The Next One Is for You: A True Story of Guns, Country, and the IRA’s Secret Army

New York Times journalist Watkins debuts with a rigorous account of America’s connection to Northern Ireland’s Troubles. Watkins reveals that, under the guise of providing benevolent aid, Philadelphia groups like Clan na Gael and the Irish Northern Aid Committee (NORAID) raised massive amounts of money to purchase guns and rocket launchers from mostly legal dealers, then smuggled them to Northern Ireland on cruise ships including the Queen Elizabeth II. The guns began arriving in 1971, and made 1972 the bloodiest year of the conflict. Watkins paints arresting portraits of the nationalist ideologues who led the charge, and suspensefully recounts the years of FBI and ATF wiretaps and undercover operations that finally led to their arrest. It wasn’t until the 1990s, when the Philly-to-IRA pipeline dried up, that the IRA moved on to sources in the Middle East and the power of NORAID waned. Utilizing evidence and trial transcripts from both sides of the Atlantic, Watkins convincingly argues that the IRA would never have become as violent as it did without aid from American immigrants. This shines a harsh new light on an often-covered history. Agent: Justin Brockaert, Aevitas Creative Management. (Mar.)