Arms Crisis
Encyclopedia
The Arms Crisis or Arms Trial was a political scandal
Political scandal
A political scandal is a kind of political corruption that is exposed and becomes a scandal, in which politicians or government officials are accused of engaging in various illegal, corrupt, or unethical practices...

 in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 in 1970, when two cabinet ministers — Charles Haughey
Charles Haughey
Charles James "Charlie" Haughey was Taoiseach of Ireland, serving three terms in office . He was also the fourth leader of Fianna Fáil...

 and Neil Blaney
Neil Blaney
Neil Terence Columba Blaney was a senior Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1948 as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála representing Donegal East. Blaney served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs , Minister for Local Government and Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries...

 — were sacked for allegedly attempting to illegally import arms
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...

 for the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

Background

The events occurred during the Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...

 government of Jack Lynch
Jack Lynch
John Mary "Jack" Lynch was the Taoiseach of Ireland, serving two terms in office; from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979....

. In growing disturbances in Northern Ireland, which would lead to The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...

, nationalist
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...

 civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...

s were being forced from their homes. The Irish Government established a cabinet subcommittee to organise emergency assistance and relief. Haughey, then Minister for Finance
Minister for Finance (Ireland)
The Minister for Finance is the title held by the Irish government minister responsible for all financial and monetary matters. The office-holder controls the Department of Finance and is considered one of the most important members of the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Finance is...

 and the hardline Blaney, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries who was from the Donegal North East
Donegal North East (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Donegal North–East is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 3 deputies...

 constituency bordering Northern Ireland were members of the subcommittee, along with Pádraig Faulkner
Pádraig Faulkner
Pádraig Faulkner is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was first elected in 1957 as a Teachta Dála for the Louth constituency, serving until 1987...

 and Joseph Brennan. Jack Lynch took little interest in the work of the subcommittee, and after an initial meeting, Faulkner and Brennan seem to have left their senior colleagues Haughey and Blaney to their own devices. A government fund of £100,000 was set up to provide relief to nationalist civilians forced out of their homes by the Troubles, and Haughey was given sole authority over this money.

Ministers Haughey and Blaney disapproved of the cautious policies of Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

 Lynch on Northern Ireland and favoured a more robust approach. Blaney was an outspoken critic of government policy on Northern Ireland, but Haughey had not publicly opposed Lynch's policy. In October 1969, a meeting of Northern Citizen Defence Committees, which had been set up to defend Republican areas form Unionist
Unionist
-United Kingdom:In the United Kingdom, British unionists are those people and political organisations who wish their area to remain or become part of the United Kingdom...

 attack and which included IRA officers, was held in Bailieboro, County Cavan
County Cavan
County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...

, with Irish army
Irish Army
The Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...

 intelligence officer Captain James Kelly in attendance. The meeting was told that £50,000 would be made available to buy weapons for defense of nationalist areas against loyalist attack. Haughey even met with the IRA Chief of Staff Cathal Goulding
Cathal Goulding
Cathal Goulding was Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army and the Official IRA.One of seven children born into a republican family in East Arran Street in the north inner city of Dublin, Goulding was involved as teenager in Fianna Éireann, the IRA youth wing which he joined with his...

. The Minister for Justice Micheál Ó Móráin
Micheál Ó Móráin
Micheál Ó Móráin was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician, who served in a wide number of Cabinet minister from 1957 until 1970, most notably as Minister for Justice and Minister for the Gaeltacht....

 reported this meeting to the Cabinet, but Haughey dismissed it as a chance encounter.

Neil Blaney allegedly made plans with Captain James Kelly to import weapons from continental Europe. Haughey provided the money for the purchase from his civilian relief fund, and also tried to arrange customs clearance for the shipment.

Revelation and trial

By late April 1970, the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...

 Special Branch were aware of the plot and had passed the information up to Jack Lynch. However, Lynch took no action until the leader of the opposition, Liam Cosgrave
Liam Cosgrave
Liam Cosgrave is an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach and as Leader of Fine Gael . He was a Teachta Dála from 1943 to 1981....

 became aware of the smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...

 scheme and pressed the Taoiseach to take action. Haughey and Blaney were sacked by Lynch on May 6 when they refused to resign. Kevin Boland
Kevin Boland
Kevin Boland , was a senior Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1957 as a Fianna Fáil TD. He served as Minister for Defence , Minister for Social Welfare and Minister for Local Government...

, the Minister for Social Welfare resigned from the government in protest at the sackings as he was adamant (as were the accused) that Jack Lynch and most of the Cabinet, in particular Jim Gibbons then Minister for defence, knew about the plan to import arms all along. The Minister for Justice, Micheál Ó Móráin
Micheál Ó Móráin
Micheál Ó Móráin was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician, who served in a wide number of Cabinet minister from 1957 until 1970, most notably as Minister for Justice and Minister for the Gaeltacht....

 who was in hospital at the time was asked to resign on May 4. He later claimed that he had in fact informed Lynch of the individuals involved.

On 28 May 1970, Haughey and Blaney went on trial in Dublin, together with an Irish Army
Irish Army
The Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...

 intelligence officer, Captain James Kelly, a Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...

 leader named John Kelly
John Kelly (Sinn Féin politician)
John Kelly was an Irish republican militant and politician in Northern Ireland. He joined the IRA in the 1950s, and was a founder member and a leader of the Provisional Irish Republican Army in the early 1970s....

 and Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 businessman and former Nazi Albert Luykx
Albert Luykx
Albert Luykx was a Flemish businessman and former Nazi. He was born in the Flemish Region region in Belgium to a family of furniture makers. Following the invasion of Belgium, the Luykx family, like most furniture makers during the Nazi occupation, made barracks for the occupying forces. Soon...

, who had allegedly agreed to use his contacts to acquire the weapons. All charges against Blaney were dropped in the District Court July 2, 1970 and as a result he was not tried, before the main trial got underway under Justice Aindrias O'Caoimh. The trial collapsed a week later after allegations of bias. Following a second trial the other four defendants were cleared on October 23.

At the trial there was a direct contradiction of evidence regarding the sanctioning of the imports between Haughey and the chief prosecutorial witness, Jim Gibbons
Jim Gibbons (Irish politician)
James "Jim" Gibbons was a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was first elected in 1957 as a Teachta Dála for Carlow–Kilkenny. He held his seat until 1982...

 who was Minister for Defence
Minister for Defence (Ireland)
The Minister for Defence is the senior minister at the Department of Defence in the Government of Ireland. Under new arrangements this department is being merged with the Department of Justice over which Mr. Shatter will also preside....

 at the time of the attempted imports. Haughey admitted arranging customs clearance for the shipment, but claimed in his defense that he did not know it consisted of weapons. This directly contradicted the evidence of Jim Gibbons and Peter Berry that Haughey was fully aware of all the details of the conspiracy. It also contradicted the stories of his co-defendants, who admitted that they had tried to import weapons, but maintained that the shipment had been legally authorised by the government. During the trial the judge remarked that either Haughey or Gibbons had to be committing perjury.

The evidence during the trial did show that, although suspected by some, the government was not funding the Provisional IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...

.

Impact

The resignations and sackings left four vacancies in cabinet. As a result there was a major cabinet reshuffle and some senior politicians of the future got their first step on the ministerial ladder such as Desmond O'Malley
Desmond O'Malley
Desmond Joseph "Des" O'Malley is a former Irish politician.Born in Limerick, O'Malley was raised in a local political dynasty that had a strong association with Fianna Fáil. Elected to Dáil Éireann in 1968, he quickly became a trusted confidante of Taoiseach Jack Lynch...

 and Gerry Collins. The negative impact of the scandal on Fianna Fáil, in addition to the perceived role of Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...

's Cosgrave in defending the institutions of the state, contributed to the change of government in the subsequent 1973 election
Irish general election, 1973
The Irish general election of 1973 was held on 28 February 1973. The newly elected 144 members of the 20th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 4 March when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed....

.

The scandal led to bitter divisions in Fianna Fáil between supporters of the sacked ministers Haughey and Blaney and supporters of Jack Lynch. The same divisions affected government policy on Northern Ireland. Although the events led to Haughey being demoted to the back-benches, he remained a member of Fianna Fáil, while Boland was expelled in 1970 and Blaney in 1971. Blaney went on to found his own party, Independent Fianna Fáil
Independent Fianna Fáil
Independent Fianna Fáil was a splinter republican party created by Neil Blaney after his expulsion from Fianna Fáil following the Irish Arms Crisis . It ceased to exist on 26 July 2006...

, which re-joined Fianna Fáil in 2006. Haughey later returned to Ministerial office and succeeded Lynch as party leader in 1979. The divisions only intensified and in 1985 several opponents of Haughey, led by the-then expelled Fianna Fáil member Desmond O'Malley, formed the Progressive Democrats
Progressive Democrats
The Progressive Democrats , commonly known as the PDs, was a pro-free market liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland.Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Malley and other politicians who had split from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the Progressive Democrats took liberal positions on...

 political party. Other opponents of Haughey, such as Charlie McCreevy
Charlie McCreevy
Charles "Charlie" McCreevy is a former Irish politician. He was the European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services from 2004–2010. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD in 1977 and held the seat in Kildare until 2004 when he became Ireland's European Commissioner...

, would have to wait on the Fianna Fáil backbenches
Backbencher
In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...

 until the end of Haughey's political career in 1992 before being appointed as ministers. There was no rapprochement in the relationship between Gibbons and Haughey and when Haughey became Taoiseach, Gibbons was dropped from his Ministerial office. During a later leadership contest, Gibbons was assaulted in Dáil Éireann by Haughey supporters.

The events came to be one of the defining periods of Lynch's term as leader, during which there were several crises. Lynch supporters saw him as exhibiting strength in facing down the rebel ministers and his detractors saw it as an illustration of his weakness on the national question and procrastination in the face of difficult decisions.

As state papers relating to the period were released after 1995 further light was shed on the events, questioning the outcome. Much remains unknown about the truthfulness of the various personalities involved, and what exactly each knew, and when they came to know it. The diaries of Peter Berry, Secretary of the Department of Justice, published in Magill
Magill
Magill was an Irish politics and current affairs magazine founded by Vincent Browne and others in 1977. Magill was widely perceived as groundbreaking, specialising in in-depth investigative articles and colourful reportage by journalists such as Eamonn McCann and Gene Kerrigan...

 magazine, claimed that Taoiseach Lynch had not been forthright publicly. Document released through the Freedom of Information Act 30 years later showed that the state had altered statements by Colonel Hefferon to suppress the fact that he and Captain Kelly had kept Gibbons informed. This caused the then Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

, Bertie Ahern
Bertie Ahern
Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....

, to publicly reiterate that Captain Kelly was innocent of all charges.

External links

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