Gun Running to Valhalla
Although NORAID funding was a significant benefit for the PIRA, aside from the sense of connection it gave Irish Americans, it was always more useful for them to get real guns. Furthermore, in the words of alleged PIRA leader Martin McGuinness, “Little old ladies in NORAID can’t get us M60 machine guns” (Crawley 2022). Even once they had the money to spend, the PIRA needed allies outside of Northern Ireland that could get them firepower.
One of these allies was none other than Boston Irish mob boss Jim “Whitey” Bulger. John Crawley, an ex-US Marine PIRA member, recounts his time in Boston working with Bulger in his 2022 novel The Yank. Despite himself being an IRA soldier, Crawley describes his misgivings about working with such a cruelly violent man who “thought like a criminal not a patriot.” However, he does acknowledge that, “the IRA needed money, guns, and false driving licenses to buy more guns. Law-abiding citizens are a poor source for these items.” Thus, in pursuit of getting a huge gun shipment, a tentative relationship with Bulger was formed.
This relationship culminated in a fishing boat named Valhalla setting out from Gloucester, MA, in September, 1984 (Strain 2013). It was loaded with weapons and explosives. However, after it traded its items to the Irish fishing boat Marita Ann somewhere off the coast, the Marita Ann was seized by the Irish navy. The plot had been foiled by an informant in the IRA.
Despite the meticulous care taken by Crawley and other IRA members working on drug runs in the face of carelessness shown by collaborators such as Bulger, these criminals did not prove more detrimental than carelessness at home.
