Martin McCaughey
Encyclopedia
Gerard Patrick Martin McCaughey (24 February 1967 – 9 October 1990) was a volunteer
in the East Tyrone Brigade
of the Provisional Irish Republican Army
(IRA) from Aughnagar, Galbally
, County Tyrone
, Northern Ireland
. McCaughey was killed by undercover British Army
soldiers in County Armagh
on October 1990 along with fellow IRA volunteer, Dessie Grew
. The pair were said to be Britain's two most wanted IRA men at the time.
McCaughey was a talented Gaelic football
player who played for local side Galbally Pearses
and was also selected for the Tyrone minor Gaelic team
.
councillor for Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council
and at that time he was the youngest elected representative in both Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Two months prior to his shooting, McCaughey was disqualified from holding his office on the council as he had failed to appear for a monthly council meeting. After his death the Royal Ulster Constabulary
revealed the explanation behind his disappearance. McCaughey had been shot and wounded in a shoot-out with undercover British Army security forces near Cappagh
, County Tyrone. McCaughey and was taken south across the Irish border in the Republic of Ireland
where he was given hospital treatment and therefore unable to attend the meetings.
Ulster Unionist
MP
and fellow Dungannon councillor Ken Maginnis
alleged that McCaughey had conspired to kill him whilst both sat as councillors.
Fellow Sinn Féin representative, Francie Molloy
, replaced McCaughey on Dungannon Council after a by-election was held following McCaughey's death.
in an operation by undercover British soldiers. A secret undercover intelligence unit named 14 Intelligence Company
, also known as the DET, were monitoring three AK47s at a farm building in a rural part of County Armagh and were aware that the pair were due to remove the guns.
As they were approaching an agricultural shed which was being used to grow mushrooms and also thought to have been an IRA arms dump, as many as 200 shots are believed to have been fired at the two men. British Army reports of the shooting stated that the two men left the shed holding two rifles. Republican sources claim the men were unarmed.
Peter Taylor
in his book and documentary, Brits looks into the ambush of McCaughey and Grew. He says, "14 Intelligence Company, the secret army unit known as "the DET", were monitoring three AK47s at a farm building in County Armagh. There was intelligence that two of the IRA's most wanted men, Martin McCaughey and Dessie Grew, were coming to pick them up that night. The SAS were waiting."
McCaughey was buried at Galbally Cemetery in October 1990.
. In January 2002, Justice Weatherup, a Northern Ireland High Court Judge ordered that official military documents relating to the shooting should be disclosed. However, Police Service of Northern Ireland
(PSNI) Chief Constable Hugh Orde
had the ruling overturned on appeal in January 2005.
There is an ongoing court case relating to the McCaughey's death. In January 2007, the lawyers representing McCaughey and another volunteer, Pearse Jordan
, applied to the House of Lords
to challenge the details of how the inquests into their deaths will proceed.
McCaughey’s father, Owen, sought to compel Chief Constable Hugh Orde
to produce key documents including intelligence reports relevant to the shooting and the report of the RUC's investigating officer.
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 East Tyrone Brigade
Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade
The East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army , also known as the Tyrone/Monaghan Brigade was one of the most active republican paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland during "the Troubles"...
of the Provisional Irish Republican Army
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...
(IRA) from Aughnagar, Galbally
Galbally
Galbally may refer to:*Galbally, County Limerick, Republic of Ireland*Galbally, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland...
, 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...
, 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...
. McCaughey was killed by undercover British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
soldiers in County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
on October 1990 along with fellow IRA volunteer, Dessie Grew
Dessie Grew
Desmond "Dessie" Grew , was a volunteer in the East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army . Grew was killed by undercover British Army soldiers in County Armagh in 1990 along with fellow IRA volunteer, Martin McCaughey.-Background:Grew was the second eldest in a family of seven...
. The pair were said to be Britain's two most wanted IRA men at the time.
Background
McCaughey was the oldest son of Owen and Bridget McGaughey. He was a boyhood friend of several of the "Loughgall Martyrs" including Declan Arthurs, Seamus Donnelly, Tony Gormley and Eugene Kelly, with whom he would travel to local discos and football matches when they were growing up.McCaughey was a talented Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
player who played for local side Galbally Pearses
Galbally, County Tyrone
Galbally is a hamlet and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is between Cappagh and Donaghmore. Its name was formerly spelt as Gallwolly and Gallwally....
and was also selected for the Tyrone minor Gaelic team
Tyrone GAA
The Tyrone County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Tyrone GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Tyrone. The county board is also responsible for the Tyrone inter-county teams....
.
