Book description
1969 was a year of rising tension, violence and change for the people
of Northern Ireland. Rioting in Derry's Bogside led to the deployment
of British troops and a shortlived, uneasy truce. The British army
soon found itself engaged in an undercover war against the Provisional
IRA, which was to last for more than twenty years.
In this enthralling and controversial book, Martin Dillon, author of
the bestselling The Shankill Butchers, examines the roles
played by the Provisional IRA, the State forces, the Irish Government
and the British Army during this troubled period. He unravels the
mystery of war in which informers, agents and double agents operate,
revealing disturbing facts about the way in which the terrorists and
the Intelligence Agencies target, undermine and penetrate each other's
ranks.
The Dirty War is investigative reporting at its very best,
containing startling disclosures and throwing new light on previously
inexplicable events.
Martin Dillon is a native of Belfast although educated in England.
He lived in France for a time and returned to Northern Ireland to work
as a journalist with the Irish News before joining the
Belfast Telegraph. He also worked as a freelance journalist
for several national newspapers and American periodicals. In 1973 he
wrote Political Murder in Northern Ireland which is regarded as
the definitive study of political assassination in Northern Ireland.
His second book, Rogue Warrior of the SAS, is a biography of
the Second World War hero, Lt. Col. Robert Blair Mayne, and is
published by Arrow. The Shankill Butchers which was a
bestseller in both Ireland and Britain was the first in his trilogy of
books about Northern and Southern Ireland.
Martin Dillon has written plays for BBC radio and television and has
been Editor in Northern Ireland of many of the BBC's programmes in the
area of current affairs. He now works for the BBC History Unit in London.
