Remember how the IRA almost killed Thatcher? She downplayed it, but the story changed forever

The British Prime Minister at the time, Margaret Thatchershowing off his fame of iron ladyhe refused. And Sands’ agony became a political battle that led to riots and exacerbated the fury of the IRA. A thirst for revenge that materialized in an assassination attempt on October 12, 1984.

that night a bomb exploded on one of the upper floors of the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England, built days ago by IRA militant Patrick (Pat, to his friends) Magee. In one of the rooms was Thatcher, who came out completely unharmed through the main door of the building. The IRA had tried to assassinate her and had failed, but that day the history of the United Kingdom, Ireland and the entire world changed forever.

The journalist Rory Carroll (Dublin, 1972), correspondent for Guardiancollected in his book there will be fire (edited this year in Spanish by Ariel) reconstructs the attack and its consequences. As if from a thriller If it were, he recovers, in a journalistic way, some of the details about a conspiracy that has faded in the collective memory. He talks about those lights and shadows with EL ESPAÑOL just a few days before the Irish general elections.

How did you come to that story?

Purely by chance. A few years ago, Patrick Magee published his memoirs—titled Where Grieving Begins: Building Bridges after the Brighton Bomb—, in which he talks about his childhood, his life and his decision to join the IRA, but not about the attack. On the occasion of the publication of the book, I was going to interview him to Guardianand when I began to document myself I realized that many details had never come to light. I thought it was the opportunity to tell a story never told; a part of the history of Ireland and England through its protagonists, such as Margaret Thatcher or Patrick Magee himself.

Why should anyone be interested in a book about an IRA assassination attempt that failed 40 years ago?

Because it is a very interesting episode in itself that has never been fully told. Furthermore, the history between Ireland, England and Northern Ireland is not resolved, there is no common narrative about what happened, about the causes of the violence or the legacy. And the book, in some way, tries to capture the attention of the new generations, who know almost nothing about the troublesand tell them about a story that has not ended. Now, I don’t want to offer the young broccoli, but rather something more appetizing; That’s why I have tried to write a thriller, a novel, but a journalistic one.

Why do you think this episode was lost in collective memory, that it faded into history?

In part it was due to the insistence of Margaret Thatcher, who had already established herself as a strong leader, like an iron lady, and did not want to delve into the shock and the trauma of what happened. “Tomorrow will be another day,” he said. She was also not willing to admit that the IRA almost killed her, because it would have been like contributing to the group’s propaganda. It’s a bit like the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, which was quickly forgotten. Or that of Donald Trump, of which we barely remember the details even though it happened recently.

Where is the criterion of what is yes and what is not?

I think there is no written rule; As a society, we decide to remember some things and forget others. For example, every November 5 in the United Kingdom, Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated, a commemoration of the Gunpowder Plot, which was still an attack against the British monarchy in 1605. It is curious that today, five centuries later, There are children in Northern Ireland setting off firecrackers and singing songs about that failed assassination attempt. Luckily, we writers have the privilege of trying to dig into the stories that fall into oblivion.

However, the attempted assassination of Margaret Thatcher was no small matter; It was the first time the IRA had attempted to kill a British Prime Minister. What was the trigger?

Mainly, revenge. The IRA blamed Thatcher for lacking humanity for allowing the death of the ten republican prisoners during the hunger strike. It was a very traumatic episode for Northern Ireland. She was not just any British minister, but the murderer of Bobby Sands, considered a martyr.

“For many, Thatcher was not just any British minister, but the murderer of Bobby Sands”

But many others died earlier during the conflict and an assassination never went that far.

It’s true. But then it also influenced that the troubleswhich had started 15 years ago, began to be seen not only as a long war, but as one with no way out. The IRA orchestrated that operation to try to change the status quo.

“There is no definitive peace in Northern Ireland,” he says in the book. What is it referring to?

Because the Good Friday Agreement (the Good Friday Agreement) was very important for peace, but the truth is that the two communities are still deeply polarized. Compared to South Africa, where there was a reconciliation process, in Northern Ireland the country’s history has not been absorbed and analysed. There is no shared narrative about what happened. Was the conflict the fault of a group of psychopaths? From terrorists? Or was it a war of liberation?

Is this polarization also seen at the polls?

Yes, Protestants in general vote for their parties and Catholics for theirs. In the center there is a group who are neither nationalists nor unionists and who have the support of 15% or 20% of the population. They are a minority. It is still a very damaged society, and the situation is uncomfortable.

I mentioned before that Patrick Magee does not want to give details of what happened. Why do you think there are people who still don’t want to talk?

Because some members of the IRA can still be persecuted and imprisoned. Also because it is the custom of the IRA as an institution, not to talk about operational details. They consider it in bad taste. An example of this is Gerry Adams, who currently still denies having belonged to the group, although it is absurd. The police, on the other hand, are open to talking, because when they were 30 or 40 years old they were afraid, but now they are retired and want to tell their side and explain what role they played in the story.

There are those who are willing to forgive but not repent. Here in Spain with ETA there has been a similar debate. Can a wound really be healed without regret?

