Original subtitles

Is there anything unusual about the IRA and its terrorist movement,

compared to the others you've covered?

The IRA is different in that it's the dream of all intellectuals.

It's a working-class movement,

which has advantages in that the people of no property

are very difficult to corrupt...

...since they tend to find in the dream, the ideal, great rewards.

The Army are up here in the middle of Lenadoon Avenue.

They'd come here...

SHOOTING

...after an earlier confrontation down the end.

One of the world's most feared guerrilla armies.

In 1972, the IRA made an extraordinary decision...

...to make a documentary.

Connect one end to the battery terminal.

And the other wire to the terminal on your timer.

Proclaiming this would be their year of victory,

forcing the British out of Northern Ireland,

they allowed the filming of IRA missions from start to finish.

He's just put a bomb in the Queen's University Sports Club.

It's set to go off in 20 minutes.

They even put on show the men secretly running the organisation...

And the cordtex in turn will detonate the gelignite.

...right up to their supreme commander.

The men are mainly idealists because they agree with the aims

and objects and methods of the IRA.

They trusted American academic J Bowyer Bell to make the film.

What do you think of what the IRA does?

You try to be as little judgmental as possible.

I would prefer that no-one got killed.

If you're going to kill people,

I would have prefer that you be efficient.

The whole endeavour made very little sense...

...when they knew intelligence agencies were trying to spy

on everything they were doing.

The girl in this car will take the bag containing the bomb

into the building.

These seasoned guerrillas, who relied so much on secrecy,

went before the cameras

and, you know,

in effect, put their heads on the block.

Did they really know the film-makers they'd invited

into their secret world?

My antenna told me he was a wrong 'un the moment I laid eyes on him.

This is the story of how the IRA were risking their inner secrets...

...for a film, which then strangely vanished for almost 50 years.

I've spent years investigating stories about the IRA.

But the making of this film, The Secret Army, is a mystery.

Its disappearance is even more peculiar.

My inquiries began five years ago.

It's taken since then to locate the original film reels.

Now, this says Secret Army, reel two of the cutting copy.

So this would have been the next-to-last stage

in the production process.

Look at the rust on that.

But inside...

...this looks OK.

And this is...

...what should be the best guaranteed quality copy.

This is the entire film.

Look at that, it looks really clean.

The man in the film is Des Long,

but he was more than an arms instructor.

In one of the most significant events in modern Irish history,

in these sheds in 1969,

the Provisional Irish Republican Army was formed.

Des long was there that night.

There were maybe 29 or 30 of us, we had a long discussion

from about 8.00 till 1.00.

Those present elected an Army Executive and an Army Council

of seven members.

There was a great cheer went up.

The fighting IRA was established here,

an IRA that was prepared to carry on a military struggle.

I was proud that I, in some small way, contributed

to the Irish Republican Army back as a fighting unit.

Operating from the Irish Republic, Des Long helped drive the IRA's war

to end British rule in Northern Ireland.

Hello. How are you?

How are you?

Ah, ref!

After giving away - they'll score three points out of this.

I was running training camps for the IRA and then I went on

to headquarters and I became, first of all, director of publicity,

and then eventually became director of finance from then on.

That's the stuff!

Well done, lads!

WHISTLE BLOWS

Ah!

Jesus!

Can you just tell us about the job you had in the IRA?

As finance director, what would the IRA need the money for?

The purchasing of weapons.

They make sure that training camps and make sure that volunteers

had some finance for transfers and all that.

Where did most of the money come from?

We got a lot of it from America.

How much money are you talking about?

I'm not prepared to comment on figures.

But you're talking thousands? Thousands?

Hundreds of thousands.

Lights, cameras, action!

Weapons used by active service units in the northern conflict

have been secured by IRA organisers with great ingenuity and daring.

Some were brought into the country from the United States

and Western Europe, but most have been acquired in raids

on British military barracks or clashes with troops

in Belfast and Derry.

I was giving them basics on weapons, you know?

When they were making it, he told me to do that and I said,

"I want a mask." "Oh", he said, "I'll tell you",

he says, "You're going to be shown from the chest down."

That was a verbal promise from him and it meant nothing.

Annette, what did you think of Des' decision to take part in it?

Well, I think he got a promise, didn't he,

that he wouldn't be shown, his face wouldn't be shown.

I mean, if you make a promise, normally you keep it, you know?

I'm pretty sure that Des was on the run at that time

when that was filmed.

I was, yeah. Were you? Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. I was.

What do you think would have

happened if the Irish authorities had...

I'd say he would have been locked up for a very long time.

Wouldn't you? Yeah. Yeah.

Five, six, seven years.

And the fact that you were in possession of weapons...

The whole thing was just...

Well, it should never have been made.

I'm sorry to this day that I ever took part in it.

