In League With Gaddafi

Beef Deals, Arms Deals and a Football Match That Officially Never Happened

In February, 1989, Brian Kerr (who later became the Irish football manager) was invited to bring a team of Irish footballers to Libya for reasons that are still not clear to this day. The trip started off under a cloud of controversy, with politicians arguing against a team going to Libya; a country ruled by “Public Enemy number one”, Colonel Gaddafi. This story tells the interweaving of the football craze sweeping the country, Libyan Arms going to the IRA and Beef Deals, which ultimately ended up in scandal. We hear from the Irish Team that travelled and the Libyan players they played. All set against a backdrop of archive and music of the era.