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During 1996, police entered a British residence and took into custody Michael Gallagher on suspicion of Irish Republican Army involvement. Margaret Attenborough, an university lecturer working in mathematical physics, was shocked and indignant.

She found it impossible to accept that her cerebral boyfriend – a one-time public employee who assisted those in need – might be engaged with the IRA. Gallagher had even won over Attenborough by finishing a challenging word game in only three minutes.

Legal Accusations

Gallagher was indicted with conspiring to enable the IRA launch mortar attacks at a key transport hub in 1994. While these attacks caused no loss of life, they produced significant chaos.

Attenborough raised financial support and public support to proclaim her partner's lack of guilt. Despite her campaign, he was found guilty of conspiring to cause explosions and received a two-decade prison sentence.

Aside from a handful of people, I barely share with anybody,” Attenborough stated. “It was not a matter I was particularly pleased with because Gallagher had deceived me.”

Revealing the Truth

Currently, almost 30 years following the events, the pair remain together and have co-written a publication that reveals Michael was, actually, involved.

He had been a facilitator for the IRA who helped multiple operations, including the Heathrow attack. Gallagher hid the facts from Attenborough and just confessed after his guilty verdict, making her stunned.

Post-Release

After Gallagher's release under the provisions of the peace accord, the partners settled to the Irish countryside and established a web development business, which they continue to run.

The memoir, called Unbroken: Deception, Truth and Lasting Love, changes narratives between the pair and postpones the revelation of his guilt until following his sentencing.

“I know Michael is not a terrible person, he’s a very good person,” Attenborough remarked. “He simply didn’t put me first, and it is unclear if I see that as treachery. He had no malicious intent.”

Background and Relationship

Attenborough and Gallagher met in the mid-1980s through organizations that aided labor activists and campaigned against racial segregation.

She, hailing from the West Midlands, held a advanced degree in mathematical physics. He, of Scottish origin, was an hopeful author and someone overcoming addiction.

Gallagher had ancestral ties and carried out errands for the IRA, handling housing, travel and documents for activists in England.

The Deception Revealed

He kept secret his actions from his partner, who supported a united Ireland but opposed violent tactics.

I had given a commitment to the IRA and a commitment to Attenborough and I assumed I could keep it hidden – that I was able to handle each,” Gallagher commented.

Security forces identified Gallagher as a person of interest who had been to a storage facility with traces of explosives. Authorities monitored him and eavesdropped on the couple’s home for almost two years, ending in the surprise arrest at their Earl’s Court residence on 28 October 1996.

Aftermath and Reflection

During 16 months – during her trips to see him and the trial in the late 1990s – he held onto his truth.

It was impossible inform her because if she knew back then, she would have had to notify my sister: ‘Don’t bother arranging sureties for Michael because he is involved,’” Gallagher said. “That was really an terrible time.”

The possibility of escaping conviction sustained his deception until the jury decided against him. Soon afterward, when Attenborough met with him to discuss plans for an appeal, he admitted his involvement.

“At first, I could not decide if to accept his admission,” Attenborough remembered. “I considered, then, whose story of the reality was correct?”

Emotionally shaken, she thought about ending the connection, but in later meetings she took Gallagher’s regrets and understood his hidden involvement.

Clearly I disapproved with his participation with the organization. But on the other hand, it wasn’t that big a role that he performed.”

Last Disclosures

While the writing of their publication, Gallagher shared another past deception to his partner: when he quickly solved the puzzle in the publication of the Guardian, he had earlier done it in another edition.