A new eight-part podcast, Assume Nothing: The Stormont Spy Ring, has been launched by BBC Radio Ulster.
The series investigates the life and murder of Denis Donaldson, a former Sinn Féin figure found dead in Donegal in 2006 after it emerged he had acted as an informer for police and MI5 for two decades.
Narrated by Blue Light actor Martin McCann, the series begins months before Donaldson’s death, exploring a raid at Belfast’s Special Branch headquarters that triggered a major criminal investigation.
Initially, blame was placed on the IRA, but police searches led to Donaldson’s home, where stolen or incomplete government documents were found. The investigation quickly escalated into a political scandal threatening Stormont’s power-sharing government.
Donaldson and three others were arrested in connection with a supposed republican spy ring, but prosecutors later dropped all charges.
Following this, Donaldson confessed to supplying information to MI5 and the police before disappearing from public life. He was later murdered at his remote Donegal cottage.
Twenty years on, Donaldson’s death remains unsolved. One potentially crucial piece of evidence, a journal he was writing at the time, is held by Irish police, and his family have been unable to secure its return.
The podcast features contributions from journalists, security personnel, and others close to the story, offering new insight into one of Northern Ireland’s most controversial espionage cases.
Assume Nothing: The Stormont Spy Ring is available now on BBC Sounds.
