A man whose father was an Irish prison governor murdered by the IRA has published a book to set the record straight on his father - and counter what he sees as the one sided IRA view of the Troubles.

Austin Stack was only 14 when his father, Brian Stack was shot in the back of the neck as he left a boxing match in 1983.

Mr Stack, who was the chief prison officer at the high-security Portlaoise Prison, was left paralysed and died 18 months later.

At the time, the IRA denied responsibility, only finally admitting responsibility 30 years later due to his son Austin's campaign for truth.

placeholder image — Austin Stack, left, launching his book, Justice For My Father, with SEFF Director Kenny Donaldson, to an audience of supporters at the Stormont Hotel in Belfast on Monday 10 March 2025.

Now, Austin who also served as a prison officer from 1991-24, has released a book in honour of his father, and, he says, as an historical record of the Troubles.

Part of what has motivated him was the "nasty" IRA propaganda written about his father on social media.

"Dad said to us one day in relation to prisoners, 'As much as you may not like what they're in prison for, you have to remember they are human beings'.

"I remember him being particularly annoyed about an incident where a chaplain came in to see, I think it was an IRA prisoner, and gave him the wrong details about a death in the family. Dad had to go back and correct the chaplains' error, which was obviously quite upsetting for the prisoner. But that's the type of man my dad was. He perceived a human side in everyone.

"He was particularly annoyed about the IRA murder of Senator Billy Fox, who was a member of the Church of Ireland, in 1974. He brought us up to be pure Republicans in that we believed everybody had a voice, no matter what religion or background you came from. My father would have seen Billy Fox's murder as a sectarian attack, but also an attack on democracy itself."

His father was a complete "GAA dad" and drove his boys everywhere to train and compete in GAA and boxing.

When he was shot all that came to an abrupt end.

He met Gerry Adams in 2013 to press for the full truth after which the IRA admitted responsibilty.

He was told the shooting was not sanctioned by the IRA Army Council.

"But it was definitely sanctioned by the O/C of the Southern Brigade with the full imprimatur of the Army Council,” he counters.

Austin hopes his book will counter the pro-IRA narrative that is now so prevalent.

"Some of the podcasts and the short films produced by Sinn Fein supporters now interview cuddly granddads who tell Boy Scout stories about what they did during the Troubles. But that is a romanticized, one sided story that gives no voice to the widows and orphans that they left behind."

He is still determined to press for justice and believes the four people who planned and carried out his father's murder are still alive.

"Jail time is not the major issue for us now. We would like to see somebody having a conviction against their name and for the IRA to make a full and frank admission about what they did."

• Justice For My Father by Austin Stack can be ordered at https://geni.us/aHDNX