大象传媒

A man tasked with finding and killing alleged informers for the IRA was an informer all along. Mark Horgan traces the story of the secret British Army Agent known as Stakeknife.

You can find more information and brief descriptions on the terms used in the series Cover: Stakeknife here.

Bogside - An area of Derry/ Londonderry. It remains a strongly Nationalist and Republican part of Northern Ireland's second largest city and witnessed three days of serious disorder in 1969, known as the “Battle of the Bogside”.

The Boston Tapes - An oral history project by the US university, Boston College, to document The Troubles. The tapes are recordings conducted in secret in which ex-Paramilitaries from both the Republican and Loyalist sides talk about their roles in the conflict. Those who took part were promised the information would only be made public after their deaths, but the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) launched an international court battle to force academics to hand over the material.

Collusion - During the conflict, there were allegations that the security forces co-operated with paramilitaries after a number of incidents raised suspicion. These included attacks on known Republicans and members of the Nationalist community. Lord Stevens, who investigated some of these allegations, described collusion as ranging from "the wilful failure to keep records, the absence of accountability, the withholding of intelligence and evidence, through to the extreme of agents being involved in murder".

FRU - The Force Research Unit. A British army agency involved in gathering intelligence from Loyalists. The unit was responsible for handling agents including Stakeknife.

Informer - A term used to describe those connected to organisations who were alleged to have passed on sensitive information to the security forces. *Source: The Cain Archive, Ulster University

Internment - On 9 August 1971 the Northern Ireland government with the support of the authorities in London decided to intern without trial those suspected of paramilitary-related activities. Initially the measure was used exclusively against suspects within the Catholic community. The vast majority of the interned were from the Nationalist/ Republican community. *Source: The Cain Archive, Ulster University

IRA - The Irish Republican Army. Founded in 1922, immediately after the Partition of Ireland, the IRA fought for an independent and united Ireland. It was the main Republican paramilitary group, from which most others originated, including the Provisional IRA.

ISU - The IRA’s Internal Security Unit, which was set up to root out informers within its ranks. It was commonly known as the “nutting squad” because victims were shot in the head. Stakeknife was a senior member of this unit.

Loyalist - Those who have allegiance to the British crown and the UK often interpreted as a more extreme wing of unionism.

Military intelligence - A section within the British Army responsible for gathering, analysing and acting upon information about paramilitary organisations. The FRU is part of this section of the British Army. *Source: The Cain Archive, Ulster University.

Nationalist - Those who want the reunification of Ireland.

Paramilitaries - A trained and organised armed force that is like an army, but unofficial and often illegal.

Provisional IRA - The Provisional Irish Republican Army. It was the main armed Republican group during The Troubles. In 1969 the IRA split into the “Official IRA” and the “Provisional IRA”. The PIRA advocated violent confrontation, including bombings, shootings and beatings as part of its “armed struggle” to see a united Ireland free from British involvement.

PSNI - The Police Service of Northern Ireland. It was created in 2001 from a reformed version of the RUC.

RUC - The Royal Ulster Constabulary. The only armed police force in the UK.

Stevens Inquiry - Following allegations of collusion between the security forces in Northern Ireland and Loyalist paramilitary groups Sir John Stephens, then Deputy Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire, was appointed in 1989 by the British government to carry out an investigation.

Tout - Derogatory term often used to describe someone from either side of the community, who passes on information to the security forces.* Sources include 大象传媒 News and the CAIN archive from Ulster University.