Brian Gillen

{{Short description|Irish Republican Army member}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

Brian "Ginger" Gillen (born 1956/1957)[http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/profiles-brian-gillen-bobby-storey-and-eddie-copeland-1.2346180 Gillen age given as 58 as of 8 September 2015], irishtimes.com; accessed 24 September 2015. was alleged to be a volunteer in the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and, later, named to the IRA Army Council.{{Cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/may/12/northernireland.northernireland1|title=He did the IRA's dirty work for 25 years - and was paid £80,000 a year by the government|date=May 12, 2003|work=The Guardian}}[http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=167912003 Sinn Fein leaders ordered to court] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060109185020/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=167912003 |date=2006-01-09 }}, scotsman.com; accessed 24 September 2015. His solicitor was Pat Finucane, who was shot dead by loyalists in 1989.{{cite web|title=Collusion - Transcript of BBC Panorama programme|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/collusion/docs/panorama190602.htm|publisher=CAIN|date=19 July 2002|accessdate=25 September 2007}}

In 1995 Gillen, as Officer Commanding of the IRA's Belfast Brigade, was a member of the IRA Executive and was critical of the strategy employed by Gerry Adams.{{cite book|last=Moloney|first=Ed|authorlink=Ed Moloney|title=A Secret History of the IRA|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2002|pages=438–439|isbn=0-14-101041-X}} In 1997, he was elected to the Army Council with the backing of Adams, after he backed the leadership over dissident republicans who wished to steer the IRA in a more hardline direction.A Secret History of the IRA, pp. 477-479.

In 2000, Gillen, along with Adams, Martin McGuinness, Pat Doherty and Brian Keenan were issued with a subpoena, in order to appear at Northern Ireland High Court as part of a civil action which was taken by relatives of the 29 Omagh bombing victims.[http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/front/2003/0211/1406607854HM1ADAMS.html Adams is subpoenaed by Omagh relatives to appear at civil action], irishtimes.com; accessed 24 September 2015.