Londonderry, or Derry, as most in the city call it.

It's where Bowyer Bell's team first filmed the IRA in action.

They ran much of this city, Free Derry.

Here, Catholics who suffered discrimination by Northern Ireland's

Protestant-controlled government, barricaded state forces out.

Now, that is Martin McGuinness.

Look.

Though only 21 years old, Martin McGuinness was the dominant

IRA leader in the city.

Later, he would become one of the most significant figures

of the entire conflict.

But here, it's his front-seat passenger doing the talking.

Martin McGuinness died in 2017,

but could his passenger still be alive?

I discovered he is still in Derry.

No, I don't believe it, I don't believe that.

Tony Devine was one of the first recruits to the IRA

when the conflict got under way.

So what time are you thinking, are yous going up the town?

No, we're not going to bother. Right.

John was saying there was a great crowd up yesterday.

Oh, Daddy, I was so glad. It was mental, though.

Aye, but everybody was having a great time.

They were all enjoying themselves.

I was 17 or 18.

Only just starting to discover girls.

And then along comes this war.

Go and ask Damon and Ciaran if they've set up the fireworks thing.

I was forced into it, by the way

we were being treated as second-class citizens.

We had no work.

And we had the British Army kicking our doors in.

They took our country and we wanted it back.

I mean, if you beat somebody often enough and long enough,

of course, they're going to bite back.

And that's exactly what we did.

We bit back.

British Fireworks Association.

That's the only time you can blow something British up

and nobody will complain about it.

Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!

Heavy-duty stuff there.

There we go.

Here's one I prepared earlier.

Ho-ho!

Ho-ho-ho!

That was scary there.

Bloody hell!

They're a danger to work with.

The danger of working with fireworks, that's the end of that.

Go and get me the rescue cream, in the drawer. You burn yourself?

It scared me more than anything, to be honest with you.

Put that on.

There we go.

Matches.

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

Thank you.

By reputation, Tony Devine was a committed IRA man.

Rising up the ranks as they fought the British Army.

Do you remember that day, Tony?

I do surely, aye.

What actually happened was, 10 or 12 of the Creggan volunteers

had set up an ambush behind these houses.

They were shooting away at the helicopter.

Somebody says, "You're wasting your time firing at helicopters.

"The bullets don't do no good."

And it was then one of the boys turned round and says,

"Aye, but we're firing armour-piercing shells."

How did the camera crew behave?

They were up our ass.

No matter where we went, they were there.

IRA operations launched from inside Free Derry

were controlled by Martin McGuinness.

Now as the officer commanding the Derry part of the IRA Provisional

operation, can you say whether the bombing is likely to stop

in the near future in response to any public demand?

Well, we will always take into consideration, the feelings

of the people of Derry and these feelings will be passed on

to our GHQ in Dublin, you know?

Me and Martin hit it off.

We were just like two brothers.

That's Martin in the middle there.

I'm at the end.

I suppose at that stage, he was probably the most sensible one

amongst us, he had a good head on him.

Were you close to him back then? Oh, definitely, aye.

My hero, actually, to be honest with you.

And I says, "All right."

I think Martin actually asked me to do the talking.

God love them, they were so innocent.

It still does look a bit strange that you're showing these children

guns and bullets and stuff.

No, but the kids got used to us.

They got used to the units that were walking around.

The kids used to follow the guys everywhere.

It was all part of the thing.

You got used to it after a while.

No police were allowed into the area.

Tony Devine outlines how his IRA unit dealt with those accused

of criminal behaviour.

This is the reality of Belfast today.

Bombs in the city centre.

So much disruption, so many explosions.

From time to time, you forget that it's become part of everyday life.

As Northern Ireland's largest city reeled from the bombings...

...Bowyer Bell was secretly filming with the IRA during every stage

of another attack.

He's just put a bomb in the Queen's University Sports Club.

It's set to go off in 20 minutes.

I've always been taught by nuns since I started school,

and I'm taught by the Sisters of Charity now.

This is the red-haired girl portrayed in the bomb attack.

I do commercial subjects and languages.

They're always very useful.

I'm a member of an IRA active service unit

in the Andersonstown area.

As far as the active service unit is concerned,

there's not much to be said about them.

Not really, you know.

Besides, it's a great honour to be in it.

I find that I am more sure of myself now than I was beforehand.

At least I'm doing something, even if it's not much.

She's Geraldine Hughes.

She was 17 when ordered to take part in the film.

♪ There is a red-haired girl

♪ More sweet than you could find... ♪

A song, The Red Haired Girl,

complements her freedom fighter image.

♪ ..in my mind

♪ I take her to the mountains... ♪

She died in 2006.

♪ I spread the world before her...♪

But who composed the soundtrack to her life in the IRA?

♪ I sit beside the stream... ♪

Finding the people who made this film, more than 50 years ago,

is a struggle.

