Brendan McFarlane
Encyclopedia
Brendan "Bik" McFarlane is an Irish republican activist. Born into a Roman Catholic family, he was brought up in the Ardoyne
area of north Belfast
, Northern Ireland
. At 16, he left Belfast to train as a priest in a north Wales
seminary
. He joined the Provisional IRA in 1969.
Ardoyne
area of North Belfast. He served as an altar boy at the local church, and at the age of 17 joined a missionary school in Wales
, where he began his training to become a priest.
McFarlane joined the Provisional IRA when he was 18 years old. This was in the summer of 1969 shortly after the religious/political conflict known as The Troubles
had broken out in Northern Ireland and he witnessed the violent disturbances first-hand.
on the Bayardo Bar on Aberdeen Street in the Protestant Shankill Road district of Belfast that killed five people (three men and two women) and injured 60 more. This had taken place on 13 August 1975. . In a 1995 House of Lords debate, Gerry Fitt
, formerly nationalist MP for West Belfast, alleged that McFarlane had machine-gunned three pedestrians who were passing by the Bayardo as it was blown up. The bar was attacked because it was allegedly frequented by member of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). The IRA initially denied it had carried out the attack. The attack occurred against a background of severe sectarian violence. The IRA killed 91 Protestant civilians in similar attacks in 1974-76, in reprisal for loyalist attacks on Catholics, which killed 250 civilians in the same period.
According to journalist Peter Taylor
the attack was carried out by the IRA in retaliation for the UVF's ambush of the Dublin-based The Miami Showband
on 31 July 1975 which had resulted in the shooting deaths of three bandmembers
. One of the five people killed in the Bayardo attack was UVF man, Hugh Harris.
was withdrawn, and he joined the dirty protest
in the H-blocks.
His nickname "Bik" was acquired due to his habit of taking down notes during IRA meetings inside the Maze. Fellow prisoner and author of Blanketmen: An Untold Story of the H-Block Hunger Strike, Richard O'Rawe described McFarlane as "six feet tall and full of bonhomie", a "great singer" possessing a "striking character". O'Rawe also maintained that McFarlane was an avid supporter of Gaelic football
.
He was Provisional IRA Officer Commanding in the Maze during the 1981 Irish hunger strike
in which 10 republicans died. He took over from Bobby Sands
in March 1981. Asked why, Sands is said to have replied: “Because you will let me die.” He later described 1981 as, "probably the worst year of my life. Despite the political gains, the loss of that year is always with me."
McFarlane went on to lead the Maze Prison escape
, the mass breakout of 38 republican prisoners from the Maze in 1983 in which a prison officer died of a heart attack. Fifteen IRA men were caught in the vicinity of the prison, four were captured later that day, 19 got away, with three never being recaptured. Immediately following the escape, McFarlane and other prisoners commandeered a remote farmhouse near Dromore, County Down and held the family inside hostage. Although he took a map and compass, and other items from the premises, none of the family members, which included two small children and a baby, were harmed. He and the other former escapees made their way across the Republic of Ireland
border and went on the run.
him to raise money for the IRA. The kidnap was one of spate of kidnappings and robberies ordered by the IRA Army Council
in the early 1980s to raise funds. Tidey was taking his 13-year-old daughter to school when he stopped at what he believed to be a Garda checkpoint. A gun was put to his head and he was bundled into a waiting car. A few days later his photograph was sent to Associated British Foods
, and this was followed by a phone call demanding a IR£5 million ransom.
The Gardaí eventually tracked Tidey and his kidnappers — four in all — to Derrada Wood in Ballinamore
, County Leitrim
on 16 December 1983. In the subsequent shoot-out, a trainee garda and an Irish Army
soldier were killed. Tidey’s kidnappers escaped.
On 16 January 1986, McFarlane was recaptured in the Netherlands
along with fellow escapee Gerry Kelly
, and subsequently extradited to Northern Ireland, and released on parole from the Maze in 1997.
The Gardaí based the Tidey charges on items recovered from the kidnap site, including a milk carton and a plastic container, on which fingerprints were discovered. Although the items went missing from Garda headquarters during renovation work, the fingerprints had been photographed and a forensic analysis done.
