BY COLM BRADLEY

'Unsung Hero' is the latest in the long line of books portraying Northern Ireland's dirty war. This is an autobiography of the life of Kevin Fulton (not his real name) who, apparently, for 21 years worked as a 'mole' within various Republican paramilitary organisations.

He describes how he made bombs, planted bombs, carried out shootings, was involved in kidnap and executions of IRA informers, and all. Fulton claims that all this activity was carried out with the full knowledge of his handlers.

Fulton came to prominence in the media when a series of Sunday newspaper articles blew his cover in 2000 and, since then, he has proved to be a thorn in the side of the security forces. He has constantly claimed he was abandoned by his handlers to be executed, and that he has been denied compensation and a new identity which he claims were promised to him.

One of the main claims Fulton made against the security forces was that he had forewarned the RUC of an imminent bomb that the Real IRA was planning in mid August 1998. The Omagh bomb happened three days after Fulton had passed on his information. He remains convinced that had his 'information been followed up, the Omagh atrocity could have been prevented.'

Fulton implies that the his intelligence was not acted upon in order to protect the identity of another, more important, informer.

The book traces his background, how, as a young Catholic from Newry, he grew up with a fascination for the army. His grandfather's stories of fighting for the British in World War II helped develop his romanticised view of Army life, and it grew over the years.

Considering his religion and the turbulent time in which he was growing up, Fulton kept his ambition quiet. Indeed, his ability to conceal his real motives and actions began at an early age for he was to keep his call-up a secret from all his friends and family.

According to Fulton, he was quickly identified by the intelligence services as having the potential to infiltrate the Republican movement and act as a secret agent for them. It is clear that Fulton was charmed, groomed and manipulated into this life as an agent. It was not one he wanted, for the young Fulton comes across as a naive boy who simply fell in love with the idea of army life. It was his complete trust of his superior officers and a willingness to please them that was to steer Fulton into a life of lies, deceit and death.

In hindsight, perhaps he should have heeded the words of his liaison officer who warned him about becoming an agent: "There will be no medals in this new role. If you are found dead in a ditch, we won't claim you. You will die an IRA terrorist."

Given this cold appraisal, it is rather surprising that Fulton expected to be kept safe by his handlers at all.

After a 'dishonourable discharge' was arranged from the army, he returned to his home town of Newry and went about establishing himself in Republic circles. This proved a long, slow and sometimes painful process. His first attempt to join the Provisionals three years after his discharge was a humiliating experience where he faced interrogation before being discarded. 'Not IRA material', was their verdict.

Fulton and his handlers decided he needed to prove his worth to the IRA leadership and, so they arranged a heist of some video equipment promising the IRA a cut. They agreed but, after the operation went belly up, Fulton found himself serving a stint in jail. This was to prove his ticket into the IRA. By not 'grassing' on any IRA people involved in the robbery, he had endeared himself to the leadership in the Newry area.

Fulton was released in 1986, and by 1988 he was a fully fledged member of the IRA. It is interesting to note that Fulton always felt more at home with IRA members that his handlers, something he describe as the perverse nature of Northern Ireland. Indeed, Fulton openly talks about IRA men being cold blooded killers in one sentence and, in the next as 'friends'.

Fulton does not seem to have a clear political ideology. One gets the impression that he sees himself very much as a soldier who was on one side of a war, and who saw his role as vitally important in saving peoples lives.

Fulton battled with his conscience daily and, at one stage, he asks his handlers; "What if one of my bombs caused an Enniskillen," to which his handlers assured him that if he did not make the bombs, somebody else would and that his long term role was saving peoples' lives.

Fulton describes how he 'lived every minute of every day being harassed, threatened and abused by the RUC' as he lived the life of an IRA man.

When his cover was finally blown in 2000, Fulton describes how he had to tell his wife and family that for 21 years he had lived a lie. He has spent from that day to this on the run and cannot see his family in Northern Ireland.

After his allegations concerning the handling of the information he had provided for the Omagh bomb, he was described by Ronnie Flanagan as a 'Walter Mitty' character. The then RUC Chief Constable concluded that Fulton's information was 'retrospective' and 'found to be without any foundation whatsoever."

However, Nuala O'Loane, the Police Ombudsman disagreed and described Fulton as a reliable source.

Whether you agree with Flanagan or O'Loane will bear a huge influence on how you view Fulton.

Perhaps the best thing to do is to read, 'Unsung Hero' and judge for yourself.

The book is now available in hardback and is available in Eason's Bookshop, Enniskillen. It is published by John Blake.