The German authorities were conscious that the possible recruits putting themselves forward for selection might have included moles, faux Irish nationalists, faux Irishmen with little connection to the island, and informers ordered by their superiors to report back on the details of the training. To guard against this, each candidate that showed an interest was interviewed by Clissmann and also by Frank Ryan, a former IRA member who been captured by Franco's forces during the Spanish Civil War and whose release from a 30-year prison sentence into the hands of the "Abwehr" had been organised by the Irish Government. However, Ryan's cooperation is disputed.