Danny Morrison (republican)
Encyclopedia
Daniel Gerard Morrison known generally as Danny Morrison is an Irish republican
writer and activist. He is also the secretary of the Bobby Sands
Trust and current chairman of Féile an Phobail
.
, a nationalist
suburb of Belfast
, on 9 January 1953, the son of Danny and Susan Morrison. His father worked as a painter at the Harland and Wolff
shipyard in East Belfast. The Morrisons were a strongly republican
family. His uncles had been jailed for their part in the IRA's Northern Campaign
in the 1940s; one of his uncles was Harry White, a prominent IRA man.
He joined Sinn Féin
in 1966 and helped to organise 50th anniversary commemorations of the Easter Rising
in Belfast. At this time, he later recalled, 'as far as we were concerned, there was absolutely no chance of the IRA appearing again. They were something in history books'.
, in which nationalist areas of Belfast were attacked and burned, and he joined the newly formed Provisional IRA. He believed that, 'the IRA had been deliberately run down, so that when August 1969 came, there was little or no defence [of nationalist areas]'...[so] a new IRA was built to ensure that nationalists were never left defenceless again'.
After this time, Morrison was engaged in clandestine IRA activity, but as late as 1971, he was still attending Belfast College of Business Studies and editing a student magazine there. Danny Morrison was interned in Long Kesh
in 1972.
Despite his family's republican convictions, Morrison's two sisters married British soldiers whom they had met when British troops were deployed to keep order in Belfast in 1969.
, IRA O/C for Belfast, appointed him editor of Republican News
. In this journal, he criticised many long standing policies of the movement, especially the Eire Nua
, programme, which advocated a federal united Ireland, with autonomy for Ulster
. At this time, he became associated with a grouping of young, left-wing Belfast based republicans, led by Gerry Adams
, who wanted to change the strategy, tactics and leadership of the IRA and Sinn Féin. In particular, Morrison believed the IRA's 1975 ceasefire was, 'a disaster'. He was especially critical of IRA killings of other republicans and Protestant civilians, which enabled the British government to portray the organisation as a criminal or sectarian group.
With the rise of Adams' faction to the leadership of the republican movement in the late 1970s, Morrison was made Director of Publicity for Sinn Féin. The new leadership wanted their political wing to fight elections in addition to their paramilitary wing's armed campaign. However, they believed that in order to be effective, it required a change in the constitution of Sinn Féin, which at that time forbade the party's members from taking seats in either British, Irish or Northern Ireland parliaments.
During the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike
, Morrison acted as spokesman for the IRA hunger strikers' leader Bobby Sands
, who was elected to the British Parliament on an Anti H-Block
platform.
At the 1981 Sinn Féin
Ard Fheis
, Morrison made a famous speech in which he called for the constitution to be changed. He said, 'Who here really believes we can win the war through the ballot box? But will anyone here object if, with a ballot paper in one hand and an Armalite
in this hand, we take power in Ireland?'. From this speech the term 'Armalite and ballot box strategy
', was coined to describe the two-pronged strategy of the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin
in advancing the cause of republicanism. In reply, Sinn Féin President Ruairi O Bradaigh argued that the Ard-Fheis should not "swop a slogan for a policy", referring to Éire Nua.
In early 1982, loyalist
paramilitaries attempted to kill Morrison and his wife, opening fire on them as they walked from a local bar. However, he survived the assassination attempt.
Morrison was elected as a Sinn Féin Member for Mid Ulster
of a short lived Northern Ireland Assembly from 1982-6. He also stood unsuccessfully for the European Parliament
in 1984 in which he received 91,476 votes and again in 1989. He also stood for the Mid Ulster Westminster seat
in 1983 and 1986.
Morrison along with Owen Carron
was arrested on 21 January 1982 whilst attempting to enter the United States
illegally from Canada
by car. He was deported and later both men were convicted on a charge of making false and fictitious statements to American immigration officials.
Morrison always maintained that he was there to organise a press conference for Sinn Féin. The conviction was referred back to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission
and the convictions of Danny Morrison and the other defendants were overturned in 2008. Unusually, the reason was given in a confidential annex, which Danny Morrison and the others were not allowed to see. It was claimed that this was because it contained details of security-force agents among the IRA members in the house. British intelligence has come under severe scrutiny on various BBC documentaries in which Morrison and the Police Ombudsman spoke of MI5
secrecy and questioned the legality of many British operations.
in 2005. It is based on his 1997 book of the same name and deals with the career of an IRA man who is suspected by his colleagues of working for the Royal Ulster Constabulary
(RUC).
His second book, 'On The Back of the Swallow' deals with homosexual relationships, loss and the taboo around such relationships during the conflict in Northern Ireland and the treatment of gay men by the RUC. His latest original work, 'Rebel Columns' was published in 2004 followed by 'Hunger Strike' which features contributions, poems and stories from Christy Moore
, friend and author Ulick O'Connor
and an international view of the hunger strikes from an Iranian man originally published in The Blanket.
At the end of May 2009, Morrison finished writing his latest novel, 'Rudi'. The novel is due to be published at the beginning of 2010.
Morrison now lives in West Belfast with his Canadian-born wife, Leslie. He has two sons from a previous relationship.
Irish 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...
writer and activist. He is also the secretary of the 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....
Trust and current chairman of Féile an Phobail
Feile an Phobail
Féile an Phobail , also known as the West Belfast Festival is a community arts organisation known for its August Féile . The organisation is prominent for its promotion of Irish and international culture...
.
Early life
Danny Morrison was born in AndersonstownAndersonstown
Andersonstown is a suburb of Belfast, Northern Ireland.It is overshadowed by the Black Mountain and Divis Mountain and contains a mixture of public and private housing. It is largely populated by the Irish nationalist and Roman Catholic community...
, a nationalist
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...
suburb 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...
, on 9 January 1953, the son of Danny and Susan Morrison. His father worked as a painter at the Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....
shipyard in East Belfast. The Morrisons were a strongly republican
Irish 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...
family. His uncles had been jailed for their part in the IRA's Northern Campaign
Northern Campaign (IRA)
Northern Campaign is a term used to describe attacks involving volunteers of the Irish Republican Army during the Second World War between September 1942 and December 1944. It was a plan conceived by the then IRA Northern Command to launch attacks within Northern Ireland during this period...
in the 1940s; one of his uncles was Harry White, a prominent IRA man.
He joined 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...
in 1966 and helped to organise 50th anniversary commemorations of the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
in Belfast. At this time, he later recalled, 'as far as we were concerned, there was absolutely no chance of the IRA appearing again. They were something in history books'.
IRA Membership
Morrison changed his mind, however, after the 1969 Northern Ireland Riots1969 Northern Ireland Riots
During 12–17 August 1969, Northern Ireland was rocked by intense political and sectarian rioting. There had been sporadic violence throughout the year arising from the civil rights campaign, which was demanding an end to government discrimination against Irish Catholics and nationalists...
, in which nationalist areas of Belfast were attacked and burned, and he joined the newly formed Provisional IRA. He believed that, 'the IRA had been deliberately run down, so that when August 1969 came, there was little or no defence [of nationalist areas]'...[so] a new IRA was built to ensure that nationalists were never left defenceless again'.
After this time, Morrison was engaged in clandestine IRA activity, but as late as 1971, he was still attending Belfast College of Business Studies and editing a student magazine there. Danny Morrison was interned in Long Kesh
Maze (HM Prison)
Her Majesty's Prison Maze was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from mid-1971 to mid-2000....
in 1972.
Despite his family's republican convictions, Morrison's two sisters married British soldiers whom they had met when British troops were deployed to keep order in Belfast in 1969.
Rights activist
Morrison's talents for writing and publicity were quickly recognised within the republican movement and after his release in 1975, Billy McKeeBilly McKee
Billy McKee is an Irish republican and was a founding member and former leader of the Provisional Irish Republican Army .-Early life:McKee was born in Belfast in the early 1920s, and joined the Irish Republican Army in 1939. During the Second World War, the IRA carried out a number of armed...
, IRA O/C for Belfast, appointed him editor of Republican News
Republican News
Republican News was a longstanding newspaper/magazine published by Sinn Féin. Following the split in physical force Irish republicanism in the late 1960s between the Officials and the Provisionals Republican News was a longstanding newspaper/magazine published by Sinn Féin. Following the split in...
. In this journal, he criticised many long standing policies of the movement, especially the Eire Nua
Éire Nua
Éire Nua, or "New Ireland", was a political strategy of the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin during the 1970s and early 1980s. It was particularly associated with the Dublin based leadership group centred around Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Dáithí Ó Conaill who were the authors of the policy...
, programme, which advocated a federal united Ireland, with autonomy for Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
. At this time, he became associated with a grouping of young, left-wing Belfast based republicans, led by 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...
, who wanted to change the strategy, tactics and leadership of the IRA and Sinn Féin. In particular, Morrison believed the IRA's 1975 ceasefire was, 'a disaster'. He was especially critical of IRA killings of other republicans and Protestant civilians, which enabled the British government to portray the organisation as a criminal or sectarian group.
With the rise of Adams' faction to the leadership of the republican movement in the late 1970s, Morrison was made Director of Publicity for Sinn Féin. The new leadership wanted their political wing to fight elections in addition to their paramilitary wing's armed campaign. However, they believed that in order to be effective, it required a change in the constitution of Sinn Féin, which at that time forbade the party's members from taking seats in either British, Irish or Northern Ireland parliaments.
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...
, Morrison acted as spokesman for the IRA hunger strikers' leader 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....
, who was elected to the British Parliament on an Anti H-Block
Anti H-Block
Anti H-Block was the political label used in 1981 by supporters of the Irish republican hunger strike who were standing for election in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland...
platform.