Elected representative
McCaughey, was elected as a Sinn FéinSinn 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...
councillor for Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council
Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council
Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council is a local council in Northern Ireland. Its main town is Dungannon, where the council is headquartered. The council area covers the southern part of County Tyrone and has a population of nearly 48,000...
and at that time he was the youngest elected representative in both Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Two months prior to his shooting, McCaughey was disqualified from holding his office on the council as he had failed to appear for a monthly council meeting. After his death 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...
revealed the explanation behind his disappearance. McCaughey had been shot and wounded in a shoot-out with undercover British Army security forces near Cappagh
Cappagh
Cappagh is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is between Pomeroy, Ballygawley, Galbally and Carrickmore, with the hamlet of Galbally about one mile to the east...
, County Tyrone. McCaughey and was taken south across the Irish border in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
where he was given hospital treatment and therefore unable to attend the meetings.
Ulster Unionist
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
and fellow Dungannon councillor Ken Maginnis
Ken Maginnis, Baron Maginnis of Drumglass
Kenneth Wiggins Maginnis, Lord Maginnis of Drumglass is a Northern Irish Ulster Unionist politician who sits in the House of Lords...
alleged that McCaughey had conspired to kill him whilst both sat as councillors.
Fellow Sinn Féin representative, Francie Molloy
Francie Molloy
Francie Molloy MLA is a Sinn Féin politician and a deputy speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.He first stood for Sinn Féin in Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the 1982 Assembly Elections finishing as runner-up 542 votes behind the DUP candidate with over 1400 SDLP votes non-transferable...
, replaced McCaughey on Dungannon Council after a by-election was held following McCaughey's death.
Ambush at Loughgall
Martin McCaughey was shot dead along with Dessie GrewDessie Grew
Desmond "Dessie" Grew , was a volunteer in the East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army . Grew was killed by undercover British Army soldiers in County Armagh in 1990 along with fellow IRA volunteer, Martin McCaughey.-Background:Grew was the second eldest in a family of seven...
in an operation by undercover British soldiers. A secret undercover intelligence unit named 14 Intelligence Company
14 Intelligence Company
14 Field Security and Intelligence Company is alleged to have been an element of the British Army Intelligence Corps which operated in Northern Ireland from the 1970s onwards. The unit conducted undercover surveillance operations against suspected members of Irish republican and loyalist...
, also known as the DET, were monitoring three AK47s at a farm building in a rural part of County Armagh and were aware that the pair were due to remove the guns.
As they were approaching an agricultural shed which was being used to grow mushrooms and also thought to have been an IRA arms dump, as many as 200 shots are believed to have been fired at the two men. British Army reports of the shooting stated that the two men left the shed holding two rifles. Republican sources claim the men were unarmed.
Peter Taylor
Peter Taylor (Journalist)
Peter Taylor born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire is a British journalist and documentary-maker who had covered for many years the political and armed conflict in Northern Ireland, widely known as the Troubles...
in his book and documentary, Brits looks into the ambush of McCaughey and Grew. He says, "14 Intelligence Company, the secret army unit known as "the DET", were monitoring three AK47s at a farm building in County Armagh. There was intelligence that two of the IRA's most wanted men, Martin McCaughey and Dessie Grew, were coming to pick them up that night. The SAS were waiting."
McCaughey was buried at Galbally Cemetery in October 1990.
Events following McCaughey's death
The family of McCaughey claimed that he and Grew were ambushed after a stakeout by the SASSAS System
SAS is an integrated system of software products provided by SAS Institute Inc. that enables programmers to perform:* retrieval, management, and mining* report writing and graphics* statistical analysis...
. In January 2002, Justice Weatherup, a Northern Ireland High Court Judge ordered that official military documents relating to the shooting should be disclosed. However, Police Service of Northern Ireland
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....
(PSNI) Chief Constable Hugh Orde
Hugh Orde
Sir Hugh Stephen Roden Orde, OBE, QPM is the current President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, representing the 44 police forces of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Between 2002-2009 he was the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland .Sir Hugh joined London's...
had the ruling overturned on appeal in January 2005.
There is an ongoing court case relating to the McCaughey's death. In January 2007, the lawyers representing McCaughey and another volunteer, Pearse Jordan
Pearse Jordan
Pearse Jordan was a Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer killed whilst unarmed, by a Royal Ulster Constabulary officer...
, applied to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
to challenge the details of how the inquests into their deaths will proceed.
McCaughey’s father, Owen, sought to compel Chief Constable Hugh Orde
Hugh Orde
Sir Hugh Stephen Roden Orde, OBE, QPM is the current President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, representing the 44 police forces of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Between 2002-2009 he was the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland .Sir Hugh joined London's...
to produce key documents including intelligence reports relevant to the shooting and the report of the RUC's investigating officer.