Hugh Torney
Encyclopedia
Hugh Torney was an Irish National Liberation Army
(INLA) paramilitary leader best known for his activities on behalf of the INLA and Irish Republican Socialist Party
(IRSP) in a feud with the Irish People's Liberation Organisation
(IPLO), a grouping composed of disgruntled former INLA members in the mid-1980s.
Nicknamed Cueball Torney, he became chief of staff in the mid-to-late 1980s as much by default rather than by design. Loyalist
sectarian murders were bearing heavily on the Catholic/nationalist community and Torney struggled to hold back reactionary elements within his grouping. A competent military operator, Torney oversaw the reorganisation of the INLA's political wing (the IRSP), considering it more important than the military structuring of the INLA. The Starry Plough
newspaper re-emerged as a vehicle for socialist republican and Marxist discussion (a policy that had been advocated in Ta Power's analysis). Paradoxically, Torney and Gino Gallagher
had combined in
a major INLA operation with the shooting dead of several UVF members on the Shankill Road, including brigade officer Trevor King.
In 1995, Torney stated in a Dublin court that there was a "de facto" INLA ceasefire being observed; although, it was a non-consultative decision with the membership, it was generally regarded as the case following Provisional Irish Republican Army
(PIRA) recent "cessation of hostilities". In Torney's absence there was a coup d'etat
and he was replaced as head of the INLA by Gino Gallagher
(formerly the Prisoner Relations Officer of the IRSP and a feared gunman.) Torney and his gang (known as the INLA-GHQ) assassinated Gallagher in January 1996.
The events that followed saw the deaths of Hugh Torney along with his allies IRSP/INLA founder-member John Fennell, Dessie McCleery and Fra Shannon as well as nine-year-old Barbara McAlorum who was killed by pro-Gallagher gunmen seeking her brother Kevin (Gino's alleged killer). McAlorum was later killed in 2004, and this has been linked to the INLA although their ceasefire
has not been viewed as being "breached". Others who died or were killed either directly or indirectly were Mark "Sharkey" McNeill, Briege McGreevey and Brendan Gallagher.
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
(INLA) paramilitary leader best known for his activities on behalf of the INLA and Irish Republican Socialist Party
Irish Republican Socialist Party
The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP is a republican socialist party active in Ireland. It claims the legacy of socialist revolutionary James Connolly, who founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in 1896 and was executed after the Easter Rising of 1916.- History :The Irish Republican...
(IRSP) in a feud with the Irish People's Liberation Organisation
Irish People's Liberation Organisation
The Irish People's Liberation Organisation was a small Irish republican paramilitary organization which was formed in 1986 by disaffected and expelled members of the Irish National Liberation Army whose factions coalesced in the aftermath of the supergrass trials...
(IPLO), a grouping composed of disgruntled former INLA members in the mid-1980s.
Nicknamed Cueball Torney, he became chief of staff in the mid-to-late 1980s as much by default rather than by design. 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...
sectarian murders were bearing heavily on the Catholic/nationalist community and Torney struggled to hold back reactionary elements within his grouping. A competent military operator, Torney oversaw the reorganisation of the INLA's political wing (the IRSP), considering it more important than the military structuring of the INLA. The Starry Plough
The Starry Plough (newspaper)
The Starry Plough is the official newspaper of the Irish Republican Socialist Party. It states on its website: "The Starry Plough is the only paper that stands firmly against British rule and the destruction of capitalism in Ireland." The paper also focuses on socialist solidarity issues around the...
newspaper re-emerged as a vehicle for socialist republican and Marxist discussion (a policy that had been advocated in Ta Power's analysis). Paradoxically, Torney and Gino Gallagher
Gino Gallagher
Gino Gallagher was an Irish republican who was Chief of Staff of the Irish National Liberation Army. He was killed in Belfast on 30 January 1996, while waiting in line for his unemployment benefit....
had combined in
a major INLA operation with the shooting dead of several UVF members on the Shankill Road, including brigade officer Trevor King.
In 1995, Torney stated in a Dublin court that there was a "de facto" INLA ceasefire being observed; although, it was a non-consultative decision with the membership, it was generally regarded as the case following Provisional Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
(PIRA) recent "cessation of hostilities". In Torney's absence there was a coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
and he was replaced as head of the INLA by Gino Gallagher
Gino Gallagher
Gino Gallagher was an Irish republican who was Chief of Staff of the Irish National Liberation Army. He was killed in Belfast on 30 January 1996, while waiting in line for his unemployment benefit....
(formerly the Prisoner Relations Officer of the IRSP and a feared gunman.) Torney and his gang (known as the INLA-GHQ) assassinated Gallagher in January 1996.
The events that followed saw the deaths of Hugh Torney along with his allies IRSP/INLA founder-member John Fennell, Dessie McCleery and Fra Shannon as well as nine-year-old Barbara McAlorum who was killed by pro-Gallagher gunmen seeking her brother Kevin (Gino's alleged killer). McAlorum was later killed in 2004, and this has been linked to the INLA although their ceasefire
Ceasefire
A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces...
has not been viewed as being "breached". Others who died or were killed either directly or indirectly were Mark "Sharkey" McNeill, Briege McGreevey and Brendan Gallagher.