Richard Harris was on IRA hitlist after he condemned terrorists

Richard Harris ended up on an IRA hitlist after he condemned the terror group’s actions, his son has revealed.

Jared Harris, who appeared in The Crown, Mad Men and Chernobyl, said his father was initially “in support” of Irish unification and that independence was an “explosive” topic during his childhood.

The 63-year-old said that his late father’s “point of view changed” and he later ended up as an IRA target, which he “took as a kind of badge of honour”.

Speaking to the Big Issue magazine, Jared said: “There were topics of conversation that you learned to avoid because he didn’t have a filter when he was talking about it.

“So obviously, there was a lot about the issue of Irish independence in the news cycle. There was a very terrible campaign ongoing by the IRA, a campaign of terrorism. So that topic was an extraordinary, explosive topic.”

Richard, who was born in Limerick, Ireland, was initially a vocal supporter of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) from 1973 until 1984.

Jared, also known for starring in Benjamin Button and Mad Men, continued: “He felt very strongly about Irish unification, and would speak openly about it in support of the movement.

“But his point of view changed, and he actually came out in the news and told the Americans to stop giving money to Noraid [a US-based organisation that supports Irish reunification] because it was being used to blow people up.

“He ended up on the IRA hitlist himself, which I think he took as a kind of badge of honour.”

Richard – who starred in Harry Potter, Gladiator, and received an Oscar nomination for This Sporting Life – died in 2002 at 75 years of age.