Dáithí Ó Conaill
Encyclopedia
Dáithí Ó Conaill was an Irish republican, a member of the IRA Army Council
, vice-president of Sinn Féin
and Republican Sinn Féin
. He was also the first chief of staff of the Continuity IRA.
in 1938. His uncle Michael O'Sullivan, a member of the 1st Cork Brigade of the Irish Republican Army
, was bayoneted to death by British forces
in 1921. After his vocational school
education, he trained as a woodwork teacher in a college in County Wexford
.
He joined the republican movement at 17 years of age and took part in the IRA Border Campaign
. On 1 January 1957 he was second-in-command of the Pearse Column which carried out the raid on Brookeborough
Royal Ulster Constabulary
(RUC) Barracks in County Fermanagh
, in which Seán South
and Fergal O'Hanlon
were killed. He was arrested by the Garda Síochána
and imprisoned in Mountjoy Prison
for six months. Upon release, he was interned
in the Curragh
. On 27 September 1958 he escaped along with Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
and went on the run.
With most of the IRA leadership under arrest or interned, Ó Brádaigh (who had been on the Army Council at the start of the campaign) became IRA chief of staff and Ó Conaill became IRA Director of Operations and joined the IRA Army Council.
In an altercation with the RUC and B Specials near Lough Neagh
in 1959, he was shot and badly injured and later captured by the RUC. On recovery he received an eight-year sentence and remained in Belfast Jail until he was released unconditionally in September 1963.
In the October 1961 Irish general election
, Ó Conaill ran as a Sinn Féin
candidate in the Cork Borough
constituency. Winning 1,956 first preference votes (a share of 5.24 percent), he just missed taking the fifth and final seat.
Upon release, Ó Conaill took up residence in Glencolmcille
, County Donegal
, where he taught. He also married Deirdre Caffrey, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh's cousin. Ó Conaill worked closely with Fr James McDyer who was active in rural development. During the late 1960s, Ó Conaill played little part in the activities of the IRA or Sinn Féin.
With the outbreak of the Troubles
in Northern Ireland
in the late 1960s, Ó Conaill would become a prominent spokesperson for the Provisional IRA. He was active in the IRA through the 1960s, and IRA Chief of Staff Cathal Goulding
appointed him the Commanding Officer (O/C) of the Donegal unit prior to the IRA's Convention in December 1969; Ó Conaill was also a member of the IRA's Army Council after Goulding expanded that body at the IRA Convention late in 1968. In the autumn of 1969, Ó Conaill, upset with the then IRA leadership, walked out of the "unit convention" and was suspended. In the 1960s, Ó Conaill was approached by elements from within the Irish government
and the Fianna Fáil
party with an offer to provide arms and training in Irish Army
barracks or ranges.
, and was the Provisional IRA's Director of Publicity. In 1970 he travelled to New York
and was instrumental in establishing Irish Northern Aid or NORAID
, which raised funds for the Provisionals.
In 1971, he travelled to Prague
and purchased 4.5 tons of small arms from the Czechoslovakia
state arms marketing company, Omnipol
. The consignment was later seized in the Netherlands
.
Despite his belief in the armed campaign, Ó Conaill was not solely a militarist. He was deeply involved in the drafting of the Éire Nua
policy, working with Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
, which was launched by Sinn Féin in June 1972. He also played a leading role in the truce negotiations between the IRA and the British government in June–July 1972.
On 13 June 1972, he appeared at an IRA press conference in Derry, along with Seán Mac Stiofáin
, Seamus Twomey
and Martin McGuinness
, which announced an IRA cease-fire proposal, and gave William Whitelaw forty-eight hours to make a decision.
On 20 June 1972, he represented the IRA along with Gerry Adams
at secret talks at the home of Colonel Sir Michael McCorkell
, Ballyarnett, County Londonderry
. The British representatives were Frank Steele
, who presented himself as a government official but was an MI6 agent, and Philip John Woodfield of the Northern Ireland Office
. The meeting lasted four hours and the British side informed the IRA representatives that while Whitelaw refused to offer political status, he was prepared to suspend arrests of republicans and searches of homes. Both sides then agreed to call a ten-day ceasefire.