At the 1981 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...
Ard Fheis
Ard Fheis
Ardfheis or Ard Fheis is the name used by many Irish political parties for their annual party conference. The term was first used by Conradh na Gaeilge, the Irish language cultural organisation, for its annual convention....
, Morrison made a famous speech in which he called for the constitution to be changed. He said, 'Who here really believes we can win the war through the ballot box? But will anyone here object if, with a ballot paper in one hand and an Armalite
ArmaLite
ArmaLite is the name of a small arms engineering facility founded in the early 1950s, and once associated with the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation. ArmaLite was formally incorporated as a subdivision of Fairchild on October 1, 1954...
in this hand, we take power in Ireland?'. From this speech the term 'Armalite and ballot box strategy
Armalite and ballot box strategy
The Armalite and ballot box strategy was a strategy pursued by the Irish republican movement in the 1980s and early 1990s in which elections in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were contested by Sinn Féin, while the IRA continued to pursue an armed struggle against the British Army, the...
', was coined to describe the two-pronged strategy of the Provisional IRA and 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...
in advancing the cause of republicanism. In reply, Sinn Féin President Ruairi O Bradaigh argued that the Ard-Fheis should not "swop a slogan for a policy", referring to Éire Nua.
In early 1982, loyalist
Ulster loyalism
Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
paramilitaries attempted to kill Morrison and his wife, opening fire on them as they walked from a local bar. However, he survived the assassination attempt.
Morrison was elected as a Sinn Féin Member for Mid Ulster
Mid Ulster (Assembly constituency)
Mid Ulster is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...
of a short lived Northern Ireland Assembly from 1982-6. He also stood unsuccessfully for the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
in 1984 in which he received 91,476 votes and again in 1989. He also stood for the Mid Ulster Westminster seat
Mid Ulster (UK Parliament constituency)
Mid Ulster is a Parliamentary Constituency in the British House of Commons.-Boundaries:The constituency was created in 1950 when the old two-seat constituency of Fermanagh and Tyrone was abolished as part of the final move to single member seats...
in 1983 and 1986.
Morrison along with Owen Carron
Owen Carron
Owen Gerard Carron is an Irish republican activist and who was Member of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 1981 to 1983.Carron is the nephew of former Nationalist Party politician John Carron....
was arrested on 21 January 1982 whilst attempting to enter the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
illegally from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
by car. He was deported and later both men were convicted on a charge of making false and fictitious statements to American immigration officials.
1990 arrest
He was director of publicity for Sinn Féin from 1979 until 1990, when he was charged with false imprisonment and conspiracy to murder an IRA man who was working for the British, Sandy Lynch. He was sentenced to eight years imprisonment and released in 1995.Morrison always maintained that he was there to organise a press conference for Sinn Féin. The conviction was referred back to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission
Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Criminal Cases Review Commission is an non-departmental public body set up following the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice itself a continuation of the May Inquiry. It aims to investigate possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
and the convictions of Danny Morrison and the other defendants were overturned in 2008. Unusually, the reason was given in a confidential annex, which Danny Morrison and the others were not allowed to see. It was claimed that this was because it contained details of security-force agents among the IRA members in the house. British intelligence has come under severe scrutiny on various BBC documentaries in which Morrison and the Police Ombudsman spoke of MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
secrecy and questioned the legality of many British operations.
Author
Since 1989, Morrison has published several novels and plays on themes relating to republicanism and Belfast. His latest play, The Wrong Man, opened in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 2005. It is based on his 1997 book of the same name and deals with the career of an IRA man who is suspected by his colleagues of working for the Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
(RUC).
His second book, 'On The Back of the Swallow' deals with homosexual relationships, loss and the taboo around such relationships during the conflict in Northern Ireland and the treatment of gay men by the RUC. His latest original work, 'Rebel Columns' was published in 2004 followed by 'Hunger Strike' which features contributions, poems and stories from Christy Moore
Christy Moore
Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore is a popular Irish folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is well known as one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts...
, friend and author Ulick O'Connor
Ulick O'Connor
Ulick O'Connor is an Irish writer, historian and critic.-Early life:Born in Rathgar, County Dublin in 1928, O'Connor attended St. Mary's College, Rathmines and later University College Dublin, where he studied law and philosophy, becoming known as a keen sporting participant, especially in boxing,...
and an international view of the hunger strikes from an Iranian man originally published in The Blanket.
At the end of May 2009, Morrison finished writing his latest novel, 'Rudi'. The novel is due to be published at the beginning of 2010.
Morrison now lives in West Belfast with his Canadian-born wife, Leslie. He has two sons from a previous relationship.
Select bibliography
- 1989 - West Belfast
- 1994 - On The Back of the Swallow
- 1997 - The Wrong Man
- 1999 - Then The Walls Came Down
- 2002 - All The Dead Voices
- 2004 - Rebel Columns
- 2008 - Hunger Strike (editor)
- 2010 - Rudi