Liam Kelly (Irish republican)
Encyclopedia
Liam Kelly was an Irish republican, who was elected both to House of Commons of Northern Ireland
House of Commons of Northern Ireland
The House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act...

 (1953–1958) (as an abstentionist
Abstentionism
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...

) and as a member of Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...

 (1954–1957) (which he did attend). He was also a volunteer
Volunteer (Irish republican)
Volunteer, often abbreviated Vol., is a term used by a number of Irish republican paramilitary organisations to describe their members. Among these have been the various forms of the Irish Republican Army and the Irish National Liberation Army...

 in the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army (1922–1969)
The original Irish Republican Army fought a guerrilla war against British rule in Ireland in the Irish War of Independence 1919–1921. Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, the IRA in the 26 counties that were to become the Irish Free State split between supporters and...

 (IRA) and after his expulsion from that organisation in 1951 of a splinter group Saor Uladh
Saor Uladh
Saor Uladh - was a short-lived paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland in the 1950s.Seen as a splinter group of the Irish Republican Army, it was formed in County Tyrone by Liam Kelly and Phil O'Donnell in 1953...

.

Expulsion from IRA and founding of Saor Uladh

Kelly was a prominent member of the IRA from which he was expelled for insubordination in 1951, having carried out military activity with volunteers from east Tyrone without IRA Army Council approval. He then founded a splinter paramilitary group, Saor Uladh
Saor Uladh
Saor Uladh - was a short-lived paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland in the 1950s.Seen as a splinter group of the Irish Republican Army, it was formed in County Tyrone by Liam Kelly and Phil O'Donnell in 1953...

 ("Free Ulster") whose activities were largely confined to Kelly's home area in east Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...

. The Easter following the formation of Saor Uladh, members of the organisation took control of Kellys home village of Pomeroy and held their own 1916 Rising commemoration; there were major confrontations between 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), B-Specials and republicans. In 1953 he made a famous speech in neighbouring Carrickmore
Carrickmore
Carrickmore is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies in the heart of the county on an raised site colloquially called "The Rock"; between Cookstown, Dungannon and Omagh. It had a population of 612 in the 2001 Census.-History:...

 which subsequently led to his arrest by the RUC and conviction for sedition; I will not give allegiance to the foreign queen of a bastard nation. Do I believe in force? The answer is yes. The more the better, the sooner the better..

Prison sentence and election

While in jail, Kelly was elected, on an Anti-Partition
Anti-Partition of Ireland League
The Irish Anti-Partition League was a political organisation based in Northern Ireland which campaigned for a united Ireland.-Foundation:...

 ticket, as an abstentionist
Abstentionism
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...

 candidate for the Stormont constituency of Mid Tyrone
Mid Tyrone (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)
Mid Tyrone was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.-Boundaries:Mid Tyrone was a county constituency comprising the central part of County Tyrone. It was created when the House of Commons Act 1929 introduced first-past-the-post elections throughout Northern Ireland...

 at the 1953 Northern Ireland general election
Northern Ireland general election, 1953
-References:*...

. Upon being released from jail he returned to his hometown of Pomeroy
Pomeroy
- Places :* Pomeroy, County Tyrone, a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland* Pomeroy , a townland in the parish of Desertcreat, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland* Pomeroy, Derbyshire, England* Pomeroy, Iowa, USA* Pomeroy, Ohio, USA...

 were a crowd of 10,000 had gathered to welcome him home.

Kelly held this seat until the following general election
Northern Ireland general election, 1958
-References:*-See also:*MPs elected in the Northern Ireland general election, 1958...

, though - as an abstentionist - he never attended Stormont.

Fianna Uladh

Fianna Uladh
Fianna Uladh
Fianna Uladh was a minor Irish republican political party active in Northern Ireland during the 1950s. It represented the political wing of Saor Uladh, a splinter group of the Irish Republican Army....

 was founded in 1953, as the political wing of Saor Uladh. Fianna Uladh's basic ideology - which placed it closer to Clann na Poblachta
Clann na Poblachta
Clann na Poblachta , abbreviated CnaP, was an Irish republican and social democratic political party founded by former Irish Republican Army Chief of Staff Seán MacBride in 1946.-Foundation:...

 than to the 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...

 of that era - was summed up by Kelly in a speech made in Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...

 in 1954:

We in Fianna Uladh recognise the Constitution of the Republic of Ireland under which this State operates and we are prepared to work within its framework to extend its operation to the whole of Ireland. Recognising only the Constitution and the sovereignty of the Irish people, we naturally reject the claim of Britain and of any of her institutions to exercise sovereignty in any portion of Ireland. We decline to prostitute our nationality and our consciences by taking the Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown as a condition of parliamentary representation. 44 Seanad Debates col 346 (25 November 1954).