Most have died.

The man I'm looking for is 88 years old,

now living on the edge of Arizona's Sonoran Desert.

SAT NAV: After 200 yards, turn right.

Then you have reached your destination.

DOG BARKING

Hello, how are you? I'm good.

I'm Darragh.

Mr Jacob is waiting for you.

Oh, fantastic.

Well, how are you?

Good, how are you? Great to see you.

You got my piano out.

Let me see if I can play.

Take your time.

There you go. OK.

I'm a little rusty on my playing.

HE PLAYS SIMPLE MELODY

Oh, boy!

I'm rusty. What can I say?

HE PLAYS THE SAME MELODY WITH BOTH HANDS

You so have not lost the touch.

Oh! That's...

You should have heard me when I was really playing.

Oh, that was brilliant, fantastic.

Well, thank you.

I was the composer of the music for the film, Secret Army.

And Bo Bell is the fellow who made the film.

This is J Bowyer Bell.

Dr Bell.

He asked me if I would go to Ireland and record the music there,

and I said, "Absolutely."

It sounded like a fabulous project, to me.

Bo had brought me up-to-date on what the situation was

and the terrible injustice

that was being done by the British

to the Irish people.

The first body I saw was that of a youth being carried out by other

civilians, with a priest in the lead,

waving a bloodied handkerchief as a white flag.

Worldwide attention followed

the killing of 14 unarmed civilians -

Bloody Sunday, which defined for many,

Britain's attitude to Ireland.

I think the purpose of doing the film was trying to show

the legitimate cause of the IRA.

And the...

...non-legitimate ownership by the British of Ireland.

But if somebody had been killed, how would you have felt?

Terrible about their being killed but I still thought the cause,

the cause of the fighting was just.

I was in sympathy with the IRA.

I've an opportunity to learn more

about Bowyer Bell's work in Ireland, from his family.

So, up this hallway, you'll find books on Ireland.

Pretty much all these books.

His first book was on the Civil War in Spain.

So he does have some of that.

But the vast majority is on Ireland.

We get back to his studio...

...where we have

hundreds upon hundreds of paintings.

He would just love to paint.

This was my dad taken not long before he died,

I think probably in the late '90s.

He is looking right at us, isn't he? Right.

It's quite an inscrutable look. Yes.

We found these going through his papers.

They seem to have been taken at the time

that The Secret Army was being filmed.

What do you remember about the film, The Secret Army?

I remember us all being very excited.

"Daddy's going to do a movie!" you know?

But then we were all waiting for it to be on TV and it never was.

It was a big disappointment.

He actually had access to these people.

It took him a long time, but he got them to trust him.

And I think that was exceptional,

that he was able to get people

whose business it was to not be known,

to talk to him in person.

And he would go on these meetings.

You know, he had to sort of learn how to be secretive.

And I'm sure, you know, he was sure people were following him.

Bowyer Bell used counter-surveillance tactics

from the moment he collected Jacob Stern at Dublin Airport.

Bo had said to me, "If you look out the back window,

"you'll see that tan-ish automobile behind us

"and it's Irish Special Branch."

And behind that car, there was another automobile.

And Bo said, "That's British MI6."

And I said, "Oh."

And we pulled up in front of the sandwich shop,

and I thought we were going to go in and get a sandwich.

But no, no.

We walked in the front door and straight through the shop,

out the back door, and there was a car waiting for us there.

And we got in it and drove out a different street.

So this is somewhere in the backstreets of Derry.

And a man on the left,

a tall man with that slight stoop,

is the unmistakable figure

of Martin McGuinness.

I think it was Bo himself said,

we're going to show you something that's never been seen before,

the first filming of a car bomb that the IRA is going to set of.

They'd stolen a car from a carpet salesman.

The IRA put together a bomb and put them under the samples of a carpet,

so you couldn't even tell anything was there.

Not all bombs go off as they're supposed to.

So I was in a heightened state of alert and worry.

Is this where that bomb would have been prepared?

This is where they moved the carpet.

Around here.

Around here? Aye, aye.

I was standing back, watching it happening.

There was a unit that was preparing an explosive device to be taken

out into the city centre.

It would have been a five-minute run, if all went well.

The unit would have, they would have come up here.

They could have been stopped at any stage?

They could have been stopped at any stage.

Once they got into the car, they were committed.

And this is where, the bomb was just down here on the right?

It was exactly there where that, see that trading place there?

Just here? Aye.

Could I tell you how long it took us to get here?

It took us four minutes to get here. There you are, aye.

I saw people walking in from the other end of the block

and I was very worried about whether they're going to get

injured or killed.

But we were well back behind the IRA

at the top of the block.

Did you see the bomb go off? Yes, I did.

BOMB EXPLODES

It was a hell of an explosion.