McFarlane was due to stand trial on 3 October 2006. However his legal team launched a second judicial review in May 2006, on the grounds that McFarlane could not get a fair trial due to "systematic delays in bringing the prosecution". This held up his trial until the Irish High Court ruled on the issue on 8 December 2006. However, McFarlane's representatives appealed this decision in turn. Their appeal was finally dismissed on March 6, 2008, and the trial opened in Dublin on 11 June 2008 only to collapse on 26 June when the Garda evidence was ruled inadmissible.
In September 2010 McFarlane was awarded compensation following a European Court of Human Rights ruling. The court found the proceedings relating to the kidnapping of supermarket executive Don Tidey had been "unreasonably long". The Irish government was ordered to pay 5,400 euros in damages within three months and 10,000 euros in legal costs.
in August 2004 to discuss Gerry Adams
' remarks that the IRA might disband to prevent it being used as an excuse to delay a power-sharing agreement which would include republicans.
He is now a member of Coiste na n-Iarchimí ("the Ex-Prisoners' Committee") - a welfare organisation for republican ex-prisoners.
The political wing of the Provisional republican movement, Sinn Féin
, describes him as a voluntary worker, and he has been a vocal supporter of the party’s political stance, appearing beside both Gerry Adams and Gerry Kelly
at rallies and reiterating former prisoners’ support for the direction the party is taking.
McFarlane has formed a band, Tuan
, which is a regular on the Irish republican entertainment circuit. He also performs quite regularly in the Hatfield House, a popular bar in the Holylands district of Belfast
.
MacFarlane has also shown solidarity with the radical Basque nationalist movement and has been interviewed in the Basque
and Spanish
press on the subject of the Basque peace process and the proposed release of ETA
prisoners. He has described the ETA prisoners as having been engaged in a, 'legitimate struggle' similar to that of Irish republicans.
He lives in Belfast and is the father of three children.
Ardoyne
Ardoyne is an Irish nationalist, working class and mainly Catholic district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during "The Troubles". It is home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants...
area of north Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. At 16, he left Belfast to train as a priest in a north Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
. He joined the Provisional IRA in 1969.
Early years
McFarlane was brought up in a strongly religious Catholic family in the republicanIrish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
Ardoyne
Ardoyne
Ardoyne is an Irish nationalist, working class and mainly Catholic district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during "The Troubles". It is home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants...
area of North Belfast. He served as an altar boy at the local church, and at the age of 17 joined a missionary school in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, where he began his training to become a priest.
McFarlane joined the Provisional IRA when he was 18 years old. This was in the summer of 1969 shortly after the religious/political conflict known as The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
had broken out in Northern Ireland and he witnessed the violent disturbances first-hand.
Bayardo Bar attack
In 1976 McFarlane was sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with a gun and bomb attackBayardo Bar attack
The Bayardo Bar attack took place on 13 August 1975 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A unit of the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade, led by Brendan McFarlane, launched a bombing and shooting attack on the pub on Aberdeen Street , which was frequented by Ulster Volunteer Force members...
on the Bayardo Bar on Aberdeen Street in the Protestant Shankill Road district of Belfast that killed five people (three men and two women) and injured 60 more. This had taken place on 13 August 1975. . In a 1995 House of Lords debate, Gerry Fitt
Gerry Fitt
Gerard Fitt, Baron Fitt was a politician in Northern Ireland. He was a founder and the first leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party , a social democratic and Irish nationalist party.-Early years:...
, formerly nationalist MP for West Belfast, alleged that McFarlane had machine-gunned three pedestrians who were passing by the Bayardo as it was blown up. The bar was attacked because it was allegedly frequented by member of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). The IRA initially denied it had carried out the attack. The attack occurred against a background of severe sectarian violence. The IRA killed 91 Protestant civilians in similar attacks in 1974-76, in reprisal for loyalist attacks on Catholics, which killed 250 civilians in the same period.
