the INLA members were convicted of terrorism on Kirkpatrick's evidence, but one year later in December 1986, their sentences were overturned on appeal. Republican infighting In 1982 "Mad Dog" Dominic McGlinchey had become the leader of the INLA, however, in 1984, McGlinchy was captured while Brown was still in jail. Without McGlinchy, a power vacuum was created within the INLA. One faction fell behind Belfast's John O'Reilly, while others formed together as an anti-O'Reilly block. Brown was part of the anti-O'Reilly group, and as a result O'Reilly tried to personally kill Brown's girlfriend in October 1984, while in the summer of 1985, Brown was attacked by O'Reilly followers while in prison. Upon the release of the Brown/Steenson group, they sought retaliation against the O'Reilly group, a feud that would see 11 people killed. As O'Reilly retained the INLA label, the Brown/Steenson group renamed themselves the Irish People's Liberation Organisation (paramilitary) and Republican Socialist Collective (political) respectfully. Steenson was shot dead on 14 March 1987, leaving Brown the principal political leader of the IPLO/RSC. Brown by this point had moved to Dublin, where his affable personality won over many in the media and far-left circle, leading them to assume Brown was in control of both the IPLO and RSC. However, behind the scenes, Brown was increasingly losing control of the IPLO to the gunmen who filled its ranks. In the late 1980s, the IPLO carried out a series of high-profile assassinations of Loyalist leaders but also a number of mindless attacks on Loyalist pubs in which people were targetted at random. Brown handwaved any criticism of the attacks using his Marxist rhetoric. By 1989 the IPLO had turned to drug dealing in order to fund the purchase of more weapons. Brown oversaw these operations, using the same routes the IPLO had previously used to ship arms. When this was put to Brown, he would occasionally justify the IPLO's actions by nothing drug dealing by other Marxist paramilitary groups internationally such as FARC. It was also around this time that the IPLO began an "open door" policy, allowing criminals and those rejected by other paramilitary groups into their ranks without barriers. This upset many other republican groups and the IPLO's notoriety soared. By late 1991, the Provisional IRA began to make clear it was not happy with the IPLO and started to threaten action. Brown retorted back by threatening to stand in