"NORAID: Irish America & the IRA," the new two-part documentary from Dublin-based PushPull Media, tells the story of the role played by Irish Americans during the conflict in Northern Ireland - fundraising, propagandizing, and gun-running.
The new documentary, which debuts in Ireland and online on Wednesday, tells of a body of Irish Americans who acted as the Republican movement's voice in the United States of America throughout that period.
Told through first-hand accounts and using exclusive archive sources, the series looks at how Irish America went from collecting money in bars in the Bronx to pressing the Presidential Candidate, Bill Clinton, during the 1992 primaries - lobbying which led to a key turning point in the nascent Peace Process: a US Visa for the then President of Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams.
You can watch the trailer for "NORAID: Irish America and the IRA" here:
Writing for RTÉ, documentary maker Jamie Goldrick said: "In making this two-part film, we travelled throughout New York, New Jersey and Boston, interviewing former NORAID members, IRA gun runners, gangsters, a bi-liturgical priest in his 90s from Limerick, and a one-time FBI agent, who served on the NORAID beat.
"For the first time on film, we have put together the story of militant Irish Republicanism in America during the conflict in the North. It’s a story that leads the viewer into back-rooms with the infamous South Boston Gangster Whitey Bulger and ultimately into the White House."
An 'England Get Out of Ireland' banner outside the White House. (PushPull Media)
Goldrick continued: "But, at its core, it’s a story of Irish immigrants, or those of a second or third generation, who had a deep connection to their country of origin and who were anything but the Plastic Paddy stereotype.
New York City Saint Patrick's Day Parade. (PushPull Media)
"The scorn poured on their intense activism by the media in the Irish Republic also acts as a mirror to the attitudes of those living in the South during the conflict. Did those of us in the 26 counties resent this American 'interfering' due to the embarrassment of our lack of action, fueled by censorship under acts such as Section 31?
"Our main aim with this film was to tell a story that is either misunderstood or not known at all."
(PushPull Media)
Ahead of the documentary's RTÉ debut, PushPull Media shared this fascinating clip where people at the New York City Saint Patrick's Day are asked: "Would you die for Ireland?"
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"NORAID: Irish America and the IRA" airs on RTÉ One at 9:35 pm on Wednesday, July 9, with Episode Two airing on Wednesday, July 16 - both episodes are available from July 9 via RTÉ Player.
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