PATRICK Magee, 35, walked into the Grand Hotel in Brighton, a tourist town in southeast England, in September 1984. The man with a thick moustache told the receptionist that his name was Roy Walsh. He booked a room and for three days stayed in Room 629.

Magee was no ordinary guest. He was with the Irish Republican Army (IRA) militia, which was setting up a deadly attack to assassinate British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The conflict betwee