A family man posing as an NHS worker and hotel inspector infiltrated the violent New IRA splinter group and revealed his secrets to MI5 for over a decade before vanishing into thin air.
Dennis McFadden – ‘the man who was always there but never was’ – bugged meetings and gleaned information from suspected terrorists by offering them Spanish holidays and Celtic tickets, according to a sensational series court hearings in Northern Ireland.
In an effort to loosen the tongues of suspected New IRA members, the Glaswegian served them with Guinness and gin at a Covid-lockdown bar in the back garden of a suburban bungalow where he lived with his wife and son young son.
As part of ‘Operation Arbacia’, he also hosted the group’s so-called army council of senior officials in rented Airbnbs, with the agent allegedly staying behind when everyone went to collect ashtrays and dusting glasses for DNA.
MI5 agent Dennis McFadden, who infiltrated dissident Republican groups in Northern Ireland
Dennis McFadden, 54, lived with his wife, Christine, 38, and their young son in a quiet cul-de-sac of 1980s houses in Glengormley, a north Belfast suburb.
Residents described him as a good neighbour, with one saying, “To be honest, he was too nice, a little too friendly – he always asked you for a drink.”
The MI5 agent told local residents that he was a hotel inspector and had to travel often to carry out security checks at tourist accommodation.
But for more than 15 years, he had infiltrated splinter groups that opposed the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
And while locals thought he was off inspecting hotels, he was actually debriefing MI5.
McFadden rose through the ranks to join the national executive of Saoradh, the political wing of the new IRA, serving as resource officer and becoming involved in the party’s financial affairs.
Spy chiefs believe McFadden’s work severely damaged the organization, which is believed to be responsible for bombings, punitive shootings and the murder of journalist Lyra McKee in 2019.
Information about the proceedings can now be released because in terrorism cases in Northern Ireland there is no jury to prejudge.
Instead, terrorism cases are heard without a jury due to fears dating back to the 1970s that jurors could be intimidated by terrorist groups.
The now abandoned bungalow where McFadden lived before disappearing
McFadden reportedly spoke to Kevin Barry Murphy, 50, an alleged senior New IRA official
McFadden’s success came despite a seemingly unpromising start for MI5, whose political involvement began with meetings of his local branch of Sinn Fein.
He is said to have drawn suspicion, with one person who met him saying, “He would ask people ‘where are the other meetings?’ I gave her a wide berth. He always seemed to be in the background all the time.
But McFadden soon began to indulge himself with dissident republican groups such as the New IRA – which has been identified as the most violent and active republican dissident group operating in Northern Ireland.
The group was responsible for the shooting death of journalist Lyra McKee, who was killed while covering riots in Derry in 2019.
In an effort to woo the members, the “Celtic mad” McFadden gave them tickets to football matches in Scotland, covering travel expenses and providing accommodation with his family there.
On three occasions, McFadden treated 50-year-old Kevin Barry Murphy, an alleged senior New IRA official vacationing in Spain with their wives, each time paying for the flights and the villa.
The undercover agent also arranged travel and accommodation for members to attend political conferences abroad, including in Brussels and Beirut.
A Republican mural on a side wall of the Saoradh offices in Derry city centre, Northern Ireland, in May earlier this year. Saoradh is the political wing of the New IRA
The New IRA claimed responsibility for the shooting death of journalist Lyra McKee (pictured) in 2019
Known as a man for whom “money was no object”, it is unclear whether McFadden’s parties, holidays and football tickets were funded by MI5 or Saoradh.
MI5 does not disclose spending on intelligence gathering, but between 2017 and 2022 the Police Service of Northern Ireland paid £1.6million to informants, The temperature reported.
What’s also unclear is whether McFadden was planted by the security services or turned into an informant – perhaps due to pressure or because he renounced a republicanism violent.
His main means of collecting evidence was by bugging the meeting rooms where the alleged leaders of the New IRA met.
When the talks started, he would leave for a phone call at work or to get some tea bags – earning him the nickname “the teaboy”.
The tapes also revealed the New IRA’s desire to forge international ties to source weapons and explosives, prosecutors say.
Discussions also focused on trying to get money from the “Russians” and forging alliances with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Lyra McKee’s sisters Joan Hunter (centre right), Nichola Corner (right) and family hug on Fanad Drive in Derry earlier this year
A defendant in 2020 submitted a bail application but was denied by Judge McAlinden who said: ‘There were absolutely crazy discussions going on at those meetings.’
In 2020, McFadden disappeared with his family, his former comrades having been unable to reach him by phone.
A neighbor said: ‘I thought he was doing one of his trips to the hotel. Then one night a taxi came and the woman and boy left with a bag or two.
“Three or four days later a black SUV with blackout windows arrived and two guys came into the house and removed a lot of stuff. I tried to chat with them but they didn’t even look at me.
The family’s disappearance coincided with the arrest of seven men and two women in Northern Ireland and a Palestinian political activist at Heathrow Airport.
The arrested men deny all charges against them, including outright terrorism, planning terrorist acts and membership in a banned organization.
McFadden will not be called to testify and is believed to be living under a new identity under witness protection.
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