Anatomy of a Killing: Life and Death on a Divided Island

by Ian Cobain

On the morning of Saturday 22nd April 1978, members of an Active Service Unit of the IRA hijacked a car and crossed the countryside to the town of Lisburn. Within an hour, they had killed an off-duty policeman in front of his young son.
In Anatomy of a Killing , award-winning journalist Ian Cobain documents the hours leading up to the killing, and the months and years of violence, attrition and rebellion surrounding it. Drawing on interviews with those most closely involved, as well as court files, police notes, military intelligence reports, IRA strategy papers, memoirs and government records, this is a unique perspective on the Troubles, and a revelatory work of investigative journalism.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ireland, Politics, True Crime, Irish Literature, Audiobook

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2020

Reviews

[Joe O'Donnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the slow grinding horror of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, over 3,600 people were killed over the course of the 30-year conflict. Ian Cobain’s “Anatomy of a Killing” tells the story of just one of those deaths: the shooting of RUC officer (and photographer and pigeon-fancier) Miller McAllister by an I.R.A. volunteer called Harry Murray in Lisburn in 1978.

Unlike other histories of The Troubles which take more of a wide lens view of the era, “Anatomy of a Killing” takes this one murder and uses it as a microcosm of the three decade-long conflict. Cobain traces the killing back to McAllister and Murray’s adolescences during the outbreak of The Troubles in the 1960s, and their subsequent recruitment by their respective policing and paramilitary organisations. Cobain meticulously outlines the murder plot, from the identification of McAllister as a ‘legitimate target’, through to the assembly of the Provisional IRA squad who would pursue him, and on to the seemingly inexorable shooting and subsequent criminal trials. As the plot unfolds, Cobain weaves in many of the main themes of The Troubles; from the inter-community sectarian violence that scarred Belfast throughout this era, the evolution of the I.R.A.’s tactics (and descent into ever-bloodier violence) during the conflict, the increasing use by the security forces of interrogation techniques that bordered on torture, and the utter ineptitude of successive British secretaries of state when faced with devising a resolution to The Troubles.

“Anatomy of a Killing” is frequently an intense read, and convincingly captures the claustrophobic, paranoid nature of 1970s Northern Ireland. It grippingly depicts men – whether the gunman, soldier or police officer – who are at the mercy of forces far beyond their control. The squalid nature of so much of the conflict (such as the police cell beatings and the close-quarter assassinations) can rarely have been so harrowingly represented in Troubles literature.

Cobain is sensitive and scrupulously even-handed throughout the book, and he also exhibits a genuine empathy for the victims and the shattered lives of the grieving families, an aspect that – with the exception of David McKittrick’s incomparable “Lost Lives” – is often overlooked in histories of The Troubles. “Anatomy of a Killing” is not an easy or comforting read, but it is a worthy addition to the canon of writing on the Northern Ireland conflict – all the more so for the forensic approach of Ian Cobain.

[Dermot]

Literally read it in one sitting. Very good at what it sets out to do

[Ailish Leiper · Rating 4 out of 5]

more of a 3.5 - this was good and a good introduction to the troubles in general.

my problems are twofold: firstly, a lot of the background information wasn't new to me. this isn't really a book problem more of a me problem, this just treads a lot of similar ground to eg killing thatcher in terms of giving an introduction to the troubles. useful, but not for me particularly.

the second issue is also illustrated by a comparison to killing thatcher - where that story is outrageous, dramatic and gripping, this story (whilst obviously still important) doesn't feel that remarkable to me, in the wider context of the troubles. I don't want to minimise it but the story at the heart of the book is fairly straightforward, no big twists or turns really. it still is interesting of course but I don't think we really get a sense of why THIS story, you know?

[Finbarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply brilliant. One of the most compelling books I've read on the conflict. No other account (at least not that I've encountered) humanises those involved, from the paramilitaries to the security forces and their families, in the way that Cobain does. This in itself was one of the great tragedies: these were regular people - neighbours, fathers, sons and daughters - that were driven by the toxic politics and history of the place to shoot and bomb one another.

[Cris Gómez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al final se me ha hecho bola, pero me ha gustado mucho aprender sobre algo tan importante y olvidado en la historia del mundo contemporaneo

[Melanie Glass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up during the Troubles, it was so easy to view all that was happening from a one-dimensional viewpoint. This book takes one specific event from the Troubles and offers a multi -layered, multi - dimensional retelling of it. What we are provided with is the multitude of events, happenings and reactions which have taken place over decades to build up to the killing in Lisburn.
The retelling is honest, provoking, challenging, and informative and shows just how complicated this time in our country's history was.
An excellent read.

