During the Irish revolutionary period (1912-1923) and later Soviet Comintern trained Marxist operatives including Betty Sinclair and other Marxists like Michael O'Riordan would play roles in the establishment of Fronts and provocative agitation activities which led to the ignition of The Troubles (late 1960s - 1998)[citation needed] in which there were varying degrees of collaboration and contacts between the Soviet Union and the Irish movement.
Lenin informed Connolly that he had read his father’s book "Labour and Irish History" and that he rates him “head and shoulders” above other European socialists.
[3] In 1925, a three man delegation containing Gerald Boland, Pa Murray (the leader) and Seán Russell traveled to the Soviet Union.
Their cited reasonings were both the low quality of work on the IRA's part and the ongoing financial crisis in the Soviet Union.
Trying to pressure the Soviets for additional funds, IRA volunteers were eventually ordered to withhold the amount of intelligence provided to them.
The pistols were lubricated with West German oil and the packaging was taken from several countries around the world by KGB agents so that the weapons could not be traced back to the Soviet Union.