The unit made phone calls, they phoned the newspapers,

they phoned the radio stations.

And there was a good amount of time

allowed for civilians to get out,

get out of the way.

SCREAMING

An Irish TV news crew at the other end of the street

captured the same bomb.

There were people hurt and injured that day.

26 people, at least 26 people were injured.

The unit didn't set out to do that.

And to this day, I can't understand why,

because there was plenty of warning given.

But still, people would get injured because that's the way of things

with bombs, you can't control everything.

I mean, we know that.

I know that.

All you can do is try and do your best.

Do you understand that, you know, the bombing of a city,

to know of it in advance, and not to attempt to stop it

or not to attempt to alert the police to it,

that was a criminal offence.

I didn't know that.

And...

You know, I couldn't possibly have alerted anybody

without blowing the whole thing.

And we were never given that much advanced knowledge of something.

The bomb filmed by Bowyer Bell

was part of a two-day blitz

that left eight people dead.

The British Government chose this moment to close down

Northern Ireland's parliament.

All of us have been horrified by the violence in Northern Ireland

and by the suffering it has caused.

The Government here in London is therefore obliged to take over

for the time being, full responsibility for the conduct

of affairs in Northern Ireland.

The IRA had broken what they saw as Protestant rule.

Ending British rule was their main objective,

and that's what they wanted the film to capture.

Bowyer Bell knew the IRA leadership personally.

He'd spent four years researching a book on the organisation.

Few knew the IRA better.

Were you ever involved in the planning of an IRA bombing?

I've known about them before they happened, but not in the sense that,

well, he knows about it and is walking around and innocent people

are going to get killed.

I've known a situation where I couldn't have done anything

if I had been of a mind to do so.

But, you know, I'm all right.

Bowyer Bell first published his book, also called The Secret Army,

in 1970.

Geraniums are great.

They don't need much water.

That same year, Tim Pat Coogan also wrote a book on the IRA.

But the IRA only cooperated with Bowyer Bell.

I wasn't going to let that stop me.

I went to other sources.

I got police records.

After all, remember, I was an active journalist.

I had my methods.

And some American

academic wandering into Ireland wasn't going to stop me

writing my book.

Is it a good book?

I think so.

I mean, if you if you want to know about the IRA in Ireland and, erm,

you were handed Bowyer Bell's book, you know, you'd learn something.

You'd have to say that he did a fair job on it.

I wouldn't have approached it, obviously, the way he did.

But then, we're two different people.

It bolstered his reputation within the IRA to the extent

that he got permission to do this extraordinary feat

of photographing what was meant to be underground guerillas.

You wouldn't know what Bowyer Bell told them.

Did they think there was going to be a Hollywood bonanza

from this film? That money would flow into the coffers?

MUFFLED AUDIO: You know who your target is.

You know... you know what to do.

The IRA did make clear what they expected to get

from the film.

They wanted a more favourable opinion in America

of what they were doing

and how they were doing it.

And maybe they could raise more money that way.

EXPLOSION

That's propaganda.

Oh, I think so.

That's what they w...

I think that's what they would have liked best of all.

Straight propaganda.

But you're not a propagandist?

No. I do music!

GUNFIRE

AMERICAN INTERVIEWER: Do they trust you?

To a degree.

I've been there so long and I've written the book on the IRA

that they have to look up if they have any questions,

that it's sort of too late to keep anything much from me.

As far as our fringe area is concerned...

IRA trust in Bowyer Bell only went so far.

They insisted on controlling the film's content.

They said, "We will see the finished product.

"And when it's... when we've approved it..."

the whole film would be mixed,

so it couldn't be changed again.

MUFFLED AUDIO

STAND TO ATTENTION

I've independently confirmed that Bowyer Bell

conceded control to the IRA.

He must have known his film's

integrity was shattered...

Tonight's class...

...is on engineering...

...resulting in scenes like this.

If you give the volunteer a basic knowledge of engineering...

Paddy Ryan was one of the seven top commanders on the IRA's ruling

Army Council.

To prevent any attempt to re-edit the film

after it was finished, the IRA threatened the production team.

They said if any separate parts of the film

were attempted to be taken separately to America,

that we would be all shot at the airport.

"We're going to kill you."

But the IRA's attempt to control the making of this film failed.

Bowyer Bell's film reels needed developing before editing.

There were no colour laboratories in Ireland.

Instead, these canisters reveal he chose a London facility.

10 School Road, London, NW10.

That decision put the IRA's security at risk.

The address on the cannisters back up an astonishing account

the film's executive producer outlined to me five years ago.

He said Bowyer Bell and the film's Director

told him British intelligence

had intervened in London.

Mr Gildin?

Yes. Lovely to meet you.

Thank you. My pleasure. Right.

Both men told you that the intelligence services

of the United Kingdom viewed...? The material. Yes.

