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During the mid-1990s, police stormed a British home and arrested Michael Gallagher accused of IRA involvement. His partner, an university lecturer specializing in scientific research, was stunned and outraged.

She could not believe that her romantic boyfriend – a ex-government worker who helped those in need – might be engaged with paramilitary groups. He had previously amazed her by completing a difficult puzzle in only a few moments.

The Charges

The accused was formally charged with plotting to assist Irish republicans launch explosive assaults at Heathrow Airport in the mid-1990s. While these actions led to no injuries or deaths, they caused widespread security concerns.

She gathered financial support and public support to proclaim her boyfriend's lack of guilt. In spite of these efforts, he was convicted of plotting bomb attacks and was given a lengthy jail term.

“Other than a handful of individuals, I didn’t really tell anybody,” Attenborough commented. “It wasn’t something I was particularly pleased with because he had misled me.”

Revealing the Truth

Now, almost many years afterward, the partners remain together and have co-written a memoir that reveals Michael was, truly, responsible.

He had been an IRA fixer who assisted various missions, including the airport incident. Gallagher kept secret the facts from Attenborough and just revealed following his guilty verdict, leaving her stunned.

Life After Prison

After Gallagher's freedom under the conditions of the 1998 Good Friday agreement, the pair relocated to a remote area and started a digital company, which they manage to this day.

The memoir, titled Unbroken: Deception, Truth and Lasting Love, switches perspectives between the two and delays the admission of Gallagher's guilt until following his conviction.

I believe Michael isn’t a terrible person, he’s a very good individual,” she stated. “He simply didn’t put me first, and I am uncertain if I view it as disloyalty. He didn’t intend it.”

History Together

They met in the mid-1980s through groups that supported labor activists and campaigned against racial segregation.

She, hailing from the West Midlands, held a advanced degree in academic research. He, a Glaswegian, was an hopeful author and someone overcoming addiction.

He had Northern Irish roots and did occasional jobs for republican groups, arranging accommodation, logistics and identification for IRA members in England.

Truth Emerges

Gallagher kept secret his actions from Attenborough, who favored a united Ireland but opposed IRA methods.

I had given a commitment to the organization and a vow to Attenborough and I thought I could keep it hidden – I could to do both,” Gallagher explained.

Security forces singled out Gallagher as a suspect who had entered a storage facility with remnants of incendiary substances. They monitored him and eavesdropped on the residence for nearly 24 months, concluding in the pre-dawn raid at their Earl’s Court home on 28 October 1996.

Aftermath and Reflection

For over a year – during her trips to see him and the legal proceedings in the late 1990s – he maintained his secret.

“There was no way I could tell her because if I had revealed it then, she must have to tell others: ‘Do not trouble yourselves seeking guarantees for Gallagher because he is involved,’” he explained. “It was truly an terrible time.”

The possibility of escaping conviction maintained his fiction until the tribunal found him guilty. Shortly after, when Attenborough came to see him to talk about plans for an appeal, he revealed his involvement.

In the beginning, I was uncertain whether to accept his admission,” she remembered. “I thought, then, which version of the truth ought I believe?”

Distraught, she considered leaving the relationship, but in later meetings she took Gallagher’s apologies and understood his secret actions.

Clearly I didn’t agree with this involvement with the organization. Yet, it was not such a major part that he was playing.”

Final Revelations

During the writing of their book, Gallagher shared one more long-hidden truth to his partner: when he speedily finished the crossword in the publication of a newspaper, he had already done it in another edition.