'Border Fox' killer seeks release after 14 years in Irish jail

The Irish government is trying to decide whether one of the most notorious killers of the Troubles should be released from prison after 14 years.

Dessie O'Hare, a republican renegade who once boasted he had killed 26 people, is agitating to be freed from prison in the Irish Republic, pointing out that hundreds of prisoners have been released during the peace process.

But his singular record is giving the authorities pause for thought. In 1988, O'Hare, nicknamed the Border Fox, was sentenced to 40 years for offences including the kidnapping and mutilation of a Dublin dentist. The year before, in an attempt to force payment of a ransom, O'Hare had tied, blindfolded and gagged the dentist, John O'Grady. Placing the captive's hands on a bread board, he then used a hammer and chisel to chop off both little fingers while other gang members stood on his arms.

O'Hare took Polaroids of the dentist's mutilated hands, telling him to "think of the seasons, think of spring" as he took the photographs. He also cut off the fingers of another victim, a former associate, later saying: "I had a deep hate for him and all those guys. I did not want him to die lightly."

The kidnap of the dentist was a traumatic episode for the Irish authorities, since O'Hare and his gang eluded capture for some weeks despite a nationwide manhunt.

While they were at large they broke through police checkpoints several times, raising the question of whether the authorities simply could not cope with republican violence. Although he was not convicted of murder, security sources do not doubt O'Hare's claim that he killed more than two dozen people. These included many members of the security forces and members of his own group, the Irish National Liberation Army.

The heavy prison sentence was regarded as reflecting the perception that O'Hare was one of the most dangerous, volatile and unpredictable of all republican activists.

In a 10-minute speech from the dock at his trial he declared that "justice for the people of Ireland can only come through the barrel of a gun", calling for attacks on Irish judges, police and troops.

Today he says: "While my war is over, my struggle for the rights of all shades of the working class continues. I unequivocally accept the INLA ceasefire and fully associate myself with the apology contained therein.

"Much pain has been endured in the past and as a soldier I played a part in both inflicting and enduring pain." Declaring that his "war is over," he says his ambition is to help to build homes "for the handicapped". He also said his intention was to "not curse the darkness but light candles of human hope". While in prison he says he observed a yogic silence for six years.

Just before Christmas, O'Hare was moved to a low-security prison. The authorities have made clear they will carefully study his behaviour for some months, and that his early release is by no means guaranteed.

One concern is that the INLA is noted for the lethal feuds that periodically erupted in its ranks, resulting in dozens of internal killings.

A former senior police office involved in O'Hare's capture has said he should be freed, describing him as "a very dangerous character, a little bit mad rather than bad". Others dispute O'Hare's claim to have acted as a soldier, a police union spokesman saying of his actions: "How in God's name could that be said to be political? That is purely criminal."

A "Free Dessie O'Hare Campaign" is appealing to "all republicans, socialists and justice groups nationally and internationally" to help him to "obtain equality, justice and freedom".

Northern Ireland Unionists have spoken out against release. One Assembly member, Danny Kennedy, said he should serve all of his 40-year term. He added: "The Irish should realise that O'Hare poses an equally sinister threat on both sides of the border. Early release would be deeply offensive to law- abiding people."