As a result of evidence provided by McGrady, seven people were convicted at the supergrass trial presided over by Northern Ireland's Lord Chief Justice Robert Lowry.
He trained as a butcher after he left school,[3] and joined the IRA's Belfast Brigade in 1975 at the age of 19, due to his identification with the Republican cause and distrust of the majority Protestant community.
Ernest Dowds and Andrew Craig were both members of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), which was the largest Loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland.
[11] In separate incidents, before each man had been shot in the head, Stephenson and Craig were interrogated by McGrady and other IRA members at a Markets social club.
[12] McGrady had another reason for returning to Belfast which was to secure the release of his brother, Sean who was in prison for his part in the murder of Ernest Dowds.
[16] One of those convicted solely on the basis of McGrady's testimony was Sinn Féin's former national organiser Jim Gibney who spent six years in prison for possession with intent, wounding, and IRA membership.