A family man posing as an NHS worker and hotel inspector infiltrated the violent New IRA dissident group and spilled its secrets to MI5 for more than a decade before fading into thin air.
Dennis McFadden – ‘the man who was always there but was never there’ – has bugged meetings and collected information from suspected terrorists by giving them Spanish bank holidays and Celtic tickets, according to a sensational string of court hearings in Northern Ireland.
To loosen the tongues of suspected New IRA members, the Glaswegian provided 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 young son.
As part of “Operation Arbacia,” he also hosted the so-called Army Council of senior figures from the group in rented Airbnbs, with the agent reportedly staying behind while everyone else was collecting ashtrays and glasses to dust 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 on a quiet cul-de-sac of 1980s houses in Glengormley, a north Belfast suburb.
Local residents described him as a good neighbor, 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 residents he was a hotel inspector who often had to travel to carry out security checks at tourist accommodation.
But for more than 15 years he has been infiltrating splinter groups opposed to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
And while locals thought he was out inspecting hotels, he was actually interviewing MI5.
McFadden rose through the ranks to join the national executive of Saoradh, the political wing of the New IRA, where he held the post of resource officer and became involved in the party’s financial affairs.
Spy bosses believe McFadden’s work severely damaged the organization believed to be responsible for the 2019 bombing, punitive shooting and murder of journalist Lyra McKee.
Trial information can now be reported as there are no unbiased juries in Northern Ireland for terrorism cases.
Instead, terrorism cases are tried without a jury due to fears since the 1970s that juries could be intimidated by terrorist groups.
The now derelict bungalow where McFadden lived before he disappeared
McFadden is said to have spoken to Kevin Barry Murphy, 50, a suspected New IRA leader
McFadden’s success came despite a seemingly hopeless start for MI5, whose political involvement began with meetings at his local Sinn Fein office.
He is said to have raised suspicions when a person who met him said, “He would ask people where are the other meetings?” I gave him a wide berth. He always seemed to be in the background all the time.’
But McFadden soon began currying favor with dissident Republican groups like the New IRA – which has been identified as the most violent and active dissident Republican group in Northern Ireland.
The group was responsible for the fatal shooting of journalist Lyra McKee, who was killed in 2019 while covering riots in Derry.
To recruit members, “Celtic mad” McFadden gave them tickets to football matches in Scotland, covered travel expenses and offered accommodation with his family there.
On three occasions, McFadden treated Kevin Barry Murphy, 50, an alleged senior New IRA figure who was on holiday in Spain with her wives, paying for flights and the villa each time.
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 Saoradh offices in Derry city centre, Northern Ireland, early May this year. Saoradh is the political wing of the New IRA
The New IRA claimed responsibility for the fatal shooting of journalist Lyra McKee (pictured) in 2019
Known as a man for whom “money was no object”, it is unclear whether McFadden’s drink 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 whistleblowers, The Times reported.
It is also unclear whether McFadden was smuggled in by the security services or made an informant – perhaps under pressure or as a result of his renunciation of violent republicanism.
His main means of gathering evidence was to bug meeting rooms where suspected New IRA leaders were meeting.
When discussions started, he would go on a business call or to get tea bags – earning him the nickname “the tea boy”.
The records also revealed the New IRA’s desire to forge international connections to procure supplies of arms and explosives, prosecutors said.
Discussions also included 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 their family embrace on Fanad Drive in Derry earlier this year
One defendant in 2020 filed an application for bail but was denied by Mr Justice McAlinden, who said: “Absolutely crazy things were discussed at these meetings.”
In 2020, McFadden disappeared with his family, his former comrades could not reach him by phone.
A neighbor said: “I thought he was on one of his hotel trips. Then one night a taxi came and the woman and the boy just drove off with a bag or two.
“Three or four days later, a black SUV with blacked-out windows came and two guys went into the house and put away a bunch of stuff. I tried chatting 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 direct terrorism, preparation of terrorist acts and membership of a banned organization.
McFadden will not be called to testify and is said to be living under a new identity in witness protection.