Brian Fitzsimons
John Charles Brian Fitzimons was the former head of the RUC Special Branch in Northern Ireland. He was killed in the Mull of Kintyre Chinook crash in 1994.[1]
Fitzsimons joined the RUC in 1963.[2]
He was involved undercover work which led to the arrest of the Brighton bomber, Patrick Magee, and ahead of the killing of three IRA members in Gibraltar in 1988.[2]
He was appointed head of Special Branch in December 1989 at the age of 48 . According to the Guardian, "he was the central strategist in the fight against terrorism."[2]
In the months prior to his death, rumours had been circulating in Belfast that he would be leaving the RUC that summer to take up a post as head of security for a Northern Ireland banking institution.[2]
External Resources
- David McKittrick, New McGuinness would have left old foe amazed, Independent, 24 September 2011.
- Liam Clarke, Dublin's links with IRA shrouded in ambiguity, Belfast Telegraph, 10 February 2012.
- Gerard Cunningham, Ex detective claims one in four IRA members sold information to British, faduda.net, 20 June 2012.
- Tim O'Brien, Ex-garda says he had not known of murders, Irish Times, 21 June 2012.
