Seamus Twomey
Encyclopedia
Seamus Twomey was an Irish republican
and twice chief of staff of the Provisional IRA.
, Twomey lived at 6 Sevastopol Street in the Falls district. Known as “Thumper” owing to his short temper and habit of banging his fist on tables, he received little education and was a bookmaker
's (bookie's) 'runner'.
He began his involvement with the Irish Republican Army in the 1930s and was interned in Northern Ireland
during the 1940s. He opposed the leftwing shift of Cathal Goulding
in the 1960s, and in 1968, helped set up the breakaway Andersonstown Republican Club (later the Roddy McCorley Society).
In 1969, he was prominent in the establishment of the Provisional IRA. By 1972, he was Officer Commanding
of the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade
when it launched its bomb blitz of the city, including Bloody Friday
when nine people died. During the 1970s, the leadership of the Belfast Brigade of the IRA was largely in the hands of Twomey, Ivor Bell
and Gerry Adams
.
In March 1973, Twomey was first appointed IRA chief of staff after the arrest of Joe Cahill
. He remained in this position until his arrest in October 1973 by the Garda Síochána
. Three weeks later, on 31 October 1973, the IRA organised the helicopter escape
of Twomey and his fellow IRA members J.B. O'Hagan and Kevin Mallon
, when a team hijacked
and forced the pilot at gun-point to land the helicopter
in the training yard of Mountjoy Prison
. After his escape, he returned to his membership of IRA's Army Council
.
By June/July 1974, Twomey was IRA chief of staff for a second time. He took part in the Feakle talks between the IRA and Protestant clergymen in December 1974. In the IRA truce which followed in 1975, Twomey was largely unsupportive and wanted to fight on in what he saw as “one big push to finish it once and for all”.
IRA informer Sean O'Callaghan
claims that on 5 January 1976, Twomey and Brian Keenan
gave the go-ahead for the Kingsmill massacre
, when 10 Protestant workmen were killed by the Provisional IRA in retaliation for the earlier loyalist killings of five Catholics in the same area. It was Keenan's view, O'Callaghan claims, that “The only way to knock the nonsense out of the Prods is to be 10 times more savage”.
Twomey was dedicated to armed struggle as a means of unifying Ireland. In an interview with French television on 11 July 1977, he declared that although the IRA had fought for seven years, it could fight on for another 70 against the British in Northern Ireland as well as Britain.
In December 1977, he was captured in Sandycove
, Dublin by the Garda Síochána
, who had been tipped-off by Belgian police about a concealed arms shipment, to be delivered to a bogus company with an address in the area. They swooped on a house in Martello Terrace to discover Twomey outside in his car, wearing his trademark dark shades. After a high-speed pursuit, he was recaptured in the centre of Dublin. The Gardaí later found documents in his possession outlining proposals for the structural reorganisation of the IRA according to the cell system. Twomey's arrest ended his tenure as IRA chief of staff.
In the 1986 IRA split over abstentionism
, Twomey sided with the Adams leadership and remained with the Provisionals.
After a long illness, Twomey died in Dublin in 1989 but was buried in the family plot in Milltown Cemetery
, Belfast. His funeral was attended by about 2,000 people. As Twomey is listed on the IRA’s roll of honour under the category GHQ staff, this suggests that he was a member of the IRA’s leadership until his death.
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
and twice chief of staff of the Provisional IRA.
Biography
Born in BelfastBelfast
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...
, Twomey lived at 6 Sevastopol Street in the Falls district. Known as “Thumper” owing to his short temper and habit of banging his fist on tables, he received little education and was a bookmaker
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
's (bookie's) 'runner'.
He began his involvement with the Irish Republican Army in the 1930s and was interned 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...
during the 1940s. He opposed the leftwing shift of 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...
in the 1960s, and in 1968, helped set up the breakaway Andersonstown Republican Club (later the Roddy McCorley Society).
In 1969, he was prominent in the establishment of the Provisional IRA. By 1972, he was Officer Commanding
Officer Commanding
The Officer Commanding is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit , principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, the term Commanding Officer is applied to commanders of minor as well as major units.Normally an Officer Commanding is a company, squadron or battery...
of the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade
Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade
The Belfast Brigade of the Provisional IRA was the largest of the organisation's command areas, based in the city of Belfast. Founded in 1969, along with the formation of the Provisional IRA, it was historically organised into three battalions; the First Battalion based in the...
when it launched its bomb blitz of the city, including 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....
when nine people died. During the 1970s, the leadership of the Belfast Brigade of the IRA was largely in the hands of Twomey, Ivor Bell
Ivor Bell
Ivor Malachy Bell is an Irish republican, and a former volunteer in the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who later became Chief of Staff on the Army Council.-IRA career:...
and 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...
.
