Killing Thatcher

by Rory Carroll

The gripping account of how the IRA came astonishingly close to killing Margaret Thatcher KILLING THATCHER is the gripping account of how the IRA came astonishingly close to killing Margaret Thatcher and to wiping out the British Cabinet – an extraordinary assassination attempt linked to the Northern Ireland Troubles and the most daring conspiracy against the Crown since the Gunpowder Plot. In this fascinating and compelling book, veteran journalist Rory Carroll retraces the road to the infamous Brighton bombing in 1984 – an incident that shaped the political landscape in the UK for decades to come. He begins with the infamous execution of Lord Mountbatten in 1979 – for which the IRA took full responsibility – before tracing the rise of Margaret Thatcher, her response to the ‘Troubles’ in Ireland and the chain of events that culminated in the hunger strikes of 1981 and the death of 10 republican prisoners, including Bobby Sands. From that moment on Thatcher became an enemy of the IRA – and the organisation swore revenge. Opening with a brilliantly-paced prologue that introduces bomber Patrick Magee in the build up to the incident, Carroll sets out to deftly explore the intrigue before and after the assassination attempt – with the story spanning three continents, from pubs and palaces, safe houses and interrogation rooms, hotels and barracks. On one side, an elite IRA team aided by a renegade priest, US-raised funds and Libya’s Qaddafi and on the other, intelligence officers, police detectives, informers and bomb disposal officers. An exciting narrative that blends true crime with political history, this is the first major book to investigate the Brighton attack.

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

416 pages, Hardcover

Published April 4, 2023

About the author

Rory Carroll (b. 1972) is a journalist who started his career in Northern Ireland. As a foreign correspondent for the Guardian, he reported from the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, Latin American, and the United States. His first book, Comandante: Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela, was named an Economist Book of the Year and BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. He is now based in his native Dublin as the Guardian’s Ireland correspondent.

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers the 1984 bombing of the Brighton Grand Hotel by the IRA, in an attempt to kill Thatcher and her cabinet. In addition to the actual bombing the author includes a brief overview of the IRA and Thatcher’s government, and some context before and after the attack.

This brought back some memories. Thatcher was a hugely divisive figure - the 1980’s Britain I remember was pretty broken, which I think she bears a lot of responsibility for. She was possibly as divisive as the IRA. I’m not sure the author shares my view, which is fine. However he also doesn’t address either party in any real depth, instead opting for non-fiction thriller. A decent page-turner, but I was hoping for some deeper analysis.

[Mervyn Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know that Carroll has been the Guardian's Ireland correspondent for many years. And must've picked up a great deal of information about the IRA and the attempts to thwart it. But the level of detail he provides here is unbelievable. Particularly at the end, when it comes to Magee's (and his accomplices') arrest. It was like reading the best kind of thriller. The writing reminded me of Jonathan Freedland's The Escape Artist. Fast-moving. Tightly-written. Flowing. Obviously they teach them well at the Guardian. Or maybe it's something that journalists learn in general. Whatever, this is a first-rate read. My only criticism is that sometimes - just very occasionally - Carroll slips into flippancy. Keeping score between the IRA and the police like it's a football match, for example. But it's only a minor gripe. This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Even though - the bomb disposal experts aside - there's no one to really root for. Thatcher and the IRA...It's a bit like what Kissinger said about the Iran-Iraq war: 'It's a pity they both can't lose'. I don't mean through violence. I just mean I didn't and don't have time for either. I do believe in a united Ireland. But only if it's achieved peacefully.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

dear maggie i hope u are rotting in hell

[Isaac Bees · Rating 1 out of 5]

They gave up after only one attempt?? Should’ve killed her twice.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether you know very little or a lot about the history of the turbulent and often violent relationship between Ireland and England over the centuries, I think you will appreciate the lucid way the author explains a very complicated issue. As you’d expect from a journalist, he adopts a distinctly non-partisan approach, relying on a range of sources including interviews with participants on both sides. (Notably, the one person who refused to speak to him was Gerry Adams.)

I’m of an age where I can remember the period when IRA activity on the mainland of Britain was at its height but I had forgotten just how intense and all-pervading it was, or just how many casualties and fatalities it caused. These included police, members of the rescue services, bystanders and those whose job was to try to defuse the bombs.

I recall watching the coverage of people being rescued from The Grand Hotel in Brighton after the bombing on 12th October 1984, the penultimate day of the Conservative Party Conference. The photograph of Cabinet Minister Norman Tebbit being brought out of the debris which is included in the book, is a reminder of the destruction the bomb caused, some by falling masonry. Although Tebbit’s injuries were serious they were not as life-changing as those of his wife. There were five fatalities but not, through chance, Margaret Thatcher. Some may find her determination to carry on with the conference hard-hearted, others may think it a sign of defiance.

