He was born in 1959 into a working class Catholic , nationalist family in Creggan , Derry to Patrick and Brigid Gilmour , the youngest of eleven siblings and grew up as The Troubles began in Derry City in the early 1970s . A cousin , Hugh Gilmour ( usually spelled " Gilmore " ) , was shot dead by the British Army on Bloody Sunday , a seminal event in the development of the " Troubles " and a traumatic event witnessed by the 12-year-old Gilmour himself . His parents were reportedly split over the issue of political violence . He described his father as an " armchair supporter " of the IRA , while his mother was reportedly fiercely opposed to their actions . Two of Gilmour 's brothers were kneecapped by the IRA for alleged anti-social behaviour . He was also given a beating by British soldiers at age 13 for petty crime and they attempted to recruit him as an informer . He left school without sitting for his O Level exams and drifted into crime . When he was 16 , he was again in trouble with the authorities , this time for armed robbery . On remand in Crumlin Road Prison , he was severely beaten by IRA prisoners . It was at this point that he apparently agreed to become an undercover agent for British security forces
Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1972)
Raymond Gilmour