In a report, Woodfield noted that “There is no doubt whatever that these two at least genuinely want a ceasefire and a permanent end to violence," and that the appearance of Ó Conaill and Adams was “appearance and manner of the men was "respectable and respectful". "Their response to every argument was reasonable and moderate. (…) Their behaviour and attitude appeared to bear no relation to the indiscriminate campaigns of bombing and shooting in which they have both been prominent leaders." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2601875.stm
On 26 June, the IRA called a "bilateral truce". On 7 July 1972, he was part of the IRA delegation which met with representatives of the British government in London (see article on Seán Mac Stiofáin
for more details).
After the collapse of the IRA-British government contacts, Ó Conaill maintained informal contacts with Sir John Hackett
, by then retired and Principal of King's College London
, and who had been the commanding officer of British forces in Northern Ireland. In September 1973, Hackett reported to Woodfield of the Northern Ireland Office that Ó Conaill was "losing ground to younger and more impatient operators. To arrest him and remove him from the scene would loosen restraint on those and open the way for more irresponsible action." http://politics.guardian.co.uk/politicspast/story/0,9061,1114504,00.html
In 1974, at a secret meeting arranged by journalist Kevin Myers, Ó Conaill and Brian Keenan
had talks with Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) leaders Billy Mitchell
and Jim Hanna in Lough Sheelin
, County Cavan
. Myers summarised the purpose of the talks: The IRA simply wished to discuss the terms of the loyalist surrender and the loyalists wished merely to assure the IRA they had no intention of surrendering. The meeting lasted four hours. Mitchell later recalled that "We just wanted to get to know one another. And we thought we could find a way to call an end to everything." "I really liked David. And neither of us accused the other of anything" http://zeus.zeit.de/text/archiv/2001/38/200138_nordirland.xml
In an interview with Mary Holland
on London Weekend Television’s
Weekend World on 17 November 1974, Ó Conaill claimed there would be an escalation of IRA violence. Four days later, on 21 November, IRA detonated bombs in two pubs in Birmingham
, killing 21 civilians. This was not Ó Conaill had intended, as the Provisional IRA leadership did not endorse indiscriminate bombing in England. The interview and the attacks led to the introduction of the Prevention of Terrorism Act
in the United Kingdom
. http://www.bfi.org.uk/collections/catalogues/troubles/troubles.pdf. The interview prompted hostile questions in the Parliament of the United Kingdom
.
Although Ó Conaill was on the run for much of the early 1970s, he managed to make some public appearances. In 1973, he gave the oration at the Easter Rising commemoration in Belfast
, and the following year, he spoke at the funeral of IRA hunger striker Michael Gaughan
in Ballina
.
While on the run he was prominent in arranging the Feakle
talks with Protestant clergymen in December 1974. In 1975, Ó Conaill was regularly consulted by Republican representatives who negotiated a truce with British representatives, including Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
and Billy McKee
, but he did not meet with the British representatives.
Ó Conaill was officer commanding (O/C) of the IRA Southern Command for much of the early 1970s until his arrest, in July 1975. (He was replaced by Pat Doherty
). Found guilty of IRA membership, and imprisoned in Portlaoise Prison, where in 1977 he was one of 20 men who took part in a 47-day hunger strike
in protest at conditions in the jail.
. Contrary to popular opinion, it was Ó Conaill and not Gerry Adams who proposed that Bobby Sands
contest the Westminster
by-election
for Fermanagh and South Tyrone
during the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike
. This decision was made at the March 1981 Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle meeting.
He was the director of elections in the June 1981 Irish general election
in which two prisoners were elected to Dáil Éireann
: hunger striker Kieran Doherty
in the Cavan
/Monaghan
constituency and prison protester Paddy Agnew in the Louth
constituency.
In 1983, along with Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
, he resigned from the position of vice-president of Sinn Féin in opposition to the dropping of the Éire Nua
policy.
to Leinster House. He joined in the walk out led by Ó Brádaigh
and was chairman of Republican Sinn Féin from 1986 to 1987 and subsequently a vice-president of the party.
