‘Claim A former active IRA member is now serving as a Conservative party councillor. Conclusion Correct. She defected from the IRA in 1972 and became a Conservative councillor in 2002. A number of Facebook posts and a blog have recently claimed that a Conservative local councillor is a former member of the IRA. This is true. Maria Gatland is now … Continue reading Tory Councillor Maria Gaitland was ex IRA member who celebrated the deaths of British soldiers