A FORMER IRA member suspected of involvement in the murder of ‘the General’ Martin Cahill is on a list of suspected republican paedophiles which has been handed over to gardai.
The man, who was also involved in a number of other high-profile IRA operations, is one of nine men on a list given to gardai by Fine Gael TD Regina Doherty. The list contains details of men who were moved to the Republic after IRA bosses became aware of sexual abuse allegations against them in the North.
Ms Doherty (below) made an official statement to gardai last Friday week detailing the nine cases where the IRA are said to have “facilitated” abusers in the organisation to move from the North to the Republic.
She received the information from a source with detailed knowledge of the IRA and the alleged abuse cases. The information passed on to gardai included names, dates and locations north and south of the border.
The abuse is said to have occurred in locations across Northern Ireland including Belfast, Lurgan, and Bangor, while the alleged abusers were moved to Dublin, Louth and Donegal. The cases span from the 1980s to the 2000s.
One of the men included on the list is believed to have been involved in the murder of notorious gangster Cahill, who was shot dead by the IRA in 1994. The man, who is originally from Fermanagh, is believed to have driven the hitman to the murder on a motorbike.
He was involved in a number of other high-profile IRA operations which we cannot detail as it would identify him. It is alleged he raped a 14-year-old girl in the North and was subsequently moved to the south after the allegations were brought to the IRA.
Meanwhile, the Sunday World has learnt a number of other well-known republican figures have been linked to sex attacks.
One well-known figure is suspected of raping a woman in Dublin in the 1980s. The man had been cheating on his wife with the woman. She told gardai that he beat her severely before raping her.
The woman spoke to detectives in detail about the matter, but did not make a formal complaint as she feared the man would have her killed.
“She said he would have her shot if he knew she had spoken to gardai,” said a source. “He was never even brought in for questioning.”
The man was heavily involved in the anti-drugs marches in the capital in the 1980s. Another well-known Sinn Fein member is suspected of raping his partner’s daughter over a decade ago. The mother of the girl spoke to gardai, but once again did not press ahead with the matter.
It is understood the suspected paedophile was given a punishment beating by IRA members who were made aware of the rapes.
A source said: “He was given a hiding, but that was the end of it. The girl’s mother wanted him charged, but because of the republican links she didn’t press ahead.”
The controversy over IRA sex abuse was sparked by Belfast woman Mairia Cahill, who went public over abuse she suffered at the hands of a senior IRA figure when she was a teenager.
Meanwhile, a major inquiry has found paramilitaries were involved in the sexual exploitation of children across Northern Ireland. The Marshall inquiry received “powerful and persuasive” evidence that paramilitaries sexually abused young people