[Conor Tannam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't a bad book. However, there are much better books about the conflict in Northern Ireland. Perhaps if I had not recently read a book that covered much of the same historical context, I would have enjoyed this more. Alas, I had. As an introduction to this particular topic, Cobain's book is fine. Would I choose it over Say Nothing? Nope. In fact, if you want to read anything on Northern Ireland read that book. It's fantasatic. I did learn about a horrific burning out of Catholics in Lisburn that I didn't know about before so, if for nothing else, I'm glad I read this book.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cobain, an English journalist, tells the story of the assassination of a Northern Irish member of the police, and by expanding on the entire context of the event in 1978, tells a captivating story. This is one of the best books I have read on Northern Ireland. By describing various neighborhoods and communities, he provides a landscape of the Troubles in Belfast and nearby. He details events that happened before and after this specific murder. The book also delves into the imprisoning of IRA members and other paramilitaries, and what happened when their political status was denied leading to the Blanket protests. He spends almost no time on Protestant paramilitary groups and perhaps this is because they are not part of this particular event. Instead the focus is on the Provisional IRA, and includes some of their most despicable actions such as the Le Mon Restaurant incendiary bomb attack. I felt that he was too light handed with Gerry Adams, when Patrick Raden Keefe's book Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland was more critical. But Keefe was telling the story of the disappearance of Jean Mc Conville, the Belfast mother of 10 children, and Adams was a central suspect in her murder.

Highly recommended reading for those interested in the history of the Troubles.

[Too Many Toys · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm 58, so I lived through much of The Troubles. I'm in the US, so I've formed opinions based on media and some discussion with Irish and British citizens. I found the book well-written and while detailed, the details tended to be relevant to understanding. While I'm sure more knowledgeable reviewers will likely find faults, for me the author took a reasonably balanced approach to presenting both sides from a human perspective. For someone with a casual interest in obtaining a better understanding of The Troubles, I highly recommend this book.

[Charles Goins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t read non-fiction much but this was a gift and I know so little about the troubles, which I am fascinated by, that I tore through it. The geography and lingo were a bit of a hurdle but I put that out of mind and read through. It’s an incredibly interesting, depressing, and well written piece of Irish history that I’m glad that I read. It says as much about all of humanity as it does the specific conflict that is the book’s focus.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling and informative read, I learned a lot from it. The authors sympathies are clearly with the Republican side but he tells a balanced story. It's only failing is that the family of the murdered man did not want to speak to the author and so there is a gap in the story.

[Tiarnán · Rating 4 out of 5]

great

[ultan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended reading for insight into such a complex issue, but it just scratches the surface as it’s only really focusing on one particular event in the Troubles

[Peter Colclasure · Rating 3 out of 5]

"On the morning of Saturday 22nd April 1978, members of an Active Service Unit of the IRA hijacked a car and crossed the countryside to the town of Lisburn. Within an hour, they had killed an off-duty policeman in front of his young son."

Many books about the Troubles give you a bird's-eye view of the conflict, iterating the various military and police units involved, Republican and Loyalist paramilitaries, evolving tactics and strategies, the intelligence gathering operations of the British state, the various ministers and cabinet officials that came and went, big events such as Bloody Sunday and the hunger strike, figures like Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley, Bobby Sands and Margaret Thatcher, etc. There's a lot of jargon and acronyms. RUC, UDA, UVF, UDR, Provos, Stickies, Paras, INLA.

The problem is that, as an American, I'm always left wanting for any tactile sense of what it felt like to live through the Troubles. How did they feed you at IRA basic training? Were new inductees scared? Was it physically taxing? What kind of clothes were they wearing? How did IRA membership affect your closest friendships? What were the conversations like?

Troubles books rarely go into these sorts of details, and when they do they tend to brush past them. I'm not sure if the details of IRA training are still a tightly-kept secret. But I suspect the main reason for the lack of description is because many of these books were written by and for people who were actually there, and thus more concerned with the larger picture than trivial details like clothing.

Anatomy of a Killing seemed to promise a counterweight to the bird's-eye view of history. Instead of attempting to tell an overarching story about the conflict as a whole, it would focus on a single episode: the murder of a policeman, the people who did it, and the consequences. And by that narrow focus provide a sense of reality.

