Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Categories: Scandals | History of the Republic of Ireland | Politics of the Republic of Ireland | 1970
Arms Crisis
The Arms Crisis was a political scandal in the Republic of Ireland, in which two government ministers were accused of illegally importing £100,000 worth of weapons for the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland. The money for the weapons had been diverted from funds intended as aid for nationalist civilians affected by the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Charles Haughey, Minister for Finance and Neil Blaney, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries were sacked by the Taoiseach Jack Lynch on May 6 1970, over these allegations of illegal arms smuggling. Kevin Boland, the Minister for Social Welfare resigned from the government in protest at the sackings.
On 28 May 1970, Haughey and Blaney went on trial in Dublin, together with an Irish Army intelligence captain named James Kelly, a Belfast republican named John Kelly and Belgian businessman Albert Luykx. Blaney was found not guilty on July 2 1970, and the other four defendants were cleared on October 23.
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