Royal Air Force pilot's 'greatest respect' for IRA who shot down his helicopter

» John Hedges

An Phoblacht Editor

“We had a very interesting and long conversation with Martin McGuinness, whom I found to be very honest and sincere”

A ROYAL AIR FORCE pilot whose helicopter was shot down by the Irish Republican Army in south Armagh in the 1970s has told the BBC of his “greatest respect” for the IRA.

Mike Johnston told the Nolan Show on BBC Radio Ulster that although he had escaped injury in the rocket and gun attack, the trauma of being hit by an RPG missile stayed with him for many years.

Nonetheless, he said he had the greatest respect for the professionalism and belief of the IRA members who tried to kill him during an operation which involved a 15-minute rocket and gun battle near Crossmaglen.

When his military helicopter airlift of Parachute Regiment soldiers from the British Army base at Crossmaglen was interrupted he immediately thought the aircraft was suffering from a mechanical fault. “It was when the bullets started hitting the tail of the helicopter and making their way down towards the main cabin that we realised that we were under attack,” he explained to the BBC.

Later, as time passed, he said, he wanted to meet the person who launched the missile. He wrote to Sinn Féin deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, a former IRA activist, for help.

“Along with my wife, I visited Stormont, we had a very interesting and long conversation with Martin McGuinness, whom I found to be very honest and sincere,” Mike Johnston said.

The deputy First Minister told him he did not have the connections to find the individuals who were involved in the attack but the former RAF pilot did later get to meet a former IRA Volunteer in south Armagh.

Mike said this was “a very rewarding experience” and added:

“I think my conversation with him was very honest and very understanding from both points of view.

“For the individuals that honestly believed that what they were doing was right, I have the greatest respect for them.”

The former pilot says he would still like to meet the IRA members who took part in the attack but “they have never been prosecuted and exposing them to that risk really would be unfair”.

The British military veteran expressed his support for the Peace Process and spoke about the need for honesty about the conflict.

● Martin McGuinness with Reverend Harold Good at the launch of Sinn Féin's reconciliation initiative, Uncomfortable Conversations – “We had a very interesting and long conversation with Martin McGuinness, whom I found to be very honest and sincere,” said ex-RAF pilot Mike Johnston