Eamon Collins was born in 1954 into a family that had lived for generations in the Camlough area, near Newry, County Down. He broke with the IRA after the events described in Killing Rage. Following the publication of the book, and while continuing to live in a nationalist area of Newry, Eamon Collins spoke out about paramilitary violence and the fragile peace in the north of Ireland. In the early hours of 27 January 1999, while taking his dogs for a walk, he was murdered near his home.