Lighting Candles: A Paramilitary's War with Death, Drugs and Demons

By David Leslie

When Manny McDonnell was 12 he awoke to discover British troops surrounding his home in the toughest area of trouble-torn Belfast. Internment had begun and, encouraged by a fiercely Republican mother, he took to the streets with other school kids, throwing bricks, bottles, and petrol bombs at soldiers. Jailed at 15 for having IRA links, he became a unit commander leading deadly missions for the INLA before joining the IPLO, a group so vicious even the IRA ordered it to disband. But his decades of commitment to a free united Ireland turned to disillusion when bombs killed two little boys. By then he was a regular visitor to Scotland, where he befriended major gangland player Paul Ferris and then became the right-hand man of Tam "The Licensee" McGraw. This remarkable, colorful account of one man's nightmare journey through blood, bombs, bullets, and smuggling is a mix of tragedy, fear, and humor and is a unique insight into the world of major crime. It includes stories telling how police unwittingly helped car bombers; a terrifying brush with the deadly Shankhill Butchers; the businessmen who made fortunes investing in drugs; hunting a child killer; and a host more. It is also the story of how it is possible to put the past behind you and begin a brand new chapter.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1845027515
• ISBN13: 9781845027513
• Release Date: December 2014
• Publisher: Black & White Publishing
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.1"