The Padre The True Story of the Irish Priest who Armed the IRA with Gaddafi’s Money

For almost two decades, Father Patrick Ryan evaded intelligence agencies across Europe and was, for a time, one of the most wanted men in Britain. In The Padre, award-winning investigative journalist Jennifer O’Leary exposes the exploits of this notorious former Irish priest and active IRA supporter. Revealing sensational details divulged to her during exclusive secret meetings with Ryan, the book lifts the lid on the true extent of the priest’s involvement with the IRA and its campaign of terror across Europe, Britain and Ireland – from being a trusted link between the regime of Muammar Gaddafi and the IRA, to his involvement in improving IRA explosive devices, which made possible the almost successful assassination attempt on Margaret Thatcher and her Cabinet in Brighton. The Padre tells the truly remarkable story of this man of the cloth, who, decades on, is still unrepentant about his ruthless zealotry in pursuit of money, weapons and assistance for the IRA’s violence. Indeed, his one regret is that he wasn’t even more effective. ,

Jennifer O’ Leary is a writer and award-winning investigative journalist best known for her work on BBC NI’ s current affairs programme Spotlight. As a freelance journalist, she has also written feature articles for numerous publications, including the Sunday Business Post and Irish Examiner. She lives in Belfast.

CONTENTS Prologue 1. The Showdown in Rhodes 2. A Mother’ s Love 3. Mission to Africa 4. Out of Africa 5. The Sculptor and the Colonel 6. ‘ A boot up the transom’ 7. The Sleepers 8. Our Man in Tripoli 9. On the Move 10. Swiss Timers 11. Benidorm 12. Christine 13. ‘ A major calamity’ 14. Lion of the Desert 15. Switch and Switch 16. Hyde Park 17. The Ducks of the Green 18. The Ryan Affair 19. ‘ The bird had flown’ 20. A Very Wicked Man Epilogue