Maria Gatland
Encyclopedia
Maria Gatland is a councillor
in the London Borough of Croydon
for the Conservative Party
. She is also a former Council cabinet member for education, a post she resigned from after being exposed as a former member of the Irish Repubulican Army (IRA)
,
. She was one of four siblings (two brothers and a sister). She was educated at St. Anne's School and then University College Dublin
, where she studied English language and literature.
(later a Continuity IRA chief-of-staff), whom she accompanied to the European continent on an arms buying expedition. The expedition came to nothing because it was reported in the British Press and Conaill and McGuire abandoned the mission.
After an IRA bomb went off on Bloody Friday
in Belfast killing nine and maiming over 100, McGuire decided to leave the IRA. She was told by the authorities if she did so she would receive Special Branch
protection. In the late summer of 1972 she appeared in London and wrote a series of articles for The Observer
, went into hiding, and wrote a book about her experiences in the organisation called To Take Arms, A Year in the Provisional IRA which was published in 1973.
ward and in 2006 became Croydon's cabinet member for education. She says that she never hid her past, but membership of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, did not appear on her CV. When the Conservative Party found out about her Republican past she stepped down as a council cabinet member in early December 2008. At the same time Gatland was suspended by the party, but was later accepted back to the Tory fold.
where she met and married her late husband Mervyn Gatland, who ran a garden maintenance business. Gatland has said that at this time she was very fragile and had two breakdowns.
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
in the London Borough of Croydon
London Borough of Croydon
The London Borough of Croydon is a London borough in South London, England and is part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the largest London borough by population. It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name...
for the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. She is also a former Council cabinet member for education, a post she resigned from after being exposed as a former member of the Irish Repubulican Army (IRA)
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...
,
Early life
Gatland was born Maria McGuire, to a middle class family, and lived in the suburb of Churchtown, DublinChurchtown, Dublin
Churchtown is a largely residential suburb on the southside of Dublin, Ireland, between Dundrum and Rathfarnham. It is in the postal districts Dublin 14 and Dublin 16.- Ely's Arch :...
. She was one of four siblings (two brothers and a sister). She was educated at St. Anne's School and then University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
, where she studied English language and literature.
IRA involvement
McGuire became a member of the IRA in the early 1970s. She moved in the upper echelons of the organisation and had an affair with Dáithí Ó ConaillDáithí Ó Conaill
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.-Joins IRA:...
(later a Continuity IRA chief-of-staff), whom she accompanied to the European continent on an arms buying expedition. The expedition came to nothing because it was reported in the British Press and Conaill and McGuire abandoned the mission.
After an IRA bomb went off on Bloody Friday
Bloody Friday (1972)
Bloody Friday is the name given to the bombings by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Belfast on 21 July 1972. Twenty-two bombs exploded in the space of eighty minutes, killing nine people and injuring 130....
in Belfast killing nine and maiming over 100, McGuire decided to leave the IRA. She was told by the authorities if she did so she would receive Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
protection. In the late summer of 1972 she appeared in London and wrote a series of articles for The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, went into hiding, and wrote a book about her experiences in the organisation called To Take Arms, A Year in the Provisional IRA which was published in 1973.
Political career
In 2002 Maria Gatland was elected as a member of the Conservative Party to Croydon Council as a councillor for CrohamCroham (ward)
Croham is a ward in the London Borough of Croydon, covering part of the Croham Hurst and South Croydon area of London in the United Kingdom. The ward currently forms part of Richard Ottaway MP's Croydon South constituency, which is one of the most safe for the Conservatives in London.The ward...
ward and in 2006 became Croydon's cabinet member for education. She says that she never hid her past, but membership of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, did not appear on her CV. When the Conservative Party found out about her Republican past she stepped down as a council cabinet member in early December 2008. At the same time Gatland was suspended by the party, but was later accepted back to the Tory fold.
Personal life
Around 1986 McGuire moved to CroydonCroydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
where she met and married her late husband Mervyn Gatland, who ran a garden maintenance business. Gatland has said that at this time she was very fragile and had two breakdowns.
Further reading
- IRA glamour girl who gave up terror and turned herself into a loyal Tory, Times Online, 6 December 2008