The Internal Security Unit (ISU) was the
counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting ac ...
and interrogation unit of the
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
(IRA). This unit was often referred to as the Nutting Squad, in reference to the fact that many of the informers uncovered were shot in the back of the head (the "nut").
The unit is thought to have had jurisdiction over both
Northern and
Southern Commands of the IRA, (encompassing the whole of
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
), and to have been directly attached to IRA General Headquarters (GHQ).
Duties
The group was believed to have had a number of briefs:
* Security and character vetting of new recruits to the IRA,
* Collecting and collating material on failed and compromised IRA operations,
* Collecting and collating material on suspect or compromised individuals (informers),
* Interrogation and debriefing of suspects and compromised individuals,
* Carrying out killings and lesser punishments of those judged guilty by IRA courts martial.
The ISU was believed to have unlimited access to the members, apparatus and resources of the IRA in carrying out its duties. Its remit could not be countermanded except by order of the
Army Council.
Depositions obtained as part of its operation would ideally be noted on paper, and if possible recorded for the purposes of propaganda.
Activity
The ISU carried out debriefing of IRA
volunteers following their detention by security forces operating in Northern Ireland. These interviews would take place to discover if a volunteer had betrayed information or secrets of the organisation. They would also take place in the event of an operation, weapons cache, or unit being exposed to danger or uncovered.
The membership of the IRA and wider republican community were expected to comply with requests for information made by the ISU, this information then being used to build or refute accusations made against an IRA volunteer.
See also
*
Disappeared (Northern Ireland)
The Disappeared refers to 17 people from Northern Ireland believed to have been abducted, murdered and secretly buried during the Troubles. The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR) is in charge of locating the rem ...
*
Stakeknife, a double agent thought to be
Freddie Scappaticci
*
Joseph Fenton
*
John Joe McGee
*
Murders of Catherine and Gerard Mahon
Catherine and Gerard Mahon were a husband and wife who lived in the Poleglass#Adjacent areas, Twinbrook suburb of Belfast. Gerard, aged twenty-eight, was a mechanic; Catherine, was twenty-seven. They were killed by the Provisional Irish Republi ...
*
Murder of Thomas Oliver
References
Further information/sources
*
Ingram, Martin with Greg Harkin. ''"Stakeknife"''. Britain's secret agents in Ireland"'', O'Brien Press, 2004.
External links
"Victims were sacrificed by agent known as 'Stakeknife'" irishnews.com, 22 October 2015; accessed 3 August 2017.
Scappaticci profile theguardian.com, 12 May 2003.
cryptome.quintessenz.org, 19 February 2006.
Lengthy Interview given by Martin Ingram on Radio Free Éireann describing his FRU activities" NOTE, the interview begins after twenty-five minutes
{{PIRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army