Thomas Oliver was a 43-year-old Irish farmer who was

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...

d and murdered by the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...

in July 1991, reportedly for passing information to the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gove ...

. However, in the wake of the Stakeknife case it began to be suspected that

Freddie Scappaticci Freddie Scappaticci (born c. 1946 Belfast) is a purported former high-level double agent in the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), known by the codename "Stakeknife". Early life Scappaticci was born around 1946 and grew up in the Markets ...

– who ran the IRA's

Internal Security Unit The Internal Security Unit (ISU) was the counter-intelligence and interrogation unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). This unit was often referred to as the Nutting Squad. The unit is thought to have had jurisdiction over both N ...

, which was responsible for torturing and killing Thomas Oliver – killed Oliver to conceal his identity as a double agent.

Overview

A farmer with no connections to any paramilitary group or the security forces, Oliver was a 43-year-old father of seven children, and a native of Riverstown, County Louth, on the

Cooley Cooley may refer to: * Cooley (surname), a surname (and a list of people with the surname) * Cooley Distillery, an Irish whiskey distillery *Cooley LLP, a Silicon Valley-based law firm *Cooley Peninsula, Ireland *Cooley High School, Detroit, Michiga ...

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

, near

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

. He was abducted by armed members of the

(IRA) near the border on 18 July and his body was found the following day near Belleek, County Armagh."Family of IRA victim forced to revisit the past: 'Tom Oliver was an innocent farmer murdered by the IRA, but was he callously sacrificed by British intelligence to protect their agent?'"
theguardian.com, 17 May 2003; accessed 23 September 2014. He had been shot several times in the head. The IRA, via ''

An Phoblacht ''An Phoblacht'' (Irish pronunciation: ; en, "The Republic") is a formerly weekly, and currently monthly newspaper published by Sinn Féin in Ireland. From early 2018 onwards, ''An Phoblacht'' has moved to a magazine format while remaining an ...

'', claimed he had been passing information to the

. They also claimed that Oliver had aided the IRA, providing sheds to store weapons and explosives, but that over a six-year period he had given information to the Gardaí, leading to several arrests. His body showed clear evidence of massive pre-mortem trauma, indicating extensive torture. A family member stated: Thomas Oliver was survived by his wife, six daughters and a son. His mother, Annie, died in September 1991, reportedly from the shock and strain of her son's death. The ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' of 24 November 1991, reported:

Aftermath

In the wake of the Stakeknife case, where a highly placed member of the IRA was revealed to be a British double agent, it began to be suspected that

– who ran the IRA's

, which was responsible for torturing and killing Thomas Oliver – killed Oliver to conceal his identity. It emerged that, in 1989, Oliver, in the course of drainage work on his farm, unwittingly uncovered a barrel. He reported the discovery to the Gardaí but was unaware of its contents. The barrel contained IRA guns hidden on Oliver's land but without his knowledge. Two of those questioned about the arms in 1989 were

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, M ...

natives Michael Christopher McDonald and Declan John Rafferty. Both men were at the time members of the IRA and later went on to join the

Real IRA The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), is a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aims to bring about a United Ireland. It formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA by dissident members, who rejected the ...

. In 2002, along with Fintan Paul O'Farrell, also a native of

, the Slovak Three were sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for arms smuggling. ''

'' ("War News" section) on 25 July 1991 was headlined ''IRA Executes Informer''. The section justified Oliver's murder: In 2002, Thomas Oliver's son Eugene (aged 13 at the time of his father's death) wrote a public letter to the

newspaper, ''Argus'', demanding answers to a series of questions directed at Sinn Féin's election candidate,

Arthur Morgan Arthur Morgan may refer to: * Arthur Morgan (Australian politician, born 1856) (1856–1916), Premier of Queensland, Australia * Arthur Ernest Morgan (1878–1975), American administrator, educator and engineer * Arthur Morgan (Australian politici ...

regarding his father. ''Argus'' published the letter on its front page.

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gr ...

declined to comment; a spokesman said the party had no comment to make on the Real IRA trio, stating "They have nothing to do with us". Morgan was elected as TD for the Louth constituency, serving from 2002 to 2011; he was succeeded by Gerry Adams.

2021 new DNA evidence

Investigators working in Operation Kenova announced that they had obtained new DNA evidence relating to the murder.

References and sources

;Notes ;Sources * ''Lost Lives: The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland Troubles'', pp. 1242–43, McKittrick, Kelters, Feeney, Thompson, 1999 (2006); .

External links

"Tom Oliver's murder began a wave of outrage against the IRA, ... "
Raidió Teilifís Éireann; accessed 23 September 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Thomas 1991 deaths Deaths by firearm in the Republic of Ireland Deaths by person in the Republic of Ireland Irish torture victims Male murder victims Murder victims from County Louth People killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army People murdered in the Republic of Ireland 1991 murders in the Republic of Ireland History of County Armagh

Overview

Aftermath

2021 new DNA evidence

See also

References and sources

External links