The description of Killing Thatcher as ‘the ultimate political thriller…the perfect blend of true crime and political history – propelled by a countdown to detonation’ is pretty much on the money. The most thrilling section – perhaps appropriately enough in Chapter 13 – is that depicting events in the hours and minutes before the bomb’s detonation. Who was doing what, where and with whom in the hotel as the minutes ticked by. And, in another part of the world, Patrick Magee, the man who placed the bomb on a long-delay timer, listening to the radio eager to find out if the device had detonated.

Another striking section of the book is that describing the 1981 hunger strikes by IRA prisoners in the Maze prison (also referred to as H-Block). Bobby Sands is probably the most well-known of the men (ten in all) who starved themselves to death as part of a campaign to be given the status of prisoners of war rather than criminals. The author describes how the hunger strikes became effectively a stand-off between the prisoners and Margaret Thatcher, and he doesn’t pull any punches when describing what starving yourself to death means in reality.

There was lots in the book I didn’t know (or had forgotten) such as the extent of the fundraising for the IRA in the United States and the involvement of Libya’s Colonel Qaddafi in providing weapons.

The hunt for the bomber that forms the final section of the book is full of fascinating information about fingerprints and other forensic techniques. It has the tension and detail of a police procedural. The investigation team were literally looking for a needle in a haystack and lacked many of the tools that are a commonplace part of detective work today. This was the days of paper records, manual cross-checking and only limited access to computers. The patient surveillence that eventually tracks down Magee and his associates has many of the hallmarks of an espionage thriller.

This was a book club pick and being focused on the assassination attempt of such a polarising figure as Margaret Thatcher made it difficult at times not to get drawn into a debate about her political views rather than the merits of the book. However, everyone thought it a very well-researched and readable account of the history of the conflict between Irish republicans and the British government.

[Julian Worker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an utterly brilliant book.

On 12th October 1984, the Provisional IRA came very close to wiping out the British Cabinet including Margaret Thatcher. If one of the chimneys of the Grand Hotel in Brighton had taken a slightly different route as it plummeted from the roof to the foyer then history would have been very different.

As it was, 5 people were killed and 34 were injured, some severely.

This book is written in a style similar to the work of fiction, The Day of the Jackal. Rory Carroll writes about the long fight for Irish freedom, the assassination of Lord Mountbatten, and the career of the bomber and his comrades. After describing the effects of the bombing, the author meticulously documents the manhunt for the bomber and his eventual capture in Glasgow the following year. He also describes how the people behind the scenes, the fingerprint experts, the surveillance teams, and the evidence finders discovered the small clues that when pieced together provided the proof of the bomber's identity.

Recommended.

[Lewis Woolston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilling, riveting, an almost unputdownable book.
Detailing the lead up to the Brighton Hotel bombing in 1984, detailing the main characters and then the manhunt and aftermath this is probably the best book that's ever been written on the subject. It reads like a classic true crime thriller which i suppose it is. The whole books moves at a fast pace and there isn't a dull moment.
The author has done his homework and more importantly has done his best to be neutral and just tell the story. The reader can decide for themselves whose cause they prefer. (personally i admire Thatcher and think the IRA were scum)
I read this in two days it was so good i'd happily read anything else this author has written.

[Abugslife99 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite its gripping storytelling and focus on the event that nearly killed Margaret Thatcher, the book neglects the broader historical and political nuances, including the reasons for Irish Republicanism and the institutionalised oppression faced by Catholics in Northern Ireland. This oversight renders the narrative incomplete.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed book about the IRA campaign to kill Thatcher through the Grand Hotel bombing and the aftermath with the police search for the bombers. The book also gives a brief insight into the history of the IRA too

[Lily Brennan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting book however it seems mad to write a book about the Troubles and barely mention the atrocities committed by the British Army in Northern Ireland which were a huge driving force behind IRA violence, and mention the H Block but not mention what was being done to people imprisoned in there?

I also don’t believe anyone in their right mind would thank Thatcher for anything, but certainly not peace in Northern Ireland.

I do think a lot of the issues with this book derive from its attempt to be a true crime book, which is unfortunate. It seems to fall between two stools in that sense - a lot of the nuance is lost in an attempt to create a ‘racy narrative’ but it’s far to broad to feel like there is any sort of build up or suspense. I think a lot of the dialogue which apparently comes from sources in many cases also just feels silly and unnatural - like a school child trying to bulk up the bibliography.

All in all, I would recommend this book if it’s on sale for 99p on amazon and you want something to dip in and out of on holiday, or if your Dad has a copy and you have nothing else to read.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was gripping, a true story of course, but written like a thriller with lots of background, procedural details and character back story to truly bring it to life. An excellent listen, highly recommended.

