The Committee: Political Assassination in Northern Ireland

by Sean McPhilemy

This real-life thriller has been hailed by many experts as the most important book about Northern Ireland ever written. A fascinating, shocking, and important work of investigative journalism.--Jim Doyle, San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle. 32 photos.

Genres: History, Ireland, Nonfiction, Irish Literature

434 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Cindy Brandner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I have post-traumatic stress from reading this book. It swallowed my thoughts for a full week, and I even dreamed about the events chronicled in it. Sean McPhilemy has my utter admiration for his willingness to follow the truth even when the truth has taken so much away in his life. The corruption and collusion between the police force and certain elements of the Loyalist population, written about in this book are almost beyond belief. I have long been a scholar of Northern Ireland studies though, and have no doubt that Mr. McPhilemy told the truth about all these events.

As well as the events and personalities involved in the death squads, Mr. McPhilemy does a fantastic job of delineating why the press hates getting involved in anything to do with Northern Ireland, because ultimately there is no making sense of it, and trying to make sense of it becomes a trap in itself, often swallowing people's lives in the process. It has certainly done just that to Sean McPhilemy.

This was a read I will not soon forget.

[reece · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this shit, I really did.

The book is ostensibly about a conspiracy between powerful forces of capital, the Protestant police force in Northern Ireland, and far-right paramilitary death squads. Sounds good, right?

But that’s actually only the first 5th of the book, which actually serves mainly as an account of the litany of lawsuits that resulted from that conspiracy, including its conspirators names, being broadcast on the UK’s Channel 4 for a million viewers. I honestly lost interest incredibly fast. It’s not a book about history it’s a book about journalism, specifically the legal side of it. Wasn’t my thing at all.

Gonna walk this one down to the local Free Little Library, maybe someone else will get a kick out of it.

[David Allan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads like spy fiction, which it mostly is. Not sure how or if the litigation over this one is resolved but it was certainly provocative when it was published. There is no need for a secret cabal theory as there is ample evidence for government collusion in the sectarian violence before the Good Friday Agreement. As can sometimes be the case, those who write history have ink on their hands and those who make it have blood.

[Patrick Taggart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very striking to begin with, although very heavy as it goes on. A thoroughly interesting record of noble and worthwhile journalism all in, but just slightly lacking in pizazz

[Breandan]

..wow..political dynamite..startling, convincing..and they called this 'the troubles'..unimaginable how this has been allowed to happen..shows why the creation of a protestant state for a protestant people was so misguided..

[Kersplebedeb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thorough and excellent look at far right assassinations, with the collusion of the British state, of Irish republicans.