The number one Irish Times bestseller
In 1970, Taoiseach Jack Lynch accused two cabinet ministers, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney, of smuggling arms to the IRA in Northern Ireland. The criminal prosecution that followed was a cause célèbre at the time. All the accused were acquitted, but it generated a political crisis that would be one of the major events of modern Irish history.
In the fifty years since, myth and controversy has surrounded the trial and its aftermath. Michael Heney has unearthed astonishing new evidence, raising serious questions about Lynch and his relationship with Haughey. The Arms Crisis of 1970 is the first comprehensive investigation into the arms trial prosecution, and how the jury came to their verdict of acquittal.
Reviews:
'An indisputable, forensic interpretation of the events of 1970... Impressive for its methodology, and is indispensable for anyone interested in what actually happened 50 years ago' Colm Tóibín, Irish Times, Books of the Year
'Persuasive... A real life whodunnit written with the pace and drama of a political thriller' Eilis O'Hanlon, Irish Independent
'Heney strips away the lies associated with the great Irish scandal of 1970... A ground-breaking book' Diarmaid Ferriter
'Brilliant de-bunking of the myths, heroes and villains of the Arms Crisis' Mary O'Rourke, Sunday Independent
The number one Irish Times bestseller
In 1970, Taoiseach Jack Lynch accused two cabinet ministers, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney, of smuggling arms to the IRA in Northern Ireland. The criminal prosecution that followed was a cause célèbre at the time. All the accused were acquitted, but it generated a political crisis that would be one of the major events of modern Irish history.
In the fifty years since, myth and controversy has surrounded the trial and its aftermath. Michael Heney has unearthed astonishing new evidence, raising serious questions about Lynch and his relationship with Haughey. The Arms Crisis of 1970 is the first comprehensive investigation into the arms trial prosecution, and how the jury came to their verdict of acquittal.
Reviews:
'An indisputable, forensic interpretation of the events of 1970... Impressive for its methodology, and is indispensable for anyone interested in what actually happened 50 years ago' Colm Tóibín, Irish Times, Books of the Year
'Persuasive... A real life whodunnit written with the pace and drama of a political thriller' Eilis O'Hanlon, Irish Independent
'Heney strips away the lies associated with the great Irish scandal of 1970... A ground-breaking book' Diarmaid Ferriter
'Brilliant de-bunking of the myths, heroes and villains of the Arms Crisis' Mary O'Rourke, Sunday Independent
A serious, revisionist history of the most notorious court case in postwar Irish history. The arms crisis of 1970 came about when two Irish cabinet ministers, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney, alongside an army officer and other figures, were accused by Taoiseach Jack Lynch of smuggling arms to the IRA in Northern Ireland.
Dr. Michael Heney is a former award-winning journalist and producer with RTE Television, having previously worked with the Irish Times and with RTE Radio. A Fellow of the World Press Institute in Macalester College in Minneapolis/ St. Paul, his achievements include two Jacobs Television awards, Cross Broadcaster of the Year, and Liam Hourican European Journalist of the Year. His television exposés on the criminal convictions of the Tallaght Two led to the verdicts in that case being overturned in the Irish Court of Criminal Appeal. Since retiring from journalism in 2010, Michael has conducted six years of full-time academic investigation into the 1970 Arms Crisis, for which he was awarded firstly an MA (2014), and later a Ph.D (2018) by University College Dublin. He lives in Dublin.
Finally, a path has been cleared through the dirty fog of the Arms
Crisis. Michael Heney has provided us with an original and textured
history of one of the most controversial and misunderstood episodes
of modern Irish history. Driven by evidence and attention to
detail, and with dynamism and doggedness, Heney strips away the
lies, myths and speculation surrounding the events and
personalities associated with the great Irish scandal of 1970 and
uncovers the realities. His clarity and painstaking research have
resulted in a ground-breaking book
*Diarmaid Ferriter*
A brilliant, forensic investigation of the 1970 arms trial, with
much new material
*Vincent Browne*
Packed with astonishing detail and absorbing observations,
interpreted anew through study of the State Papers of 2001, [The
Arms Crisis of 1970] will leave you gasping with interest as you
turn the pages... I cannot recommend this book highly enough'
*Mary O'Rourke, Sunday Independent*
Heney's book is a reminder of how a version of the frictions that
led to splits in Sinn Féin and the foundation of Fianna Fáil in the
1920s surfaced again in the late 1960s and early 1970s
*RTÉ*
Michael Heney, a former RTÉ journalist who has spent the 50 years
since the Arms Crisis considering it more deeply, has written a
fascinating and thoroughly researched book about this episode and
found new evidence
*The Times*
As a former journalist with RTÉ for over 40 years, Heney knows how
to tell a story and keep an audience hooked... It's written with
the pace and drama of a political thriller, with characters that
you just couldn't invent'
*Irish Independent*
Heney tracks these key players' movements like pieces on a chess
board, constantly asking the fundamental questions of who knew what
and when... Heney's detective skills deserve great respect and he
has written an undeniably important book'
*Sunday Business Post*
An indisputable, forensic interpretation of the events of 1970...
Heney's book is impressive for its methodology, and is
indispensable for anyone interested in what actually happened 50
years ago'
*Irish Times.*
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