Both of them said to you that the British intelligence services saw

this footage after it was developed?

Yes, absolutely.

Did they give any explanation or did they give any indication

about how they felt about the fact that British intelligence was seeing

all their footage?

I have to assume that the producers of the film had no alternative...

...but to turn the material over to British intelligence,

if British intelligence said, "We want to see it."

I don't think that it was a betrayal of any confidence

or anything like that.

I just think had they developed it in Dublin...

...erm, perhaps no-one would have seen it.

By virtue of it being developed in London...

...that's where British intelligence got their hooks into it.

GUNFIRE

Leon Gildin's revelation is incredible.

British intelligence in London would have been able to watch every

scene, including footage the IRA would have cut from the final film.

The timing of the making of the film has even more significance

because it coincided with secret contacts the IRA

were having with their British enemy.

It should convince them that they haven't beaten the IRA,

that they're not going to beat the IRA, that the only way to

establish peace in Ireland is to

sit down and talk to the leadership of the IRA.

Those secret contacts led to a ceasefire and footage from

The Secret Army was central to its announcement in America.

Walter Cronkite's

CBS News was supplied film clips by Bowyer Bell.

We have an unusual picture report of the kind of thing the IRA

was doing before today's announcement.

The film of this secret bombing operation was shot by an independent

television crew and is narrated by CBS News

correspondent John Laurence.

This is what happens on an actual bombing operation.

The scene is Londonderry, inside the isolated Catholic enclave

known as the Bogside.

The team of IRA men work openly,

for Army patrols stay out of the area.

And this is what happens when a bomb goes off.

Terrified people, unaware that a bomb has been planted,

run for cover.

ALARMS WAIL

After tens of millions of Americans saw this, the IRA may have believed

they were on the verge of a major propaganda coup.

While their bombings appeared to have persuaded

the British to negotiate.

IRA leaders were flown to London by the British Government for

face-to-face talks.

As I was told, the British would have already seen four of them

in the intercepted footage.

A security breach of this magnitude makes me wonder if the film-makers

ever told the IRA all the footage had been sent to London.

And if they didn't, why not?

It's becoming clear that Bowyer Bell could be more than just an author.

That's it.

BBC, that's why. Press from the BBC.

This is BBC? Yeah. Oh, OK.

Harvard University is where he once worked.

I discovered they've retained some of his personal correspondence.

And I think we have some specifically from the folder

on Jack...

Bowyer Bell, that's correct, yeah. Bowyer Bell, OK.

Here's something.

This is his CV from 1991.

A consulting firm focused on problems of conflict set

up and ran from 1976 that was advising on terrorism, conflict

generally, for private and government clients.

This is interesting.

1974, a consultant to the Department of State, Department of Energy,

the CIA, the Department of Justice, Department

of Defense, and others.

This guy is seriously connected.

His security clearances,

in brackets, lapsed,

for the Department of Energy, the CIA, and the Department of Defense.

I mean, that tells you this guy is clearly tied in and trusted

by the CIA.

HORN BLARES

Why would he have been advising the CIA on terrorism,

with top security clearance?

A lifelong friend of Bowyer Bell knows more.

Be careful now.

Yep.

Roberto Mitrotti has kept some of Bowyer Bell's original artwork...

OK. All right, I'm going to hand them over to you.

...painted while he was associated with the CIA.

Yeah, this painting is really about the core of his work.

His expertise was terror, was irregular warfare.

Part of him was pretty...

...pretty shitty.

I mean, some of the work he did

was pretty shitty, if he advised the Department of Defense.

What do those guys...? What do those guys want, you know?

They want to - the CIA - they want to create, you know,

they want to eliminate.

How many tanks do we need to eliminate?

How many things...? How many people do we have to get out of the way?

How many bombs?

So this is what Bo did.

But let me show you a picture of Bo in front of his art,

which, there are very few.

And I think this is the only one I managed to ever

get my hands on. Here, look.

Oh, wow.

In front of a big painting.

This is the catalogue of the exhibition in 2007.

Here we have Agency Arena.

This was, this was brilliant, too.

This says, look, you can be as covert as you want, but I know

where you are. I know where to find you.

I can see your... I can see your finger everywhere, you know?

Was he CIA, do you think?

You've known him for 40 years.

I think he was...

He was too smart to be a servant

of an American agency.

So he might have taken money from them at some point, to provide

certain services, provided the services were in the abstract.

But he would never, knowing him,

I don't think he would betray,

he would sell people, human beings, in the service

of the CIA idea.

Was he kind of walking, always walking,

some sort of fine line? Yes.

How would you describe it? He loved it.

He was really talking like a CIA agent.

He was talking the talk and he lived it,

and he was good at it.

He was a character in his own movie.

Taking money from the CIA for services in the abstract.

