Proinsias MacAirt

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MacAirt's image as part of a public display of local IRA veterans in the Clonard area of Belfast Prionsias MacAirt.JPG
MacAirt's image as part of a public display of local IRA veterans in the Clonard area of Belfast

Proinsias MacAirt (English: Frank Card) (1922 – 8 January 1992 [1] ) was an Irish republican activist and long-serving member of the Irish Republican Army.

Irish Republican Army organization

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) are paramilitary movements in Ireland in the 20th and the 21st century dedicated to Irish republicanism, the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic from British rule and free to form their own government. The original Irish Republican Army formed in 1917 from those Irish Volunteers who did not enlist in the British Army during World War I, members of the Irish Citizen Army and others. Irishmen formerly in the British Army returned to Ireland and fought in the Irish War of Independence. During the Irish War of Independence it was the army of the Irish Republic, declared by Dáil Éireann in 1919. Some Irish people dispute the claims of more recently created organisations that insist that they are the only legitimate descendants of the original IRA, often referred to as the "Old IRA". The playwright and former IRA member Brendan Behan once said that the first issue on any Irish organisation's agenda was "the split". For the IRA, that has often been the case. The first split came after the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, with supporters of the Treaty forming the nucleus of the National Army of the newly created Irish Free State, while the anti-treaty forces continued to use the name Irish Republican Army. After the end of the Irish Civil War (1922–23), the IRA was around in one form or another for forty years, when it split into the Official IRA and the Provisional IRA in 1969. The latter then had its own breakaways, namely the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA, each claiming to be the true successor of the Army of the Irish Republic.

Contents

Early years

A native of Belfast, MacAirt first became involved in Irish republicanism as a boy when he joined the Fianna Éireann. [2] His first imprisonment was in 1942 when the youthful MacAirt was sent to jail for illegal drilling. [2] MacAirt was later interned during the Irish Republican Army's Border Campaign of 1956-1962. [2]

Belfast City in the United Kingdom, capital of Northern Ireland

Belfast is a city in the United Kingdom, the capital city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast of Ireland. It is the largest city in Northern Ireland and second-largest on the island of Ireland. It had a population of 333,871 as of 2015.

Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic. The development of nationalist and democratic sentiment throughout Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was reflected in Ireland in the emergence of republicanism, in opposition to British rule. This followed hundreds of years of British conquest and Irish resistance through rebellion. Discrimination against Catholics and nonconformists, attempts by the British administration to suppress Irish culture, and the belief that Ireland was economically disadvantaged as a result of the Act of Union were among the specific factors leading to such opposition.

Fianna Éireann

Na Fianna Éireann, known as the Fianna, is an Irish nationalist youth organisation founded by Bulmer Hobson and Constance Markievicz in 1909. Fianna members were involved in the setting up of the armed nationalist body the Irish Volunteers, and had their own circle of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). They took part in the 1914 Howth gun-running and in the 1916 Easter Rising. They were active in the War of Independence and took the anti-Treaty side in the Civil War.

Founding the PIRA

Having retired at some earlier point MacAirt returned to the republican movement in 1969, throwing his lot in with the newly established Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) and their political arm Provisional Sinn Féin. Indeed, in early 1970 his Padraig Pearse cumann , which he set up in the Clonard area of the Falls Road, was the first branch of Provisional Sinn Féin established in Belfast and proved central to the growth of the dissident party in the city. [3] In August 1970 MacAirt was appointed editor of the Belfast-based Republican News , succeeding Jimmy Steele who had died soon after being appointed editor. [4] Despite his advancing age MacAirt also became involved in the gun battles that raged between the republicans from Falls and loyalists from the neighbouring Shankill Road. [5] As a consequence MacAirt became one of the leaders of the nascent PIRA in Belfast. [6] MacAirt was publicly named as a leading republican by General Anthony Farrar-Hockley who had commanded the British Army present during the clashes and with whom MacAirt had held failed negotiations at the scene of conflict. [7] He served as Adjutant to Billy McKee, who was first commander of the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade. [8] According to Brendan Hughes MacAirt's Kane Street home doubled as Belfast Brigade headquarters at this early stage in the movement's history. [9]

Provisional Irish Republican Army Disbanded Irish Republican paramilitary group

The Irish Republican Army, also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate the reunification of Ireland and bring about an independent republic encompassing all of Ireland. It was the biggest and most active republican paramilitary group during the Troubles. It saw itself as the successor to the original IRA and called itself simply the Irish Republican Army (IRA), or Óglaigh na hÉireann in Irish, and was broadly referred to as such by others. The IRA was designated an unlawful terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and an unlawful organisation in the Republic of Ireland.

A cumann is the lowest local unit or branch of a number of Irish political parties. The term cumann may also be used to describe a non-political association.

