I WANT TO COME HOME - Raymond Gilmour tells 'Journal'
DERRY SUPERGRASS Raymond Gilmour told the 'Derry Journal' last night: " I want to come home. I'd love to return to Derry."
The Creggan man, who worked as a RUC Special Branch agent inside both the INLA and the IRA in Derry in the 1970s and 1980s, says that, in spite of the "very real" dangers to his life, he yearns to return to his home town.
By Sean McLaughlin
And in a direct appeal to Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness, Gilmour said: "Now that he and his colleagues have decided to co-operate with and help the police - something I was doing 25 years ago - perhaps it's time they told me that I can come home. Can Martin McGuinness give me this assurance? If he can, I'd love to come back. It is my home after all. These are ties I can never lose."
Gilmour - who hasn't seen any members of his family, including his ex-wife and children for more than 20 years - was a Special Branch informer in Derry from his early teens.
He first came to the attention of the public on August 24, 1982, when the RUC, aided by British Army units, carried out a massive search and arrest operation in nationalist areas of Derry. More than 50 people were arrested during "Operation Ragwort", the largest joint British Army/RUC action in Derry since Operation Motorman in 1972. Gilmour had left Derry the previous week with his then wife and two children.
Based on his information, 35 men and women were arrested and appeared in court in one of the North's biggest supergrass trials. However, in December 1984, the case collapsed when the then Lord Chief Justice, Lord Lowry, dismissed Gilmour's evidence as "entirely unworthy of belief".
Last night, in a candid interview with the "Journal", Gilmour said that, given that the security situation in the North had "changed beyond all recognition" in recent years, he was "curious" about the "chances of being able to come back to Derry."
"I have to admit, I never thought I'd see the day when Sinn Fein would decide to support the police," he said. "After all, they waged a war against them for decades and murdered hundreds of its members. And, now, it appears they're going to be brothers in arms. Unbelievable."
GIlmour insisted he would only return home if his safety was guaranteed: "In this apparent new era, is it possible for me to come back home? Now that the war is over and Sinn Fein are friends with the police, can I come back? Am I still a target? I want Martin McGuinness to tell me that it's OK."
Gilmour also revealed that he is anxious to find out what has happened to his family: "I haven't seen or spoken to any of them since I left Derry.
Permanent exile
"There's been no contact whatsoever. This has been very, very difficult for me and has resulted in some serious problems. Imagine what it's like to be living in permanent exile for so long."
He again insisted that he had no regrets about working for the RUC. "If I had to do it all again, I would. The information I provided saved many lives. I'm not ashamed of this."
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Friday 10 February 2012
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