Early Life
He was born in 1959 into a working class Catholic, nationalist background in the Creggan estate of Derry City, Northern Ireland to Patrick and Brigid Gilmour.
Raymond Gilmour was the youngest of eleven siblings and grew up as The Troubles began in Derry City in the early 1970s. Hugh Pius Gilmour, a cousin, 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. Gilmour 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.
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