Falls Road, Belfast Main road through west Belfast in Northern Ireland

The Falls Road is the main road through west Belfast, Northern Ireland, running from Divis Street in Belfast city centre to Andersonstown in the suburbs. Its name is synonymous with the republican community in the city, whilst the neighbouring Shankill Road is predominantly loyalist, separated from the Falls Road by peace lines. The road is usually referred to as the Falls Road, rather than as Falls Road. It is known as the Faas Raa in Ulster-Scots.

On 15 April 1971 MacAirt, along with Billy McKee, was arrested by the British Army when found in possession of a hand gun. [10] Both men were sentenced under the Explosive Substances Act 1883 and sent to Crumlin Road Gaol. [11] In the prison the two men were recognised as the leaders of the republican prisoners, a role held by Gusty Spence on the loyalist side. MacAirt and McKee co-operated informally with Spence to maintain order until they agreed to establish an official Camp Council. The make-up of this group saw MacAirt and McKee representing the PIRA, Spence and an associate identified only as "Robert" representing the Ulster Volunteer Force and Ned McCreery and James Craig as Ulster Defence Association delegates, with members of the Official IRA and Irish National Liberation Army eventually added. [12]

British Army land warfare branch of the British Armed Forces of the United Kingdom

The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of British Armed Forces. As of 2018, the British Army comprises just over 81,500 trained regular (full-time) personnel and just over 27,000 trained reserve (part-time) personnel.

The Explosive Substances Act 1883 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It makes it illegal to use any explosive substance to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, whether or not any explosion actually takes place. A person guilty of an offence under this law is liable to life imprisonment.

Gusty Spence Ulster loyalist

Augustus Andrew "Gusty" Spence was a leader of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), and a leading loyalist politician in Northern Ireland. One of the first UVF members to be convicted of murder, Spence was a senior figure in the organisation for over a decade.

Later activity

MacAirt was involved in the talks held between republicans and clergymen from various Protestant churches held at Feakle on 12 December 1974. Whilst the talks produced little MacAirt was one of those who maintained contact with the clergymen. Indeed, on 19 January 1975 one of the ministers, Rev William Arlow of the Irish Council of Churches, even introduced MacAirt and his ally Jimmy Drumm to British government officials Michael Oatley and James Allan in an attempt to have the republican grievances heard. [13]

Feakle Town in Munster, Ireland

Feakle is a village in County Clare, Ireland, in a civil parish and Roman Catholic parish of the same name.

Michael Oatley is a former Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) officer, involved in the resolution of "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland. He subsequently directed MI6 operations in the Middle East, 1984–88, and in Europe, 1988-91. He was responsible for counter-terrorist operations from 1985-88.

Although a new generation of leaders emerged in the PIRA and Sinn Féin MacAirt remained an influential veteran. He was close to Danny Morrison and Tom Hartley and helped to ensure the removal of Seán Caughey from the editorship of Republican News in 1975 and his replacement by Morrison. [14]

Tom Hartley is a historian and Irish republican politician.

Seán Caughey was an Irish republican, and later a monarchist and activist.

Irish Songs of Freedom

In 1968 MacAirt recorded two vocal songs; Croppy Boy and Flag of the Fianna on the LP record 'Irish Songs of Freedom' produced for the Outlet Recording Co. Ltd, Belfast.

Death

MacAirt died in 1992 at the age of 70. Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams delivered the graveside oration at his funeral, describing him as "a radical in the Connolly tradition". [15]

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References

  1. ↑ IRA Memorial Garden (South Link)
  2. 1 2 3 Richard English, Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA, London, 2004, p. 112
  3. ↑ Brian Feeney, Sinn Féin: A Hundred Turbulent Years, Dublin, 2002, p. 261
  4. ↑ English, Armed Struggle, p. 115
  5. ↑ Tim Pat Coogan, The Troubles: Ireland's Ordeal 1966–1995 and the Search for Peace, Hutchinson, 1995, p. 89
  6. ↑ Coogan, The Troubles, p. 112
  7. ↑ Tim Pat Coogan, The IRA, Palgrave Macmillan, 2002, p. 373
  8. ↑ Ed Moloney, Voices from the Grave: Two Men's War in Ireland, Faber & Faber, 2011, p. 47
  9. ↑ Moloney, Voices from the Grave, p. 51
  10. ↑ Moloney, Ed (2002). A Secret History of the IRA. Penguin Books. p. 98. ISBN   0-14-101041-X.
  11. ↑ Roy Garland, Gusty Spence, Blackstaff Press, 2001, p. 120
  12. ↑ Garland, Gusty Spence, pp. 167–168
  13. ↑ English, Armed Struggle, pp. 178–179
  14. ↑ Patrick Bishop & Eamonn Mallie, The Provisional IRA, Corgi Books, 1994, p. 285
  15. ↑ English, Armed Struggle, pp. 112–113
Media offices
Preceded by
Jimmy Steele 		Editor of Republican News
1970–1973		Succeeded by
Leo Martin
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