The book does this in part. But it spends chapters on the internal dynamics of the police and military, the tensions and personality clashes various RUC and army leaders, a strategic paper written by the IRA by members in jail, the emerging punk rock scene in late '70s Belfast, and various other things that distracted from the main story, in my opinion.

The strongest chapter is the one which actually deals with the horrific murder of the police officer—in his back yard, in front of his son—and the events leading up to it: the hijacking of a car, the procuring of a revolver, the various IRA volunteers involved in moving weaponry around and planning the operation.

The IRA personnel responsible are sketched out. You get their biographies, a few quotes describing how they felt about the conflict both before and after the murder, scenes of the police interrogations, and yet they always feel distant, held at arm's length. I didn't get a sense of their personalities. What were they like as people? Were they serious? Sarcastic? Loving fathers? Dutiful husbands? The book just didn't spend enough time with them. I noticed that in the acknowledgements section, the author noted that the principle figures decided to stop talking to him halfway through writing the book. The author stressed that this was an understandable decision that he fully respected, but one can't help but wonder what transpired, and whether that limited the texture of them as people.

The author deserves credit for writing a book that is thoroughly researched. Every detail is vetted and fact-checked and feels true and objective. Furthermore, the viewpoint at all times remains fair and balanced, neither exculpatory nor laudatory of the IRA's war, which, depending on who you talk to, was either a romantic anti-colonial uprising, or a terrorist campaign. As a forensic document, it's fantastic. I just wanted a deeper sense of what it was like to be these people, to inhabit their lives, and the book never got close enough.

[Lara A · Rating 3 out of 5]

A highly readable, albeit flawed account of the events surrounding the murder of a policeman, who was shot dead on his own doorstep in front of his youngest child in late 70s Lisburn. For those familiar with the Troubles, they can take what they will from it. For those unfamiliar with events and seeking to learn more, this isn't a great place to start. A general rule of thumb for readers in the latter category is to check the index of any book on the Troubles and if it doesn't mention Operation Motorman or the Sunningdale Agreement, then put it back on the shelf.

The problems with this book are evident in the acknowledgements. The victims family did not cooperate with the book, the perpetrators did, which means as the chapters progress, there is far more of their viewpoint and considering the brutality of the crime and their utter lack of remorse, this can be hard to stomach.

Even more nauseating, is when one individual is given several pages without any challenge from the author, to justify the need for violence, even when he likely had some involvement in the Warrington bombing which killed two children and also included plotting to bomb the Crufts Dog Show (among other locations) in the early 90s, while the peace process was under way. Meanwhile there is no space made for the Nationalist condemnation of IRA violence. John Hume is not mentioned, despite his famous description of the IRA as ‘medieval savages weeping crocodile tears’.

As Cobain correctly states, a lot of people in Northern Ireland (and elsewhere) were directly impacted by the violence in the Troubles. Recent coverage of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement shows a surprising number of people who regret voting yes. For many of whom, that regret is based on what they view as the prominent role in public life of people who still claim that terrorist violence was legitimate. So while it is fair for Cobain to accurately convey the viewpoints of those featured in his area of research, do so without any opposing viewpoints risks causing wider harm.

[Cormac Healy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but compelling book about The Troubles, told through the prism of a single murder. It read like a thriller, compelling you to keep turning the pages long after you should have gone to bed.

 

Northern Ireland is an interesting conflict, where so much identity is wrapped up in language, and I think the author did an excellent job at navigating that in as objective a manner as possible. He also recognised the challenges that come with memory ('a sibling of the truth, but definitely not a twin') and the considerable skepticism that police accounts of interrogation should be treated.

 

If I had one complaint, I would say that the book does an excellent job of charting the build-up of The Troubles amidst the broader British conflict, but does not cast as much of an eye on the Irish context, what was happening in Dublin, and political developments there. But it is a small gripe.

[Isabella Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

“all of this resulted in some nationalists and catholics concluding that when those who made the law broke the law, there was no law- and that a lawless response was entirely justified.” always interested in exploring how/when state violence (and the intentional obstruction of that violence) upends the social contract- in conclusion, Margaret Thatcher and Roy Mason, you will pay for your crimes.

[Ruairí]

Does what it sets out to do. Nice introduction to some of the big questions of the period. Has many virtues over say nothing, mostly in the attention to questions of everyday life (unemployment, housing, discrimination)

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Class account of one incident that had devastating effects in Northern Ireland. Woven together perfectly.

