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At 3 a.m. on the morning of May 6, 1970 the Irish Government Information Bureau announced the dismissal of two senior members of the Government, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney. That night, the Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, told the Dail that he had received information connecting the dismissed Ministers with an attempt at gun- running. It was also learned that an army officer had been held for questioning. The crisis grew as accusation and counter-accusation held the headlines. Rumour fed on speculation. Had a coup d etat been foiled? Would the Government fall? How many others were involved - and, more importantly, who were they? Three weeks later, five men were arrested and charged with conspiring to import arms illegally. They were the two ex-Ministers; Captain James Kelly, an intelligence officer of the Irish Army; John Kelly, a leader of the Belfast Citizens Defence Committee and Albert Luykx, a Belgian-born businessman. During the subsequent trials and parliamentary debates there were m