[Sophy H · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring and tedious account of the attempted assassination of Thatcher and her cronies in the 80's. As a Scouser, I'm pretty sure there would have been no tears shed if the job had actually been accomplished (given Thatcher's penchant for "bringing Liverpool to it's knees" and decimating trade unions, dockers and fucking everyone's livelihood). Bizarre that the IRA never just went directly for a hit on the prime minister herself, thinking it "too hard"- aww; best just try and bomb a load of innocent people as well then hey!

The NorthWest was to be well aware of the cowardly fuckery of the IRA due to the bombing of innocent civilians in the Warrington blast of the 90's.

Carroll doesn't maintain objectivity in this book, nor does he tell the story well. It is contrived yet dull as dishwater.

A piss poor excuse for a book.

[Rachael Lord · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reporting and storytelling elements of the book are very well executed. On the other hand, I feel like the book tries to moralise too much without giving proper context for the Troubles. In particular, the book paints Thatcher as having real girl power and doesn’t spend nearly as much time looking at its Irish subjects, like Magee for example. It skirts over exploring the motivations or the history that led people down the path to violence and it feels one dimensional as a result.

[Andrew Wesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me back to when I was 14 and younger… forgotten some of the IRA detail and didn’t know others. Not entirely sure whether this should be written as a ‘Boy’s Own Adventure’ but is a page turner… made me add a book about the Hunger Strikes as a ‘to read’…

[Ida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent educational read for someone who only briefly heard the name IRA in history class, and never gave it much thought. While it is first and most a chronicle of nerve-wrecking events, it gives a rich wider political context and even draws lines all the way up to Brexit.

[Ciaran McGuiggan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Proper page turner told like an espionage thriller, but the fact that it's all true makes it all the more interesting. Learnt so much about the clandestine operations of the IRA, and unfortunately the horrors they inflicted. Brilliant book.

[Richard Chambers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Supremely well-researched and written. Has a thriller's pacing but it's meticulous and treats its subject matter with sensitivity and nuance.

Good job all around!

[Ellie-Rose Walker · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book claims to document the decades long fight for irish freedom but fails to mention how the narrative throughout will claim the Irish to be crazed, bloodthirsty, mad feigns incontast with Tatcher who is a strong, graceful, intelligent iron lady who “is making Britain great again”!

It is clear Carroll is unable to comprehend the 800 years of oppression, pillaging and ethical cleansing the British put Ireland through! This book completely misses the point of why the troubles started and why Britain needed and still needs to be held accountable for its atrocities against the Irish. No amount of sympathetic language towards Torry mps will ever be able to convince people that they were just innocent people fallen victim to the “crazy irish”

In the story of Ireland vs England its clear Rory Carroll has picked his side and I pray he never has his rights,language,identity,religion,job,food and family stripped from him like so many Irish people did.

[Mathew Coombs · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a work of recent history I cannot praise Rory Carroll enough for this work.
For any British or Irish writer to remain un-partisan about the Troubles in Northern Ireland is a tough ask but Carroll shows sympathy and respect for all sides of the conflict in this masterful and compelling account of a remarkable episode in the Modern History of both countries.

Much like the Assassination of Kennedy or the 9-11 bombing, it was an event you remember where you where when you were told or found out. I remember being woken by my father on the morning of 12th October to be told the IRA had made an attempt to blow up the Conservative Goverment during their 1984 conference by planting a huge bomb the Grand Hotel Brighton.

It seemed unbelievable at the time and now nearly 40 years later it is compelling to understand both the events leading up to the bombing and it's political context and how in great detail the IRA nearly killed the Prime Minister of the UK. Without wishing to spoil the book, if Thatcher had either been in the room next to her own, or in the bathroom of her room for 15 minutes longer she would not have survived the bombing. Sadly 5 people did not and Carroll deals with the tragic deaths in a sensitive and sympathetic manner.

Carroll does not write with any sensationalism but the facts themselves, such as during the build up to the bombing and the hunt for the bombers there-after; make this book every bit as thrilling as a John Grisham or Fredrick Forsyth pot boiler. The last third of the book is mainly about the detective and intelligence services' hunt for the bombers, much of which has only been revealed in Goverment papers in recent years.

Thatcher was widely praised for her courage in her response to the bombing and in her "keep calm and carry on" attitude, appearing the next day at the Brighton Conference to give her keynote speech. But interviews with close confidents and colleagues reveal that perhaps inevitably the attempt on her life left a lasting legacy. She slept there-after with a torch and her bedroom door open so she could quickly escape any future attempt on her life, and thereafter insisted on a security detail with her during all her movements.

Famously the IRA statement after the bombing said the following, and it was very much taken seriously by the Thatcher Goverment.
"Today we were unlucky, but remember we only have to be lucky once. You will have to be lucky always. Give Ireland peace and there will be no more war."

This book shows sympathy for all, IRA bombers, IRA bombing victims, policemen and security services and even the Iron Lady herself. The Troubles left so many scars on so many, thank God for the Good Friday agreement and best wishes for Northern Ireland to have a peaceful and prosperous future.

[Andrew Robins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after having just finished the excellent "Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland" series on the BBC, which was probably good timing, as it would have effectively reset my internal bias prior to reading.

The problem (at least for a Brit like myself) with books about emotive subjects such as The Troubles (wider context) and the IRA in particular is that it is extremely difficult to read without being triggered one way or the other, reaching for hatred or bitterness as old wounds get opened.

The best compliment i can pay to Rory Carroll is that he has managed to pull of the very difficult task of writing on this subject whilst maintaining a clear, factual style and exhibiting no real bias. That strikes me very much as harder than it looks.

The book really comes in three sections - the story of the Troubles and the environment in which Patrick Magee, the bomber, grew up is the first. The second is the operation to carry out the bombing of the Grand Hotel, and the third the story of the aftermath.

The middle and latter parts reminded me - in terms of style - very much of 'Hellhound on His Trail' by Hampton Sides, the story of the assassination of Martin Luther King and the hunt for his killer - one of, if not the best non fiction books I've read in the last 20 years. If you haven't read it, read it.

In terms of the solving of the case and the apprehension of Magee, I found myself thinking how the honest, methodical, painstaking work by the police in this case reflected very well on a service which has in very recent times, and in various parts of the country, been tainted by stories of abuse and a growing lack of moral legitimacy, and which in the decade before their work on this case was unforgiveably stitching up innocent men for the Birmingham Pub Bombings, knowing the real perpetrators were getting away.

I think there is also a whole different moral debate if, like me, you find Thatcher (and Tebbit for that matter) to have been amongst the most reprehensibe, damaging people for post war Britain. The dilemma here is 'bad guys v bad guys' whilst clearly accepting that what the IRA did in Brighton was truly disgusting. Difficult to explain.

My childhood and teenage years were spent in a Britain constantly at threat of IRA bombings (if you're from Birmingham, some memories die hard), but having finished this book, it was not so much the deeds as the conflict and hatreds that fuelled them which made me feel grateful that, current and past challenges included, all sides were able to come together for the Good Friday Agreement and start to move us away from such dark times.

[Jamal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely sensational, one of the best books I've ever read

[Stephen Robert Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This my TOP Non Fiction Book of 2023.
When do you think the troubles in Ireland started? I bet you get wrong answers, in 1169 Henry II invaded, then Henry VIII, James I, Oliver Cornwell. The millions who died in the potato famine and Queen Victoria who cut out any help. The big 1915 divide its endless.
This not just Thatcher its 100s of little things. You can hear the clock tick stock to the boom of the Blast.
The unknown things like No. 10 is like a Tardis or Maggie cooked own food. And all time you wonder how meny Roman Catholics would have died if IRA had killed Thatcher?
It is loaded with facts. The only down side is the notes at the back of the book the print is ghastly far too small. Tax form style
I do remember 1984 when bomb went off but didn't know just how bad it was. Perhaps been a Labour man in my 20s in house full of Thatcher haters you did not realize that it was important.
This book shows you every thing that the police did inclining just how bad Southern Irish was in not helping, you almost think they supported the IRA.
You can understand why the Irish hate the British government but not the ideas of way they did it. At the end of the day it is religious belief that cause blood to flow through history.

[Max Gwynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carroll writes this history with the pace and grip of a thriller.

It is only April but this one will definitely be a contender for my Book of the Year!

Heart wrenching, suspenseful and sobering. A fine history of not only the Brighton bombing but the IRA and their moves against the heart of British politics in the 1970s and 1980s.

[Simon Mee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A careful and what I thought was a quite balanced book, even though the author admitted to bias right at the beginning.

It is a little bit too focussed for a good overview of The Troubles, but a very interesting snapshot of the period.

[Stephen Robert Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This my TOP Non Fiction book of 2023 everything you wanted to know about the IRA with out being boring. Why Thatcher didn't die and the Manhunt reads like a good crime mystery

[Abby Stapleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

bit repetitive in places but overall a really interesting read

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good very gripping - no PRK (who is) but excellent for fans of Say Nothing

[Damian Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading this book, it was full of pace and all the detail and context needed to understand what happened in Brighton. Detailed, gripping and tense!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

(audiobook) suuuper interesting bit of very recent history that I had no idea about, loved all the context that was given at each stage to paint a very vivid picture of this political story but also of other things happening in Britain and Ireland at the same time. Always fun to learn more reasons to hate Thatcher!

[Sophie Withers! · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stole this from your currently reading thanks James. Great non ficcy about the IRAs plot to assassinate old Maggie Thatcher. V well researched and a good narrative for a non fiction