

Mr Kelly's daughter, Bronagh Mulholland, said her late father was clear about what happened during that critical period in recent Irish history.

“He was there in his capacity as citizen defence but was under no illusions as to why he was there,” she said.

“There was no double edge and no duplicity about it."

Mrs Mulholland further claims the Irish government was aware of the alleged plot believes her father and others were abandoned.

“When Special Branch rumbled it and Lynch felt he was going to be in hot water he did hang Blaney and Haughey out to dry and the collateral damage was Captain Kelly and daddy,” she said.

“The government let them down and bottled it on them when the time came and hung everybody out to dry in that way," she alleged.

Mrs Mulholland said in the years after the arms trial her father remained in Dublin with his family.

He was later charged with IRA membership and served a six-month term at Mountjoy Prison after giving a speech at a republican event in Co Wexford.

“That was subsequent to the arms trial - they did not get him that way, but they were going to get him another way,” she said.

Over the years Mr Kelly remained on good terms with his co-accused and continued to be friendly with Mr Haughey.

He also stayed in touch with Captain Kelly.

“He was very aware of how Captain Kelly's family felt about how he was being treated,” said Mrs Mulholland.

“The Kellys are hurt personally and feel Jim (Captain Kelly) was shafted and that's what I would have heard growing up.

“It impacted all the families. We would never have been Dublin had it not been for the arms trial.”

A daughter of Captain Kelly, whose brother is a retired priest in Belfast, recently told how her father waited for an apology on his deathbed.

"We had all gathered in the hospice, and he kept asking me, 'Suzanne has it come?

“I would say no, but it is coming. We knew that he had about another hour, and all his family had gathered, and I held his hand he asked me again, 'Has it come?" and I said "It has come Jim."

“It was like I had to give him permission to go. Of course it hadn't come. But I felt obliged," she told RTÉ.

Mrs Mulholland's uncle, Jimmy Kelly, has clear recollections of the arms trial and Captain Kelly, who he says was sent to Belfast to assess the needs of defenceless nationalist communities and attended CDC meetings, some of which included representatives of the Catholic Church.

Mr Kelly, who is also a life-long republican, said the arms trial must be viewed in the context of the Irish government's response to the emerging conflict in the north.

“James Kelly came to Belfast to evaluate what was happening and what we had to defend ourselves,” he said.

“The reality is if the Irish government had crossed the border to Newry or Derry, Belfast nationalists would have been annihilated.

“It was not a matter of the RUC or B-Specials being neutral, they were not neutral.”

He said he was later told by Colonel Michael Hefferon, who was the Irish army's director of military intelligence, that Captain Kelly had been treated poorly.

“He was hung out to dry, 100 per cent, Colonel Hefferon told me that as his commanding officer,” he said.

“All James Kelly was doing was his job.”

Mr Kelly also revealed that after being sacked, Neil Blaney and Charlie Haughey wanted Kevin Boland to remain on the cabinet to maintain the flow of information to them.

A nephew of Harry Boland, who was shot dead by Free State forces in 1922, Mr Kelly said Kevin Boland confirmed to him that an argument was made for direct intervention by the Irish government at the start of the Troubles.

“Kevin Boland told me that when '69 happened they thought they should have moved into the north to defend the nationalist people,” he said,

“Kevin Boland walked out of the cabinet over the business of our John being arrested.

“Haughey and Blaney pleaded with him to stay in the cabinet for information.”