Was Bowyer Bell more than just an adviser?

As I look at who his main collaborator on this film was,

the mystery deepens.

Bowyer Bell's choice of director is startling.

The first thought come into my head, you know, was that I was caught,

that they'd caught me.

I mean, I wasn't scared of being shot, or anything.

I really wasn't.

This IRA member, Rita O'Hare, is being interviewed by the director,

Zwy Aldouby, an Israeli writer and journalist.

His own back story could be from a spy novel.

He was involved in a plot to kidnap a notorious Nazi.

The CIA were actually gathering intelligence on Zwy Aldouby.

And here they identify who he was connected to.

This is a declassified CIA document.

Spooling through here, we find

a source telling the CIA that

"Aldouby was part of a team based in Vienna...

"..hunting Nazi war criminals, and working under the guidance

"of Israeli intelligence."

Hmm.

What's baffling is that Zwy Aldouby doesn't appear to have any

experience in film-making, yet he's inside the IRA

as the director of this extraordinary film.

DOG BARKS

I find myself wishing that I really knew more about my own father.

He's really, I'm tempted to say, like

Austin Powers: International Man of mystery.

Who was Zwy Aldouby?

What do you think, Corey?

As far as me saying how my father died, like, penniless and stuff -

is that something we want them to air?

No. I think let it be told. Just the true story.

Well, you heard from the boss there. I did.

HE SPEAKS ON VIDEO CLIP

My father was born in Romania.

He escaped the Nazis.

However, the Nazis did manage to kill most of his family.

He had an uncle who had a connection that managed

to get him into Israel.

And I think because he saw the terrors

that the Nazis inflicted

on his family, it caused him to really be patriotic for Israel.

He became involved in the Haganah.

The Haganah was the beginning of the military force of Israel

and ended up in the Mossad.

Do you think it's possible that your dad was part of some

conspiracy involving intelligence agencies to infiltrate the IRA?

I would say there would be a strong possibility because there is

a connection of the IRA and Israel, and that connection

would be Gaddafi.

At that point, Gaddafi was selling or giving arms to terrorists

that were attacking Israel, and Gaddafi was also giving arms

to the IRA.

And Israel at this point was in a very precarious state.

So...

...my father, if he worked with

or collaborated, or worked with

the Mossad or Israeli intelligence, it would be a clear fit.

Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi was viewed by Western intelligence

agencies as a major international terrorist.

Zwy Aldouby was actually working inside the IRA when Gaddafi first

declared his support for them.

Five months later, one of those appearing in Bowyer Bell's film

oversaw the first consignment of Gaddafi's weapons.

We organised a plane to fly to Libya to collect them.

Well, we got 490 RPG warheads, which is rocket-propelled grenade,

and 25 launchers.

A training camp was arranged.

Two of the volunteers were given instructions to fire the rocket.

And they fired it from over there.

And as you can see here, there's a hole here in this wall

about an inch-and-a-half in diameter.

And that's where the first rocket hit the wall and penetrated it.

BIRDSONG

It could penetrate armour and that was what it was designed for.

And when it would penetrate the armour, it would explode

inside the vehicle, killing those and injuring those inside.

The attack came without any warning at 9.35, and it was a lucky fluke

shot which killed Constable Keys.

The Government said he died when the police station was hit

by an anti-tank rocket.

His was one of at least ten police stations and Army posts that came

under such rocket attacks.

Constable Robert Keys, a father of six, was killed by a rocket

from this first of many deadly arms shipments by Gaddafi.

Mossad deny that Zwy Aldouby was in their organisation.

A former CIA deputy director who was monitoring Gaddafi

from the 1970s, knows how Israel gets its intelligence.

MAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY ON VIDEO

Is it possible that Aldouby was spying on the IRA

when he was filming them, and feeding information back

to his former comrades?

Almost a certainty.

Mossad, they have long ties

and connections.

They maintain those.

I don't think many of them have left totally.

They're still involved, supporting Israel.

So, Zwy Aldouby could have been spying for Israel.

And because of Gaddafi, the CIA also kept watch on Ireland.

We were very interested in Gaddafi anyway, in terms of funding

or collecting arms, or just general support,

cos you had this interesting

phenomena that the IRA...

...tended to look to him as a

supporter and an ally.

Would you have had an officer or officers based in Ireland

at this time?

We had a chief of station in Ireland.

Would you have had that as far back as 1972?

Oh, yeah.

Despite all the shadowy intelligence undercurrents around this film,

it did arrive in America, where a sales campaign began.

BELLS CHIME

I like to go to church, go to Mass.

It's a unifying factor.

As well as IRA attacks,

TV executives saw a pious IRA leadership.

When I come home, I try to spend some time with the children.

Six is a good number by what are called modern standards.

A US broadcast seemed imminent...

...until what happened next.

