Seán Garland, who has died in Dublin aged eighty-four, was a central figure in the leftward shift in the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the 1960s, in the Official IRA after 1970, and in the leadership of what became the Workers Party’ (WP) of the 1980s.

While he has been commemorated by his admirers as a “giant of the Left,” mainstream commentary on his death has tended to focus on his role in securing an Official IRA ceasefire in 1972, and latterly on attempts to indict him for involvement with North Korean counterfeiting. Yet in its heyday the Workers’ Party was a significant presence in the Republic of Ireland, winning seats at national and local level and carving out a niche in trade unions and communities.

A historic figure of Irish republicanism, Garland leaves a complex legacy, which his comrades’ eulogies have often struggled to get to grips with. His biography highlights not just a life committed to the struggle, but the dangers of the conspiratorial approach to politics which he never wholly abandoned.