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During 1996, authorities raided a British home and detained Michael Gallagher accused of IRA operations. His partner, an university lecturer specializing in mathematical physics, was stunned and outraged.

She found it impossible to accept that her cerebral partner – a one-time public employee who supported homeless alcoholics – could be involved with the IRA. Gallagher had even impressed her by completing a difficult puzzle in merely three minutes.

Court Case

The accused was prosecuted with working to enable Irish republicans fire bombings at London's major airport in 1994. While these actions led to no injuries or deaths, they created major chaos.

She gathered money and campaign assistance to defend her partner's lack of guilt. In spite of these efforts, he was sentenced of conspiring to cause explosions and was given a lengthy prison sentence.

“Other than a handful of others, I barely tell anybody,” she commented. “It was nothing I was particularly pleased with because Gallagher had lied to me.”

Revealing the Truth

Today, nearly 30 years later, the couple remain in a relationship and have jointly authored a memoir that reveals Michael was, actually, responsible.

He had been a facilitator for the IRA who supported multiple operations, including the 1994 mortar launch. He kept secret the facts from Attenborough and only admitted after his sentencing, leaving her stunned.

After Incarceration

After Gallagher's freedom under the provisions of the peace accord, the couple moved to rural County Donegal and set up a digital company, which they continue to run.

The memoir, called Unbroken: Hidden Facts, Deceit and Relationship, alternates narratives between the two and postpones the revelation of his actions until following his conviction.

I believe Gallagher isn’t a terrible man, he is a truly decent person,” she said. “He simply failed to prioritize me, and it is unclear whether I see that as betrayal. He didn’t intend it.”

History Together

They met in 1985 through networks that aided UK mining strikers and campaigned against the apartheid regime.

She, from near Birmingham, held a advanced degree in theoretical science. Gallagher, a Glaswegian, was an aspiring writer and former drinker.

He had family connections to Northern Ireland and carried out errands for the IRA, organizing accommodation, logistics and identification for IRA members in England.

The Deception Revealed

He concealed his activities from his partner, who backed a united Ireland but rejected IRA methods.

“I’d made a pledge to the organization and a vow to Attenborough and I assumed I could keep it hidden – that I was able to handle each,” he explained.

Law enforcement identified Gallagher as a suspect who had visited a warehouse with remnants of bomb-making materials. They watched his movements and monitored the apartment for nearly 24 months, ending in the early morning police action at their London residence on that autumn day.

Later Realizations

During over a year – including her trips to see him and the legal proceedings in February 1998 – Gallagher maintained his involvement.

“There was no way I could tell her because had I told her then, she would have had to notify my sister: ‘Do not trouble yourselves seeking bail for Michael because he’s guilty,’” he explained. “That was truly an difficult period.”

The chance of being found not guilty maintained his deception until the court found him guilty. Shortly after, when Attenborough met with him to mention plans for an appeal, he revealed his involvement.

Initially, I could not decide whether to trust his words,” Attenborough recalled. “I considered, so, what account of the reality was correct?”

Distraught, she thought about terminating the relationship, but in subsequent visits she took his explanations and understood his hidden involvement.

“Obviously I didn’t agree with this involvement with the IRA. However, it wasn’t that big a role that he had.”

Final Revelations

In the authorship of their memoir, he revealed a further past deception to his companion: when he speedily solved the puzzle in the publication of a periodical, he had previously completed it in a different version.