This is very interesting. Bulger was an informant at the time, which makes me wonder if he was going to use the IRA, then set them up to be arrested. I wonder if the FBI knew about it? Does the author give any opinions on Bulger as an informer ( I realize no one knew it at the time) and does he say anything about it?
I don't think Bulger was trying to set them up. I believe he was genuinely interested in the possibility of having an explosive expert and various IRA killers around him. As an Irish mob boss, it would be the equivalent for a Mafia boss to recruit zips in your Borgata witrh the objective of having capable guys loyal to you and only you. Bulger never mentioned his IRA gun running activities to the FBI like many other illegal stuff he never reported. We know that he was mostly using his FBI connection to push his own agenda and he mostly gave information on the Boston Italian Mafia.
The author talked a lot about Bulger and he mentions that Bulger assured him that the FBI was not doing surveillance on IRA activities in New England.
Patrick Nee wrote in his book that Bulger had met one of the founders of the Provisional IRA, Joe Cahill, when the Belfast man came to Boston to rally US support.
He wrote that Bulger "loved being associated with the IRA and the cause of Irish freedom". He said that Bulger felt his association with the "struggle" gave him legitimacy.
I've read Pat Nee's book and this new book by John Crawley ("The Yank") confirms and complete many informations in Nee's book. The two books give you the Boston Irish Mob side and the IRA side of the story.
The author confirm that Bulger had a good knowledge of the Irish troubles and that he was genuinely willing to help the IRA cause. However, he understood that this help was to a certain extent and that Bulger was expecting the IRA to help him too. At the time, the author reported directly to Martin McGuiness, an IRA commander who later became a very prominent politician in Northern Ireland (Bill Clinton gave his eulogy when he died) so you could see the IRA - Bulger gun running operation was overviewed at the highest level.
I think this is the main reason why the book was published only last year while Nee's book was written some time ago. The author probably didn't want to publish the Book while McGuiness was alive as it detailed his involvement in the IRA violence. it was well-known that McGuiness was an IRA commander, he even admitted it himself but he always said that it was only for a short period of time in the 70's. He became deputy first minister of Northern Ireland in the 2010's and it would have not looked good for him if the book was published then, showing him as the organizer of a big-gun running operation with then FBI most wanted Whitey Bulger and the Boston Irish mob.
