The “informer” and the political and organisational culture of the Irish republican movement

Old and New Interpretations

Bibliographic Data

ID8075740
AuthorsStephen Hopkins (0000-0001-8731-3146, University of Leicester, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume25
Issue1
Pages1-23
Publication date2016-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueIrish Studies Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0967-0882 • E-ISSN: 1469-9303
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09670882.2016.1264097
OpenAlexW2557520360
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited30

This article will analyse recent interpretations of the “informer” as a subject of political and historical significance for a balanced understanding of the trajectory of the Provisional Republican movement. It will do so in part through a discussion of some recent fiction and memoir-writing devoted to the figure of the informer. Specifically, this will involve an exploration of the recent fictional re-imagination of the real-life case of Denis Donaldson, by the French journalist Sorj Chalandon (Mon traître, 2007 and Retour à Killybegs, 2011) (These novels have been translated into English as My Traitor (2011) and Return to Killybegs (2013)). All subsequent references are to the English versions. In the first section, the article analyses the historical evolution of the phenomenon and recent revelations regarding the apparently widespread existence of informers in the movement during the Troubles. This section engages with the academic debate concerning the effects of these revelations upon the morale and internal political culture of the republican movement; it is argued here that the “Republican family” has been significantly affected by these disclosures in the “post-conflict” era, and that they have become an important element in the contestation between leadership supporters and “dissenters” within contemporary republicanism. The second section utilises old and new literary representations of “the informer”, particularly based around Liam O’Flaherty’s The Informer and Chalandon’s work, to discuss continuities and changes in the image and perception of this phenomenon. It is argued that the interweaving of fiction with real-life and factual historical detail is a particularly appropriate means of interpreting the role and effects of the informer

Aesthetics · Irish · Linguistics · Movement (music · Political culture · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Irish and British Studies · Law · Philosophy · Scottish History and National Identity

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access