It is complex and Magee is a clear example of this. He maintains a friendship with Jo Berry, daughter of a British MP killed in a bomb attack by the IRA. Specifically, carried out by Magee. As a result of that relationship, he has said he recognizes the humanity of his victims, something he did not see during the violence, in which he considered the targets as British war machines. Magree acknowledges that perhaps Anthony Berry was a good man and a good father. He is very candid about the damage he did, but still defends the Brighton bomb and the IRA campaign. Even Sinn Fein does it too.

One of the questions that runs through the book is what would have happened if the IRA had managed to kill Thatcher that fateful night. What is your opinion?

I have struggled with that question a lot and have never been able to formulate a clear answer. What does not give rise to discussion is that the history of England and Ireland, and also that of the rest of the world, would have been totally different.

Do you think the clandestine government talks with the IRA that precipitated the Good Friday Agreement would have taken place?

Surely any successor to Thatcher would have adopted a heavy-handed policy against the IRA and responded excessively. In fact, that was always a mistake of the British: to act disproportionately and thus provoke more martyrs in Ireland and a new reaction. I think the IRA was looking for that with the attack. If Thatcher had died, the peace process would have been delayed, if not destroyed.

How did it change the course of world history?

Well, Thatcher acted as mediator between Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan, who did not want to have any contact with the USSR, so everything could have been different. Furthermore, the United Kingdom we have today, outside the European Union, was partly formed during Thatcher’s third term, in those six years after the assassination attempt.

Do you think that the brexit Was it one of Thatcher’s legacies?

Thatcher had a very negative attitude towards the EU, but remained committed during her government. When he left Downing Street, however, he raised his tone, began to use very aggressive rhetoric against the EU and that encouraged his successors and his own party to follow that path. It legitimized and promoted that idea that we later saw culminate in the brexitwhich still has a very profound impact on Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Are you referring to the hard border?

Yes, but not alone. He brexit has affected the psychology of the people of Northern Ireland. There are many middle class Catholic nationalists who, on a sentimental level, preferred the unification of Ireland, but on a practical level they liked being part of the United Kingdom because they liked the NHS, European products, etc. Now, after brexitthey no longer think that way and see unification as something viable again. And that is important because they are a decisive group in the face of a possible referendum on whether to stay in the United Kingdom or unite with Ireland. In that sense, ironically, Thatcher’s legacy may be what unites Ireland.

It talks about the resurgence of that nationalist sentiment and, in fact, there is now a female chief minister in Northern Ireland who is from Sinn Féin. Could that referendum be near?

Sinn Féin wants to give the impression that the referendum is inevitable and that, furthermore, it will happen soon, within five or ten years. Now, I believe that the British Government is going to want to delay it as much as possible. It is paradoxical that Sinn Féin is now part of the British Government, the establishment that for decades it tried to overthrow.

There are those who saw the arrival to the power of Sinn Féinfor decades the political arm of the IRA terrorist organization, with skepticism. Two years have passed and, beyond an institutional blockade promoted by the Democratic Unionist Party, there has been no solid effort by the Republicans to promote the reunification of Ireland.

Sinn Féin has the challenge of demonstrating that it is a competent Government that can be trusted but, at the same time, it cannot be overly successful because that would mean that the status quo is fine. And if it’s okay, then why risk everything for unification with Ireland? In Germany we already saw the economic cost of reunification.

Parece además que ya no es tanto un reclamo popular. Ni en el norte ni en lo que desde el norte se considera “el sur” de la isla.

En Irlanda no hay muestras de un amplio apoyo a la unificación. Hay mucha angustia sobre los impuestos que habría que pagar, además de que hay un millón de protestantes con armas que no quieren avanzar y unificarse con el sur. Si hubiese fuerzas demográficas que presionan por el referéndum, el Gobierno lo haría, pero creo que ahora mismo hay tantos obstáculos e impedimentos que el proceso se va a demorar bastante. Yo tengo 52 años y no estoy convencido de que habrá un referéndum en mi vida.

Ahora se celebran elecciones generales anticipadas en Irlanda y el Sinn Féin está muy debilitado en las encuestas. 

Irlanda del Norte no es uno de los temas políticos de primera línea. A efectos prácticos, la frontera entre las dos Irlandas es nula y lo que ahora importa son los asuntos económicos, la inmigración, la vivienda etc.

¿Cree que podría volver a brotar la violencia? El protocolo de Irlanda del Norte que conllevaba controles aduaneros, sanitarios y fitosanitarios de gran parte de los productos y mercancías que viajaban desde Reino Unido a Irlanda del Norte y viceversa aumentó la irritación de la comunidad protestante y se vivieron escenas de violencia callejera como no se recordaban desde hacía décadas

Existen grupúsculos del nuevo IRA y de vez en cuando hacen algo pero, afortunadamente son tan pequeños e incapaces, que no hay riesgo de que estalle la violencia. Además, la población no tiene ningún apetito por ello. Sinn Féin no quiere violencia, porque está detrás del proceso de paz. No hay ninguna expectativa de que haya violencia política.