Thomas McMahon (born 1948) is a former volunteer in the

South Armagh Brigade The South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) operated during the Troubles in south County Armagh. It was organised into two battalions, one around Jonesborough and another around Crossmaglen. By the 1990s, the South Ar ...

of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), and was one of the IRA's most experienced bomb-makers. McMahon was convicted of the murder of Lord Louis Mountbatten and three others off the coast of Mullaghmore, County Sligo, in the west of Ireland.

IRA activity

McMahon planted a bomb in ''Shadow V'', a fishing boat owned by Mountbatten at Mullaghmore, County Sligo, near Donegal Bay. Lord Mountbatten was killed on 27 August 1979 by the bomb blast along with three other people: Doreen Knatchbull (Mountbatten's elder daughter's mother-in-law); his grandson Nicholas Knatchbull; and a 15-year-old crewmember Paul Maxwell. McMahon was arrested by the Gardaí (the Republic of Ireland's police force) at a Garda checkpoint between

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

and Granard on suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle two hours before the bomb detonated. The IRA claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement released immediately afterwards that said: "This operation is one of the discriminate ways we can bring to the attention of the English people the continuing occupation of our country." McMahon was tried for the assassinations in the Republic of Ireland, and convicted by forensic evidence supplied by

James O'Donovan James O'Donovan was the senior forensic scientist to the Garda Technical Bureau of the Garda Síochána (the Republic of Ireland's police), until his retirement in 2002. He was a key witness in the Provisional Irish Republican Army assassination ...

that showed flecks of paint from the boat and traces of nitroglycerine on his clothes. Although he was convicted of murder on 23 November 1979 and sentenced to life imprisonment, he served less than 20 years because he was released in 1998 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

After prison

After his release, Toby Harnden in ''Bandit Country'' reported that McMahon was holding a

tricolour A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...

in the first rank of the IRA colour party at a 1998 IRA meeting in

Cullyhanna Cullyhanna () is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The village extends further over the townlands of Tullynavall and Freeduff. It had a population of 306 in the 2001 Census. It is within the Newry and Mourne Distri ...

. However, according to a BBC report, McMahon has said that he had left the IRA in 1990. He has twice refused to meet Paul Maxwell's father, John, who has sought him out to explain the reasons for his son's death. In an interview for ''The Telegraph'' in 2009, Maxwell stated that he had "made two approaches to McMahon, the first through a priest, who warned me in advance that he thought there wouldn't be any positive response. And there wasn't. I have some reservations about meeting him, obviously – it might work out in such a way that I would regret having made the contact. On the other hand, if we met and I could even begin to understand his motivation. If we could meet on some kind of a human level, a man to man level, it could help me come to terms with it. But that might be very optimistic. McMahon knows the door is open at this end." His wife has stated, "Tommy never talks about Mountbatten, only the boys who died. He does have genuine remorse. Oh God yes." As of 2009, McMahon was living with his wife in a hillside bungalow in Lisanisk,

Carrickmacross Carrickmacross () is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town and environs had a population of 5,032 according to the 2016 census, making it the second-largest town in the county. Carrickmacross is a market town which developed around a ca ...

, County Monaghan. He has two grown sons. He helped with Martin McGuinness's presidential campaign in 2011, erecting posters for McGuinness around Carrickmacross, and also canvassed for Sinn Féin's

Matt Carthy Matt Carthy (born 19 July 1977) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cavan–Monaghan constituency since the 2020 general election. He previously served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for th ...

in the 2014 European Parliament elections.

References

Bibliography

Mountbatten murder suspects on leaked list
from ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'', 4 January 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:McMahon, Thomas 1948 births Living people Bombers (people) Irish nationalist assassins Irish mass murderers Irish people convicted of murder Irish prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Irish republicans People from County Monaghan Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the Republic of Ireland Provisional Irish Republican Army members Republicans imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict