Silence and Betrayal Shape This Forensic Irish History
Inside the Cork IRA, John Corcoran’s role as a garda informer gives this history a stark human focus. J. P. O’Sullivan handles betrayal, violence and execution through one specific case, keeping the investigation sober, grounded and hard to dismiss.
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Veil of Silence
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Silence and Betrayal Shape This Forensic Irish History
Inside the Cork IRA, John Corcoran’s role as a garda informer gives this history a stark human focus. J. P. O’Sullivan handles betrayal, violence and execution through one specific case, keeping the investigation sober, grounded and hard to dismiss.
- Book Synopsis
-
In 1985 John Corcoran, a garda informer within the ranks of the Cork IRA, was abducted and brutally executed by the IRA. No one has ever been charged with his murder, but for decades, speculation was rife that gardaì of the highest rank allowed Corcoran - a father of eight - to be murdered to protect Sean O'Callaghan, the state's most prized IRA informer during the Troubles.
Now, for the first time, J.P. O'Sullivan, Corcoran's Special Branch handler, breaks his silence. He reveals the chain of events leading to the killing, including detailed reports he filed warning of potential threats to his informant's life that were systematically ignored by garda intelligence. He recounts how he was inexplicably sidelined from the investigation into Corcoran's murder and later framed and convicted for a crime he did not commit in order to silence him and bury the truth.O'Sullivan's account is a damning indictment of garda complicity in covering up an IRA murder. It exposes murky manoeuvres, a flawed investigation, and the devastating cost paid by a detective who refused to back down. This is a story of betrayal and justice denied in a state under siege, and one man's quest for justice.
Ideal for readers who:
- Want Irish true crime rooted in the Troubles, informers and institutional failure
- Are interested in a first-hand account from John Corcoran’s Special Branch handler
- Need non-fiction that treats violence, silence and accountability with seriousness
- Prefer real investigations where political history has human consequences
- About The Author
- J.P. O'Sullivan is a former Garda Special Branch detective who served during the Troubles. Drawing on his experience handling intelligence operations, he offers an insider's account of Garda corruption at the highest levels in his first book, Veil of Silence.
- Product Details
-
- ISBN
- 9781785375880
- Format
- Paperback
- Publisher
- Merrion Press, (12 March 2026)
- Number of Pages
- 256
- Language
- English
- Dimensions
- 234 x 153 mm
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