EXPLOSION

EXPLOSION

The IRA's talks with the British about a peace deal, collapsed.

The IRA response -

more than 20 bombs in Belfast one Friday afternoon.

Nine people were killed, many dozens injured.

The scale of death and injury was a public relations disaster

for the IRA.

But they were in Bowyer Bell's film, rationalising the risk to civilians.

Well, the simple fact is that a young lad,

before he sets out to plant a bomb,

he takes every precaution possible to ensure that there will be no

civilian casualties resulting from that bomb.

One cannot be completely satisfied that the element of responsibility

is totally removed.

But yet, one bears in mind that eventually that the innocent

civilians pay a price, that that price is not in vain,

that from that sacrifice a better form of society will evolve.

The rising toll on civilians was undermining the film's portrayal

of the IRA.

Can you clear back, please?!

Made worse by the fact that the only death featured in the entire film

is that of an IRA man killed by the British.

The selling of the film was now in jeopardy.

We had a neighbour who was one of the chiefs in control of CBS News.

I took it to his house and handed it to him.

He gave it back to me and said, "It's too romantic."

"It's too..."

You know, "It doesn't seem real."

And...

...you know, I was, I was upset about that.

Because by this time I was emotionally involved

in the success of it.

♪ And soothe her every care... ♪

It was my job to go out and try and sell it.

And I went to a new company that had just been formed...

...by the name of Viacom.

And I showed it to them and they loved it.

And they immediately offered me a contract for worldwide rights.

I don't remember if they paid anything or not.

They prepared a lovely four-page brochure.

Oh, wow.

I don't know if you've ever seen that.

I've certainly never seen that.

Well, that's from Derry the day the bomb went off.

And there's footage from it.

ALARMS WAIL

EXPLOSION

We thought it was a pretty good documentary.

But what happened after that,

I suppose we can discuss here today.

Viacom took it for worldwide rights

and never sold a copy.

The commercial failure left Bowyer Bell and Aldouby in debt.

Both had borrowed money to make it.

Later, Bowyer Bell confided the reason no American broadcaster

bought it was British intelligence.

What did he say to you happened?

The British Government was

too afraid of the repercussions

that the film could have with the Irish community in the US,

which was a very powerful, wealthy community.

So they, the British Government, the Foreign Office, decided to clamp

down on it and put pressure on

the US Government to stop the film.

Whatever the reason for its rejection,

the film then seems to vanish.

Despite some private screenings, it didn't emerge into public view

until almost 50 years later.

The bombsite itself, Free Derry to those who have maintained it

as one of the most notorious of Northern Ireland's no-go areas,

has been ringing from the sound of pneumatic drills today as Army

engineers tackle the toughest of the barricades.

The IRA's attempt to make the ultimate propaganda film failed.

Their hopes of ending British rule in Northern Ireland

in 1972, also vanished.

It's clear that the Army intends to stay and to stay in force.

They've taken over more buildings and set to to turn them

into fortified strong points.

More than 25,000 British troops seized back control

of IRA strongholds.

Their no-go areas were now gone, too.

I want you to get the feel of that weapon as well.

This is an ideal weapon for assault groups

in close-up fighting and it's a good weapon for street fighting.

In 1986, Des Long's life also changed.

Younger IRA leaders wanted much more emphasis on politics

and forced him from the top of the IRA and out of the movement.

Sources in Northern Ireland are taking seriously a claim

earlier this month from a group calling itself the Continuity

Council of the IRA that they carried out the bombing at the

Killyhevlin Hotel in Enniskillen.

In 2001, Des Long was charged with membership of the IRA breakaway

group behind this bombing.

MUSIC: Symphony No. 6, Second Movement, by Beethoven

This one is called The Brook.

Second movement.

HE HUMS ALONG

My phone is tapped.

And find that Special Branch are passing your house

on a regular basis.

It's all constant watching and watching.

I can't go to England.

I know that if I went to England, I would be stopped and arrested.

I'm banned out of America.

I consider that a badge of honour, I'll be honest with you.

HE CHUCKLES

I am not in great health.

I'm 82 years of age.

But I would support anybody who is prepared

to resist British occupation of my country.

Full stop? Full stop.

No qualms about it.

You know, a lot of people would say you're a bit of a dinosaur.

A lot of people say lots of things.

Having organised IRA shootings of alleged criminals in Free Derry,

in 1984, it was Tony Devine facing IRA justice.

Accused of breaching discipline,

his own life was at stake.

And what they did was they asked for the death penalty.

You know, and I couldn't believe it.

He escaped a death sentence,

but was dismissed from the IRA

and ordered to appear for punishment.

This is where my life changed forever.

This is where the, the deed took place.

The guy said to me, "You know, you're getting shot in both legs."

I went, "All right, then."

And he said... Both legs?

