A controversial new book to be published on Wednesday on the exploits of alleged former IRA man and British Intelligence agent, Mr Freddie Scappatici, claims to show that of 35 people murdered by the IRA in the 1980s and 1990s as alleged informers, five were victims with connections in the Republic.
They include Mr Frank Hegarty, from Derry, whose body was found in Donegal in May 1986; Mr David McVeigh found shot dead in Carlingford, Co Louth, in September 1986; Mr Eamon Maguire, from Dublin, who was found shot dead in south Armagh in September 1987; and Mr James McAnulty, abducted in Dundalk in July 1989, whose body was found just across the Border on the roadside in Cullaville, Co Armagh.
Extracts from the book by Martin Ingram were published yesterday in the Belfast paper Sunday Life. A High Court challenge by Mr Scappatici was overruled at a hearing in Belfast last week.
The last alleged victim of what is claimed in the book to have been the IRA's "nutting squad" was Ms Caroline Moreland (34), whose body was found in Croughmore, Co Fermanagh, in July 1994.
The book will also claim that Mr Scappatici was a British agent and a high-ranking IRA member, and was very influential in saving the life of the then Dunnes Stores boss, Mr Ben Dunne, after he was kidnapped by the IRA in south Armagh in 1981. Mr Dunne was released after six days of captivity.