The element of rejecting British sovereignty in Ireland which was left unstated on that occasion was Saor Uladh's and Kelly's own personal involvement in acts of violence in Northern Ireland. Fianna Uladh's foundation - and its policy of abstentionism - helped to precipitate the break-up of the Anti-Partition of Ireland League
Anti-Partition of Ireland League
The Irish Anti-Partition League was a political organisation based in Northern Ireland which campaigned for a united Ireland.-Foundation:...

 in March 1954.

Seanad election

It was Kelly's association with Clann na Poblachta led to his nomination to the Seanad. In return for the Clann's support for the Second Inter-party Government
Government of the 15th Dáil
The 15th Dáil was elected at the 1954 general election on 18 May 1954 and first met on 2 June when the 7th Government of Ireland was appointed. The 15th Dáil lasted for 1,022 days.-7th Government of Ireland:...

 (1954–1957), Taoiseach John A. Costello
John A. Costello
John Aloysius Costello , a successful barrister, was one of the main legal advisors to the government of the Irish Free State after independence, Attorney General of Ireland from 1926–1932 and Taoiseach from 1948–1951 and 1954–1957....

 ensured that the votes of Fine Gael councillors elected Kelly to the Seanad (Labour Panel).

Kelly spoke as a Senator, in support of a motion that all elected parliamentary representatives of the people of "the six occupied counties of Ireland" should be given a right of audience in the Dáil or in the Seanad

Although later overshadowed by the IRA's 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...

 (1956–1962) incidents such as Saor Uladh's attack on the RUC barracks in Rosslea
Rosslea
Rosslea or Roslea is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, near the border with County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. It stands on the River Finn and is beset by small natural lakes. Roslea Forest is nearby...

, County Fermanagh, in which Volunteer Connie Green
Connie Green
Connie Green was a member of the dissident Irish republican paramilitary group Saor Uladh. He was shot while carrying out a raid on an Royal Ulster Constabulary barracks at Rosslea in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland....

 was killed, contributed to the fall of the Government and the 1957 general election
Irish general election, 1957
The Irish general election of 1957 was held on 5 March 1957, just over three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 4 February. The newly elected members of the 16th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 20 March when the new Taoiseach and government were appointed.The general election took place...

. Costello's Government, although it decided against the re-introduction of internment, responded to the activities of Saor Uladh and the mainstream IRA by stepping up security measures against these groups, leading to the arrest of prominent republicans. In response to this and to a deterioration in the state of the economy, Clann na Poblachta withdrew its support and Costello was left with no choice other than to call an election.

Emigration to the United States

In 1959, Kelly moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and by the 1970s he was the chair of the Republican Clubs organisation there.

His death notice described him as a "a retired assistant Chief Superintendent of M.A.B.S.T.A.".

Personal life

Kelly was an uncle of the IRA volunteer Patrick Kelly
Patrick Joseph Kelly
Patrick Joseph Kelly born Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, was the head of the Tyrone Brigade and the Commander of the East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army during the mid 1980s until his death in a Special Air Service ambush at Loughgall, County Armagh in May...

, a member of the East Tyrone Brigade, who was shot dead by British forces at Loughgall
Loughgall
Loughgall is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 285 people.Loughgall was named after a small nearby loch. The village is at the heart of the apple-growing industry and is surrounded by orchards. Along the village's main street...

 in 1987.

Death

Kelly died aged 88 in New York. His death notice said he would be buried in Pomeroy
Pomeroy
- Places :* Pomeroy, County Tyrone, a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland* Pomeroy , a townland in the parish of Desertcreat, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland* Pomeroy, Derbyshire, England* Pomeroy, Iowa, USA* Pomeroy, Ohio, USA...

, County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...

.

External links

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