According to journalist Peter Taylor
Peter Taylor (Journalist)
Peter Taylor born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire is a British journalist and documentary-maker who had covered for many years the political and armed conflict in Northern Ireland, widely known as the Troubles...
the attack was carried out by the IRA in retaliation for the UVF's ambush of the Dublin-based The Miami Showband
The Miami Showband
The Miami Showband were one of the most successful and popular showbands in Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s. Led at first by singer Dickie Rock, and later by Fran O'Toole, they had seven number one records on the Irish singles chart...
on 31 July 1975 which had resulted in the shooting deaths of three bandmembers
Miami Showband killings
The Miami Showband killings was a paramilitary attack at Buskhill, County Down, Northern Ireland, in the early morning of 31 July 1975. It left five people dead at the hands of Ulster Volunteer Force gunmen, including three members of The Miami Showband...
. One of the five people killed in the Bayardo attack was UVF man, Hugh Harris.
Maze Prison escape
McFarlane attempted to escape from the Maze Prison dressed as a priest in 1978. When the bid failed, McFarlane’s Special Category StatusSpecial Category Status
In July 1972, William Whitelaw, the British government's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, granted Special Category Status to all prisoners convicted of Troubles-related offences...
was withdrawn, and he joined the dirty protest
Dirty protest
The dirty protest was part of a five year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison and Armagh Women's Prison in Northern Ireland.-Background:Convicted paramilitary prisoners were treated as ordinary...
in the H-blocks.
His nickname "Bik" was acquired due to his habit of taking down notes during IRA meetings inside the Maze. Fellow prisoner and author of Blanketmen: An Untold Story of the H-Block Hunger Strike, Richard O'Rawe described McFarlane as "six feet tall and full of bonhomie", a "great singer" possessing a "striking character". O'Rawe also maintained that McFarlane was an avid supporter of Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
.
He was Provisional IRA Officer Commanding in the Maze during the 1981 Irish hunger strike
1981 Irish hunger strike
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...
in which 10 republicans died. He took over from Bobby Sands
Bobby Sands
Robert Gerard "Bobby" Sands was an Irish volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and member of the United Kingdom Parliament who died on hunger strike while imprisoned in HM Prison Maze....
in March 1981. Asked why, Sands is said to have replied: “Because you will let me die.” He later described 1981 as, "probably the worst year of my life. Despite the political gains, the loss of that year is always with me."
McFarlane went on to lead the Maze Prison escape
Maze Prison escape
The Maze Prison escape took place on 25 September 1983 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. HM Prison Maze was a maximum security prison considered to be one of the most escape-proof prisons in Europe, and held prisoners convicted of taking part in armed paramilitary campaigns during the Troubles...
, the mass breakout of 38 republican prisoners from the Maze in 1983 in which a prison officer died of a heart attack. Fifteen IRA men were caught in the vicinity of the prison, four were captured later that day, 19 got away, with three never being recaptured. Immediately following the escape, McFarlane and other prisoners commandeered a remote farmhouse near Dromore, County Down and held the family inside hostage. Although he took a map and compass, and other items from the premises, none of the family members, which included two small children and a baby, were harmed. He and the other former escapees made their way across the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
border and went on the run.
Tidey kidnapping
After the break-out, McFarlane resumed his IRA activities. In December 1983, he is alleged to have kidnapped supermarket executive Don Tidey in a bid to ransomRansom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
him to raise money for the IRA. The kidnap was one of spate of kidnappings and robberies ordered by the IRA Army Council
IRA Army Council
The IRA Army Council was the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, more commonly known as the IRA, a paramilitary group dedicated to bringing about the end of the Union between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. The council had seven members, said by the...
in the early 1980s to raise funds. Tidey was taking his 13-year-old daughter to school when he stopped at what he believed to be a Garda checkpoint. A gun was put to his head and he was bundled into a waiting car. A few days later his photograph was sent to Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods plc is a global food, ingredients and retail company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its ingredients division is the world's second largest producer of both sugar and baker's yeast and a major producer of other ingredients including emulsifiers, enzymes and lactose...
, and this was followed by a phone call demanding a IR£5 million ransom.
