The Toxic Legacy of the word ‘informer’

A response from Neale Jagoe to our last report on why the word ‘informer’ is so hurtful and frequently misused to vilify victims

The term 'informer' is indeed toxic and is particularly loaded in its Irish context, where the taint endures for generations.  There's even a widespread and largely unspoken attitude that 'informers' get what they deserve....  But an informer betrays an organisation from within. None of the Bandon Valley victims were members of the IRA.  Undoubtedly some were on friendly terms with Crown Forces during the War of Independence, and even assisted those Crown Forces.  My great-grandfather almost certainly did.  That did not make him an 'informer'. 

 To tar as 'informers' a community which had supported the legal authority in the state during a time of conflict with insurgent forces - by way of somehow justifying their execution by the victorious insurgent forces after the conflict - is an egregious attempt to smear victims.  For decades it has allowed a wider Irish public to collectively shrug its shoulders when confronted with Dunmanway.   

 While the 'informer' tag has dehumanised Protestant victims, its deployment has also effectively denied that Protestants could have been Irish and loyal to the British Crown at the same time; and that only those who supported the IRA during a time of conflict were truly Irish.  The implications for future relations on this island are obvious. 

 That's why this is so important.