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In 1996, law enforcement raided a British apartment and arrested Michael Gallagher on suspicion of IRA involvement. Margaret Attenborough, an English academic specializing in scientific research, was astonished and outraged.

Attenborough was skeptical that her intellectual partner – a ex-government worker who assisted homeless alcoholics – could be involved with the IRA. Gallagher had previously impressed Attenborough by solving a cryptic crossword in just a few moments.

Court Case

Gallagher was indicted with plotting to assist the IRA launch explosive assaults at a key transport hub in 1994. While these attacks led to no loss of life, they caused widespread security concerns.

Attenborough gathered money and backing from others to assert her boyfriend's innocence. In spite of the support, he was convicted of involvement in explosive devices and was given a lengthy prison sentence.

Aside from a handful of individuals, I barely tell anyone,” Attenborough commented. “It was not a matter I was that proud of because Gallagher had lied to me.”

Revealing the Truth

Currently, roughly 30 years later, the pair continue to be together and have co-written a publication that admits Michael was, actually, responsible.

He had been an IRA fixer who assisted various missions, including the airport incident. Gallagher concealed the facts from Attenborough and merely confessed subsequent to his guilty verdict, making Attenborough devastated.

Life After Prison

Following Gallagher's liberation under the conditions of the 1998 Good Friday agreement, the partners settled to rural County Donegal and started a web development business, which they continue to run.

The memoir, called Unbroken: Deception, Truth and Lasting Love, switches perspectives between the both and withholds the disclosure of his actions until after his sentencing.

I am certain Gallagher is not a terrible man, he’s a truly decent man,” she stated. “He simply didn’t put me first, and I don’t know whether I see that as treachery. It was not his purpose.”

Background and Relationship

The couple first encountered each other in the mid-1980s through groups that aided Britain’s striking coal miners and protested against South Africa’s apartheid.

Attenborough, hailing from Walsall, held a PhD in theoretical science. Gallagher, of Scottish origin, was an budding literary figure and recovering alcoholic.

He had Northern Irish roots and carried out errands for the IRA, organizing housing, travel and paperwork for IRA members in England.

The Deception Revealed

He concealed his activities from Attenborough, who supported a united Ireland but rejected IRA methods.

I had given a vow to the organization and a vow to Attenborough and I assumed I could manage both – I could to do both,” Gallagher explained.

Security forces singled out him as a person of interest who had visited a warehouse with traces of bomb-making materials. Authorities watched his movements and bugged the couple’s home for a lengthy period, ending in the surprise arrest at their London home on 28 October 1996.

Aftermath and Reflection

For over a year – during her prison visits and the trial in early 1998 – he kept his truth.

I could not inform her because had I told her then, she would have had to tell her brother: ‘Stop arranging guarantees for Michael because he’s guilty,’” Gallagher explained. “That was truly an terrible time.”

The possibility of being found not guilty sustained his fiction until the tribunal decided against him. Soon afterward, when Attenborough met with him to mention further court actions, he revealed his involvement.

In the beginning, I could not decide if to trust his words,” Attenborough said. “I thought, then, which version of the facts ought I believe?”

Distraught, she considered leaving the connection, but in future encounters she agreed to his explanations and justified his secret actions.

Clearly I was opposed with his participation with the organization. Yet, it wasn’t such a major part that he had.”

Additional Secrets

In the authorship of their book, he disclosed one more decades-old secret to his Attenborough: when he rapidly completed the word game in the newspaper of a periodical, he had earlier completed it in a different version.