The Gardaí eventually tracked Tidey and his kidnappers — four in all — to Derrada Wood in Ballinamore
Ballinamore
Ballinamore is a small town in County Leitrim, Ireland, from the border with Northern Ireland. It is located on the R202 regional road where it is joined by the R199 and R204. means "mouth of the big ford", and the town is so named because it was the main crossing point of the Yellow River,...
, County Leitrim
County Leitrim
County Leitrim is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the county...
on 16 December 1983. In the subsequent shoot-out, a trainee garda and an Irish Army
Irish Army
The Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...
soldier were killed. Tidey’s kidnappers escaped.
On 16 January 1986, McFarlane was recaptured in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
along with fellow escapee Gerry Kelly
Gerry Kelly
Gerard "Gerry" Kelly is an Irish republican politician and former Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer who played a leading role in the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998...
, and subsequently extradited to Northern Ireland, and released on parole from the Maze in 1997.
Kidnapping charges
In 1998, McFarlane was first charged in the Republic of Ireland with Tidey’s kidnapping, but he challenged this on the basis that Gardaí had lost a number of exhibits containing fingerprints — the central evidence in the case. The Irish Supreme Court ruled in March 2006 that the trial could proceed.The Gardaí based the Tidey charges on items recovered from the kidnap site, including a milk carton and a plastic container, on which fingerprints were discovered. Although the items went missing from Garda headquarters during renovation work, the fingerprints had been photographed and a forensic analysis done.
McFarlane was due to stand trial on 3 October 2006. However his legal team launched a second judicial review in May 2006, on the grounds that McFarlane could not get a fair trial due to "systematic delays in bringing the prosecution". This held up his trial until the Irish High Court ruled on the issue on 8 December 2006. However, McFarlane's representatives appealed this decision in turn. Their appeal was finally dismissed on March 6, 2008, and the trial opened in Dublin on 11 June 2008 only to collapse on 26 June when the Garda evidence was ruled inadmissible.
In September 2010 McFarlane was awarded compensation following a European Court of Human Rights ruling. The court found the proceedings relating to the kidnapping of supermarket executive Don Tidey had been "unreasonably long". The Irish government was ordered to pay 5,400 euros in damages within three months and 10,000 euros in legal costs.
Recent activities
According to Henry McDonald of the Observer, McFarlane was part of the IRA delegation that met with the Provisional IRA South Armagh BrigadeProvisional IRA South Armagh Brigade
The South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army operated during the Troubles in south County Armagh. It was organised into two battalions, one around Jonesborough and another around Crossmaglen. By the 1990s, the South Armagh Brigade was thought to consist of about 40 members,...
in August 2004 to discuss Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
' remarks that the IRA might disband to prevent it being used as an excuse to delay a power-sharing agreement which would include republicans.
He is now a member of Coiste na n-Iarchimí ("the Ex-Prisoners' Committee") - a welfare organisation for republican ex-prisoners.
The political wing of the Provisional republican movement, Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
, describes him as a voluntary worker, and he has been a vocal supporter of the party’s political stance, appearing beside both Gerry Adams and Gerry Kelly
Gerry Kelly
Gerard "Gerry" Kelly is an Irish republican politician and former Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer who played a leading role in the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998...
at rallies and reiterating former prisoners’ support for the direction the party is taking.
McFarlane has formed a band, Tuan
Tuan
Tuan can refer to:*Tuan Do, the founder of technology blog, TechWalls*Brush-tailed Phascogale, an Australian marsupial animal*Zaiyi, Prince Duan , a Qing Dynasty prince and statesman...
, which is a regular on the Irish republican entertainment circuit. He also performs quite regularly in the Hatfield House, a popular bar in the Holylands district of Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
.
MacFarlane has also shown solidarity with the radical Basque nationalist movement and has been interviewed in the Basque
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
and Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
press on the subject of the Basque peace process and the proposed release of ETA
ETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
prisoners. He has described the ETA prisoners as having been engaged in a, 'legitimate struggle' similar to that of Irish republicans.
He lives in Belfast and is the father of three children.