Shortly before his death, he wrote a document entitled Towards a Peaceful Ireland, which offered a traditionalist republican solution to Irish partition.
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...
, vice-president of 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...
and Republican Sinn Féin
Republican Sinn Féin
Republican Sinn Féin or RSF is an unregisteredAlthough an active movement, RSF is not registered as a political party in either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. minor political party operating in Ireland. It emerged in 1986 as a result of a split in Sinn Féin...
. He was also the first chief of staff of the Continuity IRA.
Joins IRA
Ó Conaill was born in CorkCork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
in 1938. His uncle Michael O'Sullivan, a member of the 1st Cork Brigade of the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
, was bayoneted to death by British forces
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in 1921. After his vocational school
Vocational school
A vocational school , providing vocational education, is a school in which students are taught the skills needed to perform a particular job...
education, he trained as a woodwork teacher in a college in County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...
.
He joined the republican movement at 17 years of age and took part in the IRA Border Campaign
Border Campaign (IRA)
The Border Campaign was a campaign of guerrilla warfare carried out by the Irish Republican Army against targets in Northern Ireland, with the aim of overthrowing British rule there and creating a united Ireland.Popularly referred to as the Border Campaign, it was also referred to as the...
. On 1 January 1957 he was second-in-command of the Pearse Column which carried out the raid on Brookeborough
Brookeborough
Brookeborough is a village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It lies between Enniskillen and Belfast just off the A4 trunk road, about five miles from the County Tyrone boundary....
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) Barracks in County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh
Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....
, in which Seán South
Seán South
Seán South was a member of an IRA military column led by Sean Garland on a raid against a Royal Ulster Constabulary barracks in Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland on New Year's Day, 1957...
and Fergal O'Hanlon
Fergal O'Hanlon
Feargal O'Hanlon Feargal O'Hanlon Feargal O'Hanlon (Irish: Feargal Ó hAnnluain (b. 2 February 1936, Ballybay, County Monaghan, Ireland – d. 1 January 1957, Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland) was a member/volunteer in the Pearse Column of the Irish Republican Army....
were killed. He was arrested by the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
and imprisoned in Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison , founded as Mountjoy Gaol, nicknamed The Joy, is a medium security prison located in Phibsboro in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. It has the largest prison population in Ireland.The current prison governor is Mr...
for six months. Upon release, he was interned
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
in the Curragh
Curragh
The Curragh is a flat open plain of almost 5,000 acres of common land in County Kildare, Ireland, between Newbridge and Kildare. This area is well-known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the famous Japanese Gardens. Also...
. On 27 September 1958 he escaped along with Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh is an Irish republican. He is a former chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army , former president of Sinn Féin and former president of Republican Sinn Féin.-Early life:...
and went on the run.
With most of the IRA leadership under arrest or interned, Ó Brádaigh (who had been on the Army Council at the start of the campaign) became IRA chief of staff and Ó Conaill became IRA Director of Operations and joined the IRA Army Council.
In an altercation with the RUC and B Specials near Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. Its name comes .-Geography:With an area of , it is the largest lake in the British Isles and ranks among the forty largest lakes of Europe. Located twenty miles to the west of Belfast, it is approximately twenty...
in 1959, he was shot and badly injured and later captured by the RUC. On recovery he received an eight-year sentence and remained in Belfast Jail until he was released unconditionally in September 1963.
In the October 1961 Irish general election
Irish general election, 1961
The Irish general election of 1961 was held on 4 October 1961, just over three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 8 September. The newly elected members of the 17th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 11 October when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed.The general election took...
, Ó Conaill ran as a 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...
candidate in the Cork Borough
Cork Borough (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Cork Borough was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas from 1921 to 1969...
constituency. Winning 1,956 first preference votes (a share of 5.24 percent), he just missed taking the fifth and final seat.
Upon release, Ó Conaill took up residence in Glencolmcille
Glencolmcille
Gleann Cholm Cille is a coastal town in the southwest Gaeltacht of County Donegal, Ireland...
, County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, where he taught. He also married Deirdre Caffrey, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh's cousin. Ó Conaill worked closely with Fr James McDyer who was active in rural development. During the late 1960s, Ó Conaill played little part in the activities of the IRA or Sinn Féin.
With the outbreak of 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...
in 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...
in the late 1960s, Ó Conaill would become a prominent spokesperson for the Provisional IRA. He was active in the IRA through the 1960s, and IRA Chief of Staff Cathal Goulding
Cathal Goulding
Cathal Goulding was Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army and the Official IRA.One of seven children born into a republican family in East Arran Street in the north inner city of Dublin, Goulding was involved as teenager in Fianna Éireann, the IRA youth wing which he joined with his...
appointed him the Commanding Officer (O/C) of the Donegal unit prior to the IRA's Convention in December 1969; Ó Conaill was also a member of the IRA's Army Council after Goulding expanded that body at the IRA Convention late in 1968. In the autumn of 1969, Ó Conaill, upset with the then IRA leadership, walked out of the "unit convention" and was suspended. In the 1960s, Ó Conaill was approached by elements from within the Irish government
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...
and the Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
party with an offer to provide arms and training in 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...
barracks or ranges.
Sides with Provisional IRA
Ó Conaill helped form the Provisional IRA after the 1969 IRA split, served on the first Provisional IRA Army CouncilIRA 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...
, and was the Provisional IRA's Director of Publicity. In 1970 he travelled to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and was instrumental in establishing Irish Northern Aid or NORAID
NORAID
Noraid or the Irish Northern Aid Committee is an Irish American fund raising organization founded after the start of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1969...
, which raised funds for the Provisionals.
In 1971, he travelled to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and purchased 4.5 tons of small arms from the Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
state arms marketing company, Omnipol
Omnipol
Omnipol is a company based in Prague, Czech Republic, specialising in the trading of defence and aerospace equipment.-International sales:Omnipol acts as the intermediary in government-to-government sales of defence equipment, meeting the needs of air and ground forces in more than 60 countries...
. The consignment was later seized 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...
.
Despite his belief in the armed campaign, Ó Conaill was not solely a militarist. He was deeply involved in the drafting of the Éire 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...
policy, working with Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh is an Irish republican. He is a former chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army , former president of Sinn Féin and former president of Republican Sinn Féin.-Early life:...
, which was launched by Sinn Féin in June 1972. He also played a leading role in the truce negotiations between the IRA and the British government in June–July 1972.
On 13 June 1972, he appeared at an IRA press conference in Derry, along with Seán Mac Stiofáin
Seán Mac Stíofáin
Seán Mac Stíofáin was an Irish republican paramilitary activist born in London, who became associated with the republican movement in Ireland after serving in the Royal Air Force...
, Seamus Twomey
Seamus Twomey
Seamus Twomey was an Irish republican and twice chief of staff of the Provisional IRA.-Biography:Born in Belfast, Twomey lived at 6 Sevastopol Street in the Falls district...
and Martin McGuinness
Martin McGuinness
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and the current deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. McGuinness was also the Sinn Féin candidate for the Irish presidential election, 2011. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland....
, which announced an IRA cease-fire proposal, and gave William Whitelaw forty-eight hours to make a decision.
On 20 June 1972, he represented the IRA along with 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...
at secret talks at the home of Colonel Sir Michael McCorkell
Michael McCorkell
Colonel Sir Michael McCorkell, KCVO, OBE, TD, JP, DL was an Northern Irish soldier and British public servant, emulating the high level of British public service of successive generations of the McCorkell family, being Lord Lieutenant of County Londonderry for 25 years...
, Ballyarnett, County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
. The British representatives were Frank Steele
Frank Steele
Harold Franklin Steele was a professional ice hockey right winger who played in one National Hockey League game for the Detroit Falcons during the 1930–31 NHL season.-External links:...
, who presented himself as a government official but was an MI6 agent, and Philip John Woodfield of the Northern Ireland Office
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...
. The meeting lasted four hours and the British side informed the IRA representatives that while Whitelaw refused to offer political status, he was prepared to suspend arrests of republicans and searches of homes. Both sides then agreed to call a ten-day ceasefire.
In a report, Woodfield noted that “There is no doubt whatever that these two at least genuinely want a ceasefire and a permanent end to violence," and that the appearance of Ó Conaill and Adams was “appearance and manner of the men was "respectable and respectful". "Their response to every argument was reasonable and moderate. (…) Their behaviour and attitude appeared to bear no relation to the indiscriminate campaigns of bombing and shooting in which they have both been prominent leaders." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2601875.stm
On 26 June, the IRA called a "bilateral truce". On 7 July 1972, he was part of the IRA delegation which met with representatives of the British government in London (see article on Seán Mac Stiofáin
Seán Mac Stíofáin
Seán Mac Stíofáin was an Irish republican paramilitary activist born in London, who became associated with the republican movement in Ireland after serving in the Royal Air Force...
for more details).
After the collapse of the IRA-British government contacts, Ó Conaill maintained informal contacts with Sir John Hackett
John Winthrop Hackett Junior
General Sir John Winthrop Hackett GCB, CBE, DSO & Bar, MC was an Australian-born British soldier, author and university administrator.-Early life:Hackett, who was nicknamed "Shan", was born in Perth, Western Australia...
, by then retired and Principal of King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
, and who had been the commanding officer of British forces in Northern Ireland. In September 1973, Hackett reported to Woodfield of the Northern Ireland Office that Ó Conaill was "losing ground to younger and more impatient operators. To arrest him and remove him from the scene would loosen restraint on those and open the way for more irresponsible action." http://politics.guardian.co.uk/politicspast/story/0,9061,1114504,00.html
In 1974, at a secret meeting arranged by journalist Kevin Myers, Ó Conaill and Brian Keenan
Brian Keenan (Irish republican)
Brian Keenan was a former member of the Army Council of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who received an 18-year prison sentence in 1980 for conspiring to cause explosions, and played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process.-Early life:The son of a member of the Royal Air Force,...
had talks with Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) leaders Billy Mitchell
Billy Mitchell (loyalist)
Billy Mitchell was a Northern Irish community activist and member of the Progressive Unionist Party. Mitchell was a leading member of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force and served a life sentence for his part in a double murder but later abandoned UVF membership and took up cross-community...
and Jim Hanna in Lough Sheelin
Lough Sheelin
Lough Sheelin is a limestone freshwater lough in Ireland located in County Westmeath, County Meath and County Cavan near the village of Finea and the town of Granard County Longford....
, County Cavan
County Cavan
County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...
. Myers summarised the purpose of the talks: The IRA simply wished to discuss the terms of the loyalist surrender and the loyalists wished merely to assure the IRA they had no intention of surrendering. The meeting lasted four hours. Mitchell later recalled that "We just wanted to get to know one another. And we thought we could find a way to call an end to everything." "I really liked David. And neither of us accused the other of anything" http://zeus.zeit.de/text/archiv/2001/38/200138_nordirland.xml
In an interview with Mary Holland
Mary Holland
Mary Holland was an Irish journalist who specialised in writing about Ireland, and in particular Northern Ireland. Born in Dover but raised in Ireland, she married a British diplomat, Ronald Higgins; they lived in Indonesia, but the marriage was eventually annulled.Originally working in fashion...
on London Weekend Television’s
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
Weekend World on 17 November 1974, Ó Conaill claimed there would be an escalation of IRA violence. Four days later, on 21 November, IRA detonated bombs in two pubs in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, killing 21 civilians. This was not Ó Conaill had intended, as the Provisional IRA leadership did not endorse indiscriminate bombing in England. The interview and the attacks led to the introduction of the Prevention of Terrorism Act
Prevention of Terrorism Act (Northern Ireland)
The Prevention of Terrorism Acts were a series of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1974 to 1989 that conferred emergency powers upon police forces where they suspected terrorism....
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. http://www.bfi.org.uk/collections/catalogues/troubles/troubles.pdf. The interview prompted hostile questions in the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
.
