Irish People's Liberation Organisation

The Irish People's Liberation Organisation was a small Irish republican paramilitary organization which was formed in 1986 by disaffected and expelled members of the Irish National Liberation Army whose factions coalesced in the aftermath of the supergrass trials. It developed a reputation for intra-republican violence and criminality, before being forcibly disbanded by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1992.

The IPLO emerged out of a split in the Irish National Liberation Army. After the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike, in which three of its members died, the INLA fell apart from within. The mid 1980s saw the virtual dissolution of the movement as a coherent paramilitary force. Factions associated with Belfast and Dublin respectively, fell into dispute with each other. When INLA man Harry Kirkpatrick turned supergrass, he implicated many of his former comrades in various terrorist activities and many of them were convicted on his testimony. After this, the death knell seemed close to sounding for the movement. It could be argued that by this time the INLA, and the associated political group the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) no longer existed as coherent national organisations. As a result, members both inside and out of prison broke away from the INLA and set up the IPLO. Some key players at the outset were Tom McAllister, Gerard Steenson, Jimmy Brown and Harry Flynn. Ironically Steenson had attempted to have Flynn killed in 1981.

The IPLO's initial priority was to destroy the Irish Republican Socialist Movement from which it had split, and most of its early attacks reflected this, being more frequently against former comrades than on the security forces of the British state in Northern Ireland. The destructive psychological impact of the feud on the communities that the combatants came from was huge as it was viewed as a fratricidal conflict between fellow republicans.

The INLA shot and killed IPLO's leader Gerard Steenson in March 1986, and following revenge killings by the IPLO, the organisations agreed to go their separate ways.

The IPLO was increasingly becoming involved in the drugs trade, especially in ecstasy, and was becoming a haven for those who fell out of favour with the Provisional Irish Republican Army: the portents for its future were not good. A fallout over the proceeds of one transaction cost the life of Jimmy Brown, reputedly the only IPLO leader with any political aspirations or ability. A full-scale feud followed between two factions terming themselves, "Army Council" - led by Jimmy Brown and "Belfast Brigade" Sammy Ward) which led to the 3000th killing of the Troubles Hugh McKibbon a 21 year old "Army Council" man. Brown had been the previous victim. This was one feud which made no pretence of being anything other than a lethal squabble over money and drugs. The organisation which had claimed it wanted to destroy the INLA because of the INLA's alleged criminality had become everything it claimed to have set out to oppose, and was turning inward destroying itself.

The INLA however regrouped and moved on under the leadership of Hugh Torney aka "Cueball". He was deposed as Chief of Staff (leader) in 1995. This group is still in existence today.

Eventually, the Provisional IRA - by far the largest armed republican group in Ireland - decided enough was enough and mounted a major operation to wipe out the IPLO. On Saturday 31 October 1992 approximately one hundred IRA members systematically wiped the IPLO from the face of Belfast killing Belfast Brigade leader Sammy Ward, kneecapping several more and only sparing their lives on condition of their unconditional surrender and disbandment, which was forthcoming from both factions within days.

According to the Sutton database of deaths at the University of Ulster's CAIN project[1], the IPLO was responsible for 22 killings during the Troubles. Among its victims were twelve civilians, six INLA members, two loyalist paramilitaries and two members of the British security forces.

Sources

*INLA - Deadly Divisions (Jack Holland and Henry McDonald)