[Fionnuala · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love things like this: complex historical and political periods analysed through a single event. It's a complicated thing to do and it takes great skill to get as much as possible from one event without stretching (this was the problem I had with Say Nothing, even though it was a decent read for other reasons) but this book does it well. Part of it had to be that this was very close to home – I spent a lot of time in Belfast and Lisburn as a teenager, had people in my group from multiple places named in this book, walked the same streets and saw some of the same things. But a bigger part of it is the fact that this is a masterful reconstruction of a time and place.

The chapters slowly introduce the reader to the context, focusing on the people, the place, and the time. Like setting a stage, they then move the reader through the details of the killing itself, and then on to the consequences. Every chapter builds on the one before, adding a different layer, and by the end of the book the whole thing is three dimensional. Through it all, it's impossible to forget that this killing was one of thousands; that for every person who had their life irreversibly changed by this killing, it played out over three thousand times across the North and, like the killing at the focus of this book, some of those ripples haven't yet stopped travelling.

In a situation as complex as the Troubles, it's very difficult to dive in without any prior knowledge. I come at this book as somebody who grew up in the North, who was deeply interested in the history of the Troubles and the politics behind it from an early age, and who spent my teenage years wading in up to my elbows and calling for revolution. Time and experience have mellowed that bloodlust but not my interest; as somebody who knows a lot about this subject already, I still found this a fascinating read full of things I did not know or had not considered. At the same time, I think it would be easy enough for somebody with very little idea of the Troubles to follow, as it really is an impeccably details case study that highlights so many of the issues, conflicts, and consequences. A relatively short book compared to others I've read, it manages to say just as much, if not more.

[loucumailbeo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells of a killing in northern Ireland and its hard not to compare it to Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe, in that it uses the framing of one killing to tell the wider story of the troubles of Northern Ireland. However it does differ in several respects. Firstly, this is a lot shorter and more concise, it does reach out from the main case, but it looks at particularly at all of the backstories of all of the elements of the killing and tries to understand how everyone involved in that day, got to that point. Physically, emotionally and politically.

Cobain does a good job of being pretty neutral. As he says in the foreword, in a part of the world where language and names are so politicised, even the words you use can demonstrate bias, so it’s a tricky line to walk.

If you have read a lot, or know a lot about NI, then I don’t think there is much that is new here, but what it does do really well is demonstrate just how many individual stories are still to be told and how deep the generational trauma goes.

[Isabel Theis · Rating 4 out of 5]

great read on a topic I still dont know much about. The author reflected both sides of the conflict so humanely it was very easy to understand how things escalated the way they did

[Sean Meagher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book about the Irish Troubles reads like a long series of news articles, which is not surprising given the author’s background. I appreciated the extreme effort it must have taken to cull these endless details into a coherent narrative, but I did at times feel like the book was a little too “matter of fact” to keep me going for long stretches. It was great to see an honest attempt to tell the facts without bias, unlike most books about the troubles, but I did not find it to be the most exciting or emotionally compelling work I have read on the topic. Still, a fine, informative read.

[T H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book
This lays bare the seething hatred in Northern Ireland and the willingness of some of its inhabitants to commit the most dastardly deeds without troubling their conscience. Foul sectarian murders are dismissed as being part and parcel of an ongoing war
Barbarity pure and simple driven by bigotry and sectarianism

[Stephen]

Not much to say on this one, other than that it complemented my reading of Bowen's 'The Last September', in offering a long view on Northern Irish history. In this case I don't especially want to give it a star rating, but would certainly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the biographical roots and social contexts of Norther Irish history from the 1920s to the 1970s and beyond.

[Aimée-Stephanie Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focusing mostly on West Belfast this book felt a lot more personal to me than other books about the Troubles I’ve read. It is really interesting and informative without being too academic, and I really enjoy the focus on personal stories and the people involved. Overall a really interesting insight into the workings of the IRA and how they carried out their killings.

[Paddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling account of a tragic episode in the history of the Troubles. It brought back to me memories of the hatred, bigotry, bombings and killings of the time. RIP Millar McAllister and Brian Maguire.

[Lydia Alldritt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very data heavy; all names and places you may have never heard before that you now need to remember 50+ pages after they were last mentioned. Otherwise a great book. As impartial as it is possible to be

[Regina Dooley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very well researched book which looks at the killing of an RUC officer in the north of lreland. ln using a single killing it provides a snapshot of the conflict. A very interesting and well written book.

[Ruth Choppen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read giving some really good insights and understanding of the “Troubles” - this was a subject I knew very little about but after reading this it’s definitely something that I want to read more about