The Informer

The thrilling real-life story of one man's war against terrorism.

'A book of major significance...told with the suspense of a thriller'

'A cracking story...O'Callaghan is one of the greatest friends of peace in Ireland'

'An extraordinary memoir of life within the murky world of Republicanism...filled with astonishing insights into the personalities and politics of the Provisionals'

'The extraordinary story of an extraordinary man...His well-written book sheds an unprecedented light on the inner workings of the "Republican Movement"'

Sean O'Callaghan was the most highly placed informer within the IRA.  Under constant threat of IRA revenge, he now works ceaselessly for peace in Ireland.  The Informer is Sean O'Callaghan's story.

In 1988 IRA terrorist Sean O'Callaghan walked into a Tunbridge Wells police station and gave himself up. Two years later, in a Belfast courtroom, he pleaded guilty to all charges of which he was accused and received a sentence of 539 years. Since being a teenager he had been an active member of the IRA and had risen to be the head of their Southern Command. He was responsible for two murders and many terrorist attacks. He was a linchpin of the organization. 
 
But in 1996, he was released from prison by royal prerogative. For fourteen years he had been the most highly placed informer within the IRA and had fed the Irish Garda with countless pieces of invaluable information. He prevented the assassination of the Prince and Princess of Wales at a London theatre, he sabotaged operations, explained strategy and caused the arrests of many IRA members. He has done more than any individual to unlock the code of silence that governs the IRA's members, and has in effect made it possible to fight the war against the terrorists. Under constant threat of IRA revenge, he now works ceaselessly for peace in Ireland. As he says, 'I hope to use the time available to me now to tell the truth about the IRA. I will go on doing that for as long as it takes. 
 
The Informer is Sean O'Callaghan's story. It is the story of a courageous life lived under the constant threat of discovery and its fatal consequences. It is the story of a very modern hero, who is not without sin but who has done and is continuing to do everything in his power, and at whatever personal cost, to atone for the past.

Sean O'Callaghan

extraordinary and insightful new biography of James Connolly – a magnificent reconsideration of the myths surrounding the Republican ‘hero’ and his warped place in the Republican mindset.

Two fine new books, Sean O’Callaghan’s James Connolly: My Search for the Man, the Myth and His Legacy…rightly emphasise the vicious hatred, fanaticism and lust for revenge of the rebellion’s ringleaders

Andrew Roberts, The Sunday Times, News Review

a republican insider’s disabused account of the fanatical mind, akin to Eric Hofer’s Seventies classic True Believers

Michael Burleigh, Books of the Year, Evening Standard

a brave, hostile account of the life of Pearse’s socialist co-conspirator and martyr, James Connolly

[An] insightful and intense critique of the Rising’s most important socialist martyr

My Search for the Man, the Myth and his Legacy

FROM THE FORMER IRA MEMBER AND AUTHOR OF THE INFORMER, SEAN O'CALLAGHAN 
 
'Very interesting on how fanaticism can develop within a community, and especially relevant today.' Bob Geldof 
 
The story of revolutionary James Connolly, his role in the 1916 Easter Rising, and his subsequent influence both on O'Callaghan himself, and on 20th century Irish politics. 
 
Easter Monday, 24th April, 1916: James Connolly, a 48-year-old Edinburgh-born Marxist and former British soldier, stands at the top of the steps of Liberty Hall, Dublin. 
 
'We are going out to be slaughtered,' Connolly told his comrades, and with this he set in train the Easter Rising of 1916. 
 
Two weeks later, in a scene that has haunted Nationalist Ireland ever since, he was carried to his place of execution having been badly wounded. Placed on a chair, he was shot dead by soldiers of the army he had once served in. 
 
This is not a traditional biography; it is a book about Sean O'Callaghan's relationship with a man who was to deeply influence his formative years; it is about the politics of violent extremism that O'Callaghan subsequently became caught up in; and it's about the kind of individuals who are willing to sacrifice everything, including their lives, for a holy cause. 
 
Never has a book been more timely.

James Connolly

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Sean O’Callaghan

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Sean O'Callaghan

Praise for James Connolly

extraordinary and insightful new biography of James Connolly – a magnificent reconsideration of the myths surrounding the Republican ‘hero’ and his warped place in the Republican mindset.

Two fine new books, Sean O’Callaghan’s James Connolly: My Search for the Man, the Myth and His Legacy…rightly emphasise the vicious hatred, fanaticism and lust for revenge of the rebellion’s ringleaders

a republican insider’s disabused account of the fanatical mind, akin to Eric Hofer’s Seventies classic True Believers

extraordinary and insightful new biography of James Connolly – a magnificent reconsideration of the myths surrounding the Republican ‘hero’ and his warped place in the Republican mindset.

Two fine new books, Sean O’Callaghan’s James Connolly: My Search for the Man, the Myth and His Legacy…rightly emphasise the vicious hatred, fanaticism and lust for revenge of the rebellion’s ringleaders

a republican insider’s disabused account of the fanatical mind, akin to Eric Hofer’s Seventies classic True Believers

extraordinary and insightful new biography of James Connolly – a magnificent reconsideration of the myths surrounding the Republican ‘hero’ and his warped place in the Republican mindset.

Two fine new books, Sean O’Callaghan’s James Connolly: My Search for the Man, the Myth and His Legacy…rightly emphasise the vicious hatred, fanaticism and lust for revenge of the rebellion’s ringleaders

a republican insider’s disabused account of the fanatical mind, akin to Eric Hofer’s Seventies classic True Believers

Books by Sean O'Callaghan

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