Brian "Ginger" Gillen (born 1956/1957) was alleged to be a

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

in the

Belfast Brigade "Belfast Brigade" is an Irish folk song, to the tune of "Battle Hymn of the Republic". Context The song is about the Belfast Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and in particular the 1st, or West Belfast battalion, during the Irish War ...

of the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reun ...

, and, later, named to the

IRA Army Council The IRA Army Council was the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, a paramilitary group dedicated to bringing about independence to the whole island of Ireland and the end of the Union between Northern Ireland and Great B ...

. His solicitor was Patrick Finucane, who was shot dead by loyalists in 1989. In 1995 Gillen, as

Officer Commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, ...

of the IRA's Belfast Brigade, was a member of the IRA Executive and was critical of the strategy employed by

Gerry Adams Gerard Adams ( ga, Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020 ...

. In 1997, he was elected to the Army Council with the backing of Adams, after he backed the leadership over

dissident republicans Dissident republicans, renegade republicans, anti-Agreement republicans or anti-ceasefire republicans ( ga, poblachtach easaontach) are Irish republicans who do not support the current peace agreements in Northern Ireland. The agreements follo ...

who wished to steer the IRA in a more hardline direction. In 2000, Gillen, along with Adams,

Martin McGuinness James Martin Pacelli McGuinness ( ga, Séamus Máirtín Pacelli Mag Aonghusa; 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman from Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during ...

, Pat Doherty and Brian Keenan were issued with a subpoena, in order to appear at Northern Ireland High Court as part of a civil action which was taken by relatives of the 29

Omagh bombing The Omagh bombing was a car bombing on 15 August 1998 in the town of Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army (Real IRA), a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) splinter group who oppose ...

victims.Adams is subpoenaed by Omagh relatives to appear at civil action
irishtimes.com; accessed 24 September 2015.

References

External links

belfasttelegraph.co.uk; accessed 24 September 2015. 1950s births Date of birth missing (living people) Paramilitaries from Belfast Living people Provisional Irish Republican Army members {{NorthernIreland-paramilitary-bio-stub