Aye, he says, "I was told to break bone."

I went, "All right." So he shot me in the ball of leg.

The ball, what do you mean by the ball?

The ball of me leg, the calf of me leg.

And then he shot me in me left leg

and he broke it.

In The Secret Army,

you talk about how people get shot in the legs.

There's an irony that... Aye, what goes around, comes around.

Aye, that's true.

Well, I mean, you have to take it all, like.

You can't say to somebody, "It's not right for you to do it,"

and then I go and do it, you know.

Everything was aboveboard.

You know, if you stepped out of line in any way at all,

you were punished for it.

Tony Devine and his IRA commander never spoke to each other again.

Martin McGuinness eventually led the IRA to peace.

Decades later, as a leader of a new Northern Ireland government...

...he was meeting Queen Elizabeth.

Good evening. Hello, how are you? Are you well?

Thank you very much. Well, I'm still alive, aren't I?

Nice to see you again.

Well, you're quite busy.

Yeah. There's been quite a lot going on.

I'm really sorry I let Martin down.

Martin McGuinness was a brilliant guy.

He really was.

HE EXHALES

Sorry about that.

The IRA must have calculated the publicity from this film

was worth exposing its members, like Des Long and Tony Devine.

But did they fully consider how hidden enemies might exploit it?

As the years went by,

I would say that at all times

I had some suspicion of Bowyer Bell,

and as the years passed, and I learned more

about how the CIA operated

or how intelligence services work,

I got... I was more and more suspicious of him.

In fact, I wasn't in any doubt

that he was a CIA agent.

Straightforward duplicity.

He was fooling the IRA and he was acting as a spy.

PIANO MUSIC PLAYS

My immediate reaction is absolutely not.

Bo would not betray anyone.

What sort of a man was he, as far as you're concerned?

Straightforward.

Honest.

Er...

Extremely, extremely brilliant.

Bowyer Bell knew he was suspected of spying.

Years after the film, he acquired Irish citizenship,

and would dismiss allegations of betrayal as fantasy.

He did work for the CIA, didn't he?

Yeah, well, I mean, it's on his resume,

because that was one of the ways he made money.

This was after, this was after the film.

He came home basically as an academic

without being a professor.

The only thing you can do is consult, write books.

One way to make money was to run a war game

for the Defense Department

or consult with the CIA about terrorist mindsets or whatever,

or go to a conference and give a speech on the subject,

or be a talking head on TV.

Like all revolutionary organisations,

they tend to be incompetent.

Secrecy and underground movements always are,

and they kill a lot of people by mistake,

which doesn't make it any nicer.

In fact, it may make it worse.

He wrote proposals to the CIA saying, you know,

"I can teach a course in your class about, you know, terrorism."

He was open about it.

But that's a completely different thing from being a spy.

And he was never that, you know.

I mean, he probably wouldn't have told me if he was,

but I just can't even imagine it.

For one thing, he was not spy material, you know!

I've contacted the intelligence agencies.

None admit involvement in the film.

ON RADIO: The bomb wrecked Queen's University Sports Club

in Upper Malone Road.

I'm certain Becky Waring is telling the truth as she knows it.

And according to Bowyer Bell's own resume,

there was a two-year gap between filming with the IRA

and when he began working with the CIA.

But that may not be true.

"CIA, Justice and Defense."

My God.

The paperwork here confirms what I thought.

I see that Bowyer Bell was very much tied up with the CIA.

He had security clearance.

There's no doubt about it,

he was definitely up to his eyes with it.

No, I never thought he was an agent of the CIA,

but I thought he certainly was giving information to the CIA.

And this would confirm it.

They would be gathering intelligence.

"What about so-and-so? What about so-and-so?

"Did you meet so-and-so?"

That's not just listening to him,

they were gathering intelligence.

I'd love to see their file.

I'd say it wouldn't fit in this room.

CIA.

Top Secret. Department of Defense.

And Top Secret again.

I mean, there's no way... He must have been.

He was working for the CIA, I believe,

without a shadow of a doubt.

Knowing what I know now, you know,

never in a million years should they have been allowed

to film what they filmed.

You know, reading this here,

you know, we were idiots.

No, but that's in hindsight.

You know, and I'm just wondering what people...

Mossad? Come on, like.

A bunch of teenagers in the Bogside.

Mossad, the CIA, MI5.

That's all James Bond kind of stuff, you know.

It's impossible to be definitive about the making of this film.

Evidence of intelligence agencies' involvement in it,

unbeknownst to the IRA, is compelling.

Bowyer Bell may have been more than a consultant to the CIA.

But it's also possible he too was manipulated,

along with everyone else, by the spy masters.

Technically, I am an academic.

I associate with gunmen.

No-one is sure whether I am smuggling arms,

representing the IRA,

or what I say I am, which is an author.