A History of Ireland in Song |
Jim Daly, her husband, tells what happened then:
"The RUC took away Miriam's handbag, a large book we had with phone numbers and addresses in it and they took my photograph from an international drivers licence. There were five spent cartridges lying on the floor which they didn't pick up."
Read that again. There were five spent cartridges lying on the floor which they didn't pick up. Interesting. Spent cartridge cases are vital forensic evidence. Why would policemen not be interested in vital forensic evidence? Could it be that the policemen knew they didn't need to bother with evidence? Could it be that they knew full well that there would never be a proper investigation? That there was no need for a proper investigation?
Who murdered Miriam Daly, and why? The act itself was almost certainly carried out by loyalist paramilitaries. But who ordered the killing? Who arranged for the killers to evade police and army patrols and checkpoints, both coming and going? Why was there no proper investigation by the police? And why was no one ever charged with the murder? The answers to these questions will shock anyone who believes that the troubles in the North of Ireland are essentially a struggle by a legitimate government against a tiny minority of "gangsters".
Miriam Daly's name was on a "hit list". That list had not been drawn up by some gang of loyalist hoodlums. That list had been drawn up by British military intelligence. That list had been drawn up in something called "Operation RANC". Operation RANC was set up after the assassination of Airey Neave in 1979. The object of this operation was simple: revenge. Airey Neave was a key figure in the Tory party, with links to the intelligence community (he may even have remained a member of MI6 throughout his political career). More, he is widely believed today to be one of the "puppet-masters" that brought Margaret Thatcher to the head of first the Tory party and then the country. Clearly, his killing was a grievous blow against the British establishment. The INLA were believed to have carried out the bombing, so the INLA and those associated with them would be targeted. Note that the IRSP, Irish Republican Socialist Party, was and is associated with the INLA in the same way as is Sinn Féin with the IRA. Volunteers of the INLA were targeted; but so were members of the IRSP involved in legal political activity. Cover for the operation would be provided by suggesting that the killings were aimed by enraged loyalists against members of the high-profile H-Block action committees. Thus, the killings would also serve to reinforce the long-running propaganda campaign aimed at convincing domestic and world opinion that the conflict in Ireland was essentially one of two warring tribes. Oh, some poor deluded fool from the Shankill may have pulled the trigger; but those who decided upon, ordered, set up and covered up these murders were directly answerable to Westminster.
The people on the list included some who are very lucky to be alive today, including Bernadette McAliskey and her husband; and others who were not so fortunate: besides Miriam Daly, Ronnie Bunting, Noel Lyttle and John Turnley lost their lives. Nor were these the last murders commited by the British. It is said that Operation RANC itself was halted after very strong representations from the Southern Irish government.
"This particular spate of killings would appear to have ended following some very strong private representations by the Dublin government. All I can say on the matter is that I know from my own sources that the representations were made."Tim Pat Coogan, The Troubles, p. 342 Whatever about that, selective assassination clearly continued, as shown in the cases of Pat Finucance and Rosemary Nelson, among others.
The importance of remembering Miriam Daly, her life and her death, goes without saying for her family and friends. But it is also important for the rest of us. The particular significance of Miriam's case lies in the fact that she was purely a political activist. She was killed for what she said, what she campaigned for, what she believed in. Thus, Miriam's death serves to remind us that behind the velvet glove of British diplomacy lies the iron fist of British terror. With the one hand, they invited us into political activity; with the other, they signed the order that struck us down. This we should never forget.
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