Martin Dillon

Radio broadcaster, Producer/writer, Creator of programs and TV shows

In 1973, Dillon joined BBC Northern Ireland’s Newsroom as a News Assistant. In 1975, he became a Radio Arts producer and later ran the General Programmes Radio Department, which constituted the majority of the BBC's radio output in Northern Ireland. He created the controversial Behind the Headlines and Talkback programs. In 2016, Talkback celebrated its thirtieth anniversary.

In 1985, while working as a producer of Behind the Headlines, he persuaded SDLP leader, John Hume, and Provisional Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams, to debate their political positions live on the program. During the broadcast, Hume agreed to meet with the Provisional IRA's Army Council, which is credited with opening a dialogue with the PIRA. He also introduced Hume to UDA paramilitary leader, John McMichael.

In 1989, he created The Show, a satirical television program that, despite its tremendous popularity, caused outrage at all levels of Irish society: churches, political parties and British government institutions were unhappy with the way satire was used to highlight contradictions in British policymaking.

In 1991, The Show was cancelled after three series and Dillon was asked to resign. He was soon offered a contract to work as a producer/writer with Timewatch, a BBC 2 award-winning documentary department, based at Elstree Studios outside London. His role was to script and produce a major series on the Northern Ireland Troubles. After a year working with the Timewatch he clashed with the BBC authorities and resigned, reaching a financial settlement.

TV commentator, columnist, terrorism analyst and expert for newspapers, magazines and networks in England, Canada and USA

In 1992, Dillon left BBC to pursue his writing career. He subsequently became a terrorism analyst and commentator for Sky Television and other television and radio networks. In 1992, he presented a television documentary, The Last Colony for Channel Four and RTÉ, which examined the origins of the Troubles, focusing on the confusing nature and failure of much of British policymaking of the period, especially of the Tory government led by Prime Minister Edward Heath.

Literary Works and Themes

In The Shankill Butchers, The Dirty War, and God and the Gun, Dillon offers a balanced and objective perspective of the conflict, the participants and their motives. The Irish Times issued the following review, "Dillon is recommended reading for anyone wishing to understand the complexities of British–Irish politics. He stands alone as one of the most creative writers of our time."

The Shankill Butchers, A Case Study of Mass Murder (1989) is a study of Northern Ireland's Shankill Butchers who preyed on Belfast Catholics. The Dirty War (1990) is a detailed account of the undercover struggle in which all sides fought a no-rules battle, using spies, informants, assassins, disinformation and terrorist agents. Dillon examines the roles played by the Provisional IRA, British Intelligence, including MI5 and Special Branch, British Military Intelligence, the Irish Government, and the British Army. Killer in Clowntown - Joe Doherty, the IRA and the Special Relationship (1992) is the tale of Joe Doherty, a convicted IRA gunman who frustrated the British Government's attempts from 1982 to 1992 to have him extradited from New York to Northern Ireland to serve a 30-year prison sentence for murdering a British Special Air Services Officer. Doherty was finally extradited in 1992.

Dillon was asked by the Federal Court in New York to provide testimony about the inner workings of the IRA, based on his work The Dirty War. He agreed on condition he would be judged a "friend of the court" (amicus curiae) witness and not seen as supporting any side. In the end, he was not called to give evidence.

In Stone Cold: True Story of Michael Stone and the Milltown Massacre (1992), Dillon describes Michael Stone, best-known for his attack on an IRA funeral in Belfast's Milltown Cemetery in March 1988, killing three men (one of whom was a Provisional IRA volunteer). Stone was captured and confessed to three other killings, which landed him a life sentence in the Maze Prison.

In The Enemy Within: The IRA War against the British (1994), Dillon examines the IRA bombing campaign in Britain before and after the Second World war, and through to the 1970s/80s. He analyzes the IRA's flirtation with Nazism and how Eire's wartime neutrality conditioned subsequent British policy towards Ireland. 25 years of Terror: The IRA's War against the British (1996) is the revised edition of The Enemy Within (1994).

The Serpent’s Tail (1995) is Dillon's first novel, based on a true-life story set against a background of ordinary family life in Catholic West Belfast. Dillon traces the steps of two young Belfast Catholics recruited as informers, who found themselves at the heart of a “sting” involving the IRA, the SAS and MI5. The film script of the novel won European Script Fund award in 1995.

In God and the Gun – The Church and Irish Terrorism (1997), Dillon explores the nexus of religion and paramilitarism. He interviewed paramilitaries and religious figures. In The Trigger Men: Assassins and Terror Bosses in the Ireland Conflict (2003), Dillon delves into the world of Irish terrorism and counterterrorism. He analyzes the personalities of some of the most dangerous, professional and ruthless killers in Northern Ireland, their motivations and the crimes they committed.

Dillon co-authored with the late Rt. Hon. Roy Bradford, Rogue Warrior of the SAS: A Biography of Col. “Paddy” Blair Mayne (1987). Mayne is regarded as one of the greatest soldiers in the history of military special operations. He is the most decorated fighting soldier of WWII, receiving four DSOs, the Croix de Guerre, and the Legion d’Honneur. He was one of the six founder members of the SAS and pioneered tactics used today by Special Forces units across the globe. His exploits against Rommel’s Desert forces and against the Nazis in Italy, France and Germany were legendary. His courage, initiative and wildness made him a giant among his men.

He was, however, denied the ultimate accolade of the Victoria Cross because of his unorthodox rules of war and his resentment of authority. In 2002, Dillon updated the new, revised edition Rogue Warrior of the SAS-the Blair Mayne Legend (2003) for Mainstream publishing. Dillon added a postscript with new facts about Mayne’s conflicted personal life, in particular, his sexuality which was a topic purposely omitted in the first edition of the book. Drawing on Mayne's personal letters and family papers, SAS secret records (now declassified), his own war diaries and eyewitness accounts from many who served with him, Dillon presents a compelling and perceptive portrait of a very special warrior.

'The Assassination of Robert Maxwell: Israel’s Superspy (2002; co-authored with late Gordon Thomas) is a biography of media mogul, Robert Maxwell, who played a crucial role for Israel's Mossad.

In his new memoir Crossing the Line-My Life on the Edge (2017), Dillon, "details a life that's involved many incredible moments: witnessing the horrors of the Troubles; encounters with major political figures and paramilitaries; rubbing shoulders with Irish literary greats; a successful broadcasting career, but one where he butted heads with BBC management; and having to leave Northern Ireland because of death threats", according to The Irish Times.

Readers of this book, and of Dillon’s other works, will agree that “He has that unique knack of combining forensic historical fact-based research with the art of thriller-like writing. His books have accurately chartered the terror and the horror of recent Northern Irish history but always in a tone of compassion for the innocent victims caught up in conflict. Works like his 'The Shankill Butchers' and 'The Dirty War' stand the test of time and will be essential reading for generations to come for those trying to make sense out of the madness that was 'The Troubles'. --Henry McDonald; author, journalist and Ireland correspondent for The Guardian.