In March 1973, Twomey was first appointed IRA chief of staff after the arrest of Joe Cahill
Joe Cahill
Joe Cahill was a prominent Irish republican and former chief of staff of the Provisional Irish Republican Army .- Background :In May 1920, Cahill was born in Divis Street in West Belfast, Ireland, where his parents had been neighbours of the Scottish-born Irish revolutionary James Connolly.Cahill...
. He remained in this position until his arrest in October 1973 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 :...
. Three weeks later, on 31 October 1973, the IRA organised the helicopter escape
1973 Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape
The Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape occurred on 31 October 1973 when three Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers escaped from Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, Ireland, aboard a hijacked Alouette II helicopter, which briefly landed in the prison's exercise yard...
of Twomey and his fellow IRA members J.B. O'Hagan and Kevin Mallon
Kevin Mallon
- Biography and career :Kevin Mallon was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and studied in Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, United Kingdom, where he was influenced by John Eliot Gardiner...
, when a team hijacked
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
and forced the pilot at gun-point to land the helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
in the training yard of 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...
. After his escape, he returned to his membership of IRA's Army Council
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...
.
By June/July 1974, Twomey was IRA chief of staff for a second time. He took part in the Feakle talks between the IRA and Protestant clergymen in December 1974. In the IRA truce which followed in 1975, Twomey was largely unsupportive and wanted to fight on in what he saw as “one big push to finish it once and for all”.
IRA informer Sean O'Callaghan
Sean O'Callaghan
Sean O'Callaghan is a former member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who became an informer for the Garda Síochána and who was later debriefed by the UK's MI5 in the Netherlands...
claims that on 5 January 1976, Twomey 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,...
gave the go-ahead for the Kingsmill massacre
Kingsmill massacre
The Kingsmill massacre took place on 5 January 1976 near the village of Kingsmill in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Ten Protestant men were taken from a minibus and shot dead by a group calling itself the South Armagh Republican Action Force...
, when 10 Protestant workmen were killed by the Provisional IRA in retaliation for the earlier loyalist killings of five Catholics in the same area. It was Keenan's view, O'Callaghan claims, that “The only way to knock the nonsense out of the Prods is to be 10 times more savage”.
Twomey was dedicated to armed struggle as a means of unifying Ireland. In an interview with French television on 11 July 1977, he declared that although the IRA had fought for seven years, it could fight on for another 70 against the British in Northern Ireland as well as Britain.
In December 1977, he was captured in Sandycove
Sandycove
Sandycove is an area of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Dún Laoghaire and Glasthule, but north of Dalkey.Sandycove is well-known for its gentlemen's bathing place, the Forty Foot, which in the past afforded a quiet swimming haven for males only...
, Dublin 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 :...
, who had been tipped-off by Belgian police about a concealed arms shipment, to be delivered to a bogus company with an address in the area. They swooped on a house in Martello Terrace to discover Twomey outside in his car, wearing his trademark dark shades. After a high-speed pursuit, he was recaptured in the centre of Dublin. The Gardaí later found documents in his possession outlining proposals for the structural reorganisation of the IRA according to the cell system. Twomey's arrest ended his tenure as IRA chief of staff.
In the 1986 IRA split over abstentionism
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...
, Twomey sided with the Adams leadership and remained with the Provisionals.
After a long illness, Twomey died in Dublin in 1989 but was buried in the family plot in Milltown Cemetery
Milltown Cemetery
Milltown Cemetery is a large cemetery in west Belfast, Northern Ireland.It lies within the townland of Ballymurphy, between Falls Road and the M1 motorway. Milltown Cemetery opened in 1869 and there are now approximately 200,000 of Belfast's citizens buried there. Most of those buried there are...
, Belfast. His funeral was attended by about 2,000 people. As Twomey is listed on the IRA’s roll of honour under the category GHQ staff, this suggests that he was a member of the IRA’s leadership until his death.
Twomey quotations
- “I have most of my life been brought up in a Republican tradition ... However, I grew up in a situation of such degradation and unemployment and humiliation that the life our people lived was just no life at all. I said to myself that when I grow up and get married I will want for my children something better than this.”
- “To hold back and pretend that it doesn't affect you is to take the easy way out. To take up arms and fight back is hard and dangerous. It takes courage and devotion to your people to take the hard road to freedom.
- "Our first prime and main objective is the unification of our country. This means getting the British out of the occupied part of the country. After that the whole system in North and South would have to be changed”
Further reading
- Death of Volunteer Séamus Twomey, An Phoblacht/Republican News, 16 September 1999.
- Sean Cronin, Irish Nationalism: A History and its Roots and Ideology, Dublin: The Academy Press, 1980, p. 214
- Volunteer Seamus Twomey 1919-'89 : a tribute, Dublin: Sinn FéinSinn FéinSinn 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...
, ca. 1990.