Malachy McGurran
Encyclopedia
Malachy McGurran was a leading Irish republican and founding member of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
, of which he was chairman.
A native of Lurgan, County Armagh
, McGurran joined Sinn Féin
and the Irish Republican Army
in 1955. He was interned in the Curragh military barracks, near Dublin, from 1957 to 1959 during the IRA Border Campaign.
In 1969, at the time of the split in the Republican Movement, he became commander of the IRA in Northern Ireland, in an effort to head off the newly formed Provisional IRA. In 1970 he became Chairman of the executive of Republican Clubs (the name adopted by Sinn Féin
in Northern Ireland after it was banned in 1964). He represented Official Sinn Féin on a speaking tour of the United States in the early 1970s when the party was trying to promote its case and separate itself in the public mind from the Provisional IRA.
In 1977 McGurran was elected for Craigavon 'A' which included the northern parts of Lurgan
and the Loughside areas. He polled over 5,000 votes (8.2% of the total) as a Republican Clubs candidate in the October 1974 Westminster general election. He unsuccessfully contested the 1975 Constitutional Convention election.
Malachy McGurran was a Vice-President of Sinn Féin the Workers Party when he died of bone cancer aged 38 on 27 July 1978.
Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was an organisation which campaigned for equal civil rights for the all the people in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
, of which he was chairman.
A native of Lurgan, County Armagh
Lurgan
Lurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...
, McGurran 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...
and 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...
in 1955. He was interned in the Curragh military barracks, near Dublin, from 1957 to 1959 during the IRA Border Campaign.
In 1969, at the time of the split in the Republican Movement, he became commander of the IRA in Northern Ireland, in an effort to head off the newly formed Provisional IRA. In 1970 he became Chairman of the executive of Republican Clubs (the name adopted by 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 Northern Ireland after it was banned in 1964). He represented Official Sinn Féin on a speaking tour of the United States in the early 1970s when the party was trying to promote its case and separate itself in the public mind from the Provisional IRA.
In 1977 McGurran was elected for Craigavon 'A' which included the northern parts of Lurgan
Lurgan
Lurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...
and the Loughside areas. He polled over 5,000 votes (8.2% of the total) as a Republican Clubs candidate in the October 1974 Westminster general election. He unsuccessfully contested the 1975 Constitutional Convention election.
Malachy McGurran was a Vice-President of Sinn Féin the Workers Party when he died of bone cancer aged 38 on 27 July 1978.