Although Ó Conaill was on the run for much of the early 1970s, he managed to make some public appearances. In 1973, he gave the oration at the Easter Rising commemoration in 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...
, and the following year, he spoke at the funeral of IRA hunger striker Michael Gaughan
Michael Gaughan (Irish republican hunger striker)
Michael Gaughan was a Provisional Irish Republican Army hunger striker who died in 1974 in Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight, England.- Background :...
in Ballina
Ballina, County Mayo
Ballina is a large town in north County Mayo in Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountain range to the east and the Nephin Beg mountains to the west...
.
While on the run he was prominent in arranging the Feakle
Feakle, County Clare
Feakle is a village in County Clare, Ireland. Its population in 2006 was 122. It neighbours Lough Derg and the towns of Tulla and Scarriff. Feakle is famous for its traditional music festival.-History:...
talks with Protestant clergymen in December 1974. In 1975, Ó Conaill was regularly consulted by Republican representatives who negotiated a truce with British representatives, including Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh is an Irish republican. He is a former chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army , former president of Sinn Féin and former president of Republican Sinn Féin.-Early life:...
and Billy McKee
Billy 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...
, but he did not meet with the British representatives.
Ó Conaill was officer commanding (O/C) of the IRA Southern Command for much of the early 1970s until his arrest, in July 1975. (He was replaced by Pat Doherty
Pat Doherty
Patrick "Pat" Doherty is an Irish republican politician and abstentionist Member of Parliament for West Tyrone. He has been a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for the same constituency since 25 June 1998...
). Found guilty of IRA membership, and imprisoned in Portlaoise Prison, where in 1977 he was one of 20 men who took part in a 47-day hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
in protest at conditions in the jail.
Involvement in Sinn Féin electoral campaigns
Upon his release from prison, he was active in the Anti H-Block MovementAnti 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...
. Contrary to popular opinion, it was Ó Conaill and not Gerry Adams who proposed that 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....
contest the Westminster
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
for Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)
Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a Parliamentary constituency in the British House of Commons. The current MP for the constituency is Michelle Gildernew of Sinn Féin....
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...
. This decision was made at the March 1981 Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle meeting.
He was the director of elections in the June 1981 Irish general election
Irish general election, 1981
The Irish general election of 1981 was held on 11 June 1981, three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 21 May. The newly elected 166 members of the 22nd Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 30 June when a new Taoiseach and government were appointed....
in which two prisoners were elected to Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
: hunger striker Kieran Doherty
Kieran Doherty
Kieran Doherty TD was an Irish republican hunger striker, Teachta Dála and a volunteer in the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army ....
in the Cavan
Cavan
Cavan is the county town of County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. The town lies in the north central part of Ireland, near the border with Northern Ireland...
/Monaghan
Monaghan
Monaghan is the county town of County Monaghan in Ireland. Its population at the 2006 census stood at 7,811 . The town is located on the main road, the N2 road, from Dublin north to both Derry and Letterkenny.-Toponym:...
constituency and prison protester Paddy Agnew in the Louth
Louth (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Louth is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 5 deputies...
constituency.
In 1983, along with Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh is an Irish republican. He is a former chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army , former president of Sinn Féin and former president of Republican Sinn Féin.-Early life:...
, he resigned from the position of vice-president of Sinn Féin in opposition to the dropping of the Éire 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...
policy.
Joins Republican Sinn Féin
At the 1986 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis, he opposed the decision to drop abstentionismAbstentionism
Abstentionism is standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abstentionists participate in the election itself...
to Leinster House. He joined in the walk out led by Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh is an Irish republican. He is a former chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army , former president of Sinn Féin and former president of Republican Sinn Féin.-Early life:...
and was chairman of Republican Sinn Féin from 1986 to 1987 and subsequently a vice-president of the party.
Shortly before his death, he wrote a document entitled Towards a Peaceful Ireland, which offered a traditionalist republican solution to Irish partition.
External links
- Towards a Peaceful Ireland Document drafted by Dáithí Ó Conaill shortly before his death.