Martin Brady

Martin Brady was a member of the team preparing the London bombing operation, contributing local knowledge during reconnaissance and driving one of the cars carrying explosives into England. His roles linked advance planning to a tense customs crossing at Liverpool, where a delay changed the operation’s transport plan.

Identity and Preparation

About a month before the operation, Brady travelled to London with Dolours Price on a scouting mission. He was described as muscular, with bushy eyebrows, and had previously worked at a restaurant in the West End. That experience meant he knew his way around the city, a practical asset on a trip to assess the intended setting for the operation.

The Liverpool Crossing

On 6 March, Brady drove the Hillman Hunter as part of the second team, led by Marian Price, which took two cars across the Irish Sea. At Liverpool, customs officials held up the Hunter over what appeared to be a problem with its number plate. They seemed concerned that the car might have been brought from the Republic of Ireland into the United Kingdom without payment of import tax. Roisin McNearney was sitting in the back; increasingly nervous, she said she needed the toilet and got out.

When McNearney returned, the inspector who had been questioning Brady was called away to deal with a lorry obstructing traffic. The group remained in place, unsure what would happen when he came back, but another customs official eventually waved them through because they were holding up the flow of vehicles. The car passed without a further inspection.

Consequences and Narrative Role

The Hunter’s delay had consequences beyond the car itself. The original plan called for two more stolen cars to follow on another ferry, bringing the intended total to six. After the customs scare, the team sent instructions back to Ireland not to dispatch them, fearing the authorities might have been alerted. Brady’s passage through Liverpool thus sits at a small but consequential hinge in the operation: the vehicle got through, while the planned scale of the convoy was reduced.