Kevin J Boyle, a Pennsylvania State Representative, has stirred controversy in Ireland after he tweeted:
“It’s known in US national security circles large segments of the Irish media & some politicians have been compromised by British intelligence. Long overdue that some of them are being exposed or soon will be.”
The Harvard graduate and Democratic Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for Philadelphia made the allegations which echo rumours and insinuations which have persisted for decades.
It was alleged during the Troubles that British intelligence mounted aggressive attempts to ensnare Irish public figures in politics and media with compromising information to influence the Dublin government and media apparatus.
These accusations resurfaced after then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar made the inexplicable decision to appoint a former senior member of the RUC to the position of Garda Commissioner over the heads of long serving Gardai and civil servants.
The RUC’s connections to British intelligence and loyalist paramilitaries only added fuel to fire of speculation.
Whether or not Mr Boyle’s assertions will come to be and elements of the Irish media and political establishment will be exposed as being compromised by British intelligence, we will wait and see.
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