Martin Meehan (Irish republican)
Encyclopedia
Martin Meehan was a Sinn Féin
politician and former volunteer
in the Provisional Irish Republican Army
(IRA). Meehan was the first person to be convicted of membership of the Provisional IRA, and he spent eighteen years in prison during the Troubles
.
area of Belfast
in Northern Ireland
. His father had been imprisoned for republican activities in the 1940s, and his grandfather was killed in the Battle of the Somme. Meehan left school aged 15 and began working at Belfast's docks, and in 1966 he became a member of the Irish Republican Army
. He was sworn in by Billy McMillen
, and described joining as "a big occasion, like joining the priesthood". In 1968 he was arrested for the first time, after he assaulted a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary
(RUC) during a civil rights
march in Derry
. During the August 1969 riots
in Belfast he was one of a handful of IRA members who tried to defend Catholic areas from attack, and resigned as a result of the organisation's failure to adequately protect Catholic areas. Meehan was arrested on 22 August 1969 for riotous behaviour, and was badly beaten before being imprisoned. The beating was so severe Meehan was given the last rites
, the first of four occasions he received them. He was released after spending two months in prison. After his release Billy McKee
convinced Meehan to rejoin the IRA. Meehan sided with the Provisional IRA following the split in January 1970, and by mid-1970 was a senior IRA leader in the Ardoyne area. On 27 June 1970 rioting broke out across Belfast following a parade by the Orange Order, and a gun battle started in the Ardoyne area. Meehan stated:
In the six weeks following the introduction of internment
in August 1971, six soldiers from the Green Howards regiment were killed by the IRA in north Belfast. Meehan became one of the most wanted IRA members in the area, and when arrested he was badly beaten by soldiers and needed 47 stitches to the back of his head. Meehan was imprisoned without charge under the Special Powers Act
in Crumlin Road Jail. Meehan and two other IRA members escaped from prison on 2 December 1971. The men covered themselves in butter in order to keep warm, then hid inside a manhole
for six-and-a-half hours before scaling the prison walls using ropes made from knotted blankets and sheets.
Meehan escaped across the border to Dundalk
in the Republic of Ireland
, and on 27 January 1972 he was arrested by the Garda
along with seven other IRA members following a four-hour cross-border gun battle between the IRA and soldiers from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
. Meehan told reporters "We pasted them. You could have heard them squealing for miles", but despite over 4,500 rounds of ammunition being fired the only casualty was a farmer's prize winning pig. The IRA members were arrested in possession of an anti-tank gun, a carbine
and seven rifles, but were acquitted at their trial the following month due to lack of evidence.
Meehan returned to Northern Ireland, where he was arrested on 9 August 1972. He was charged with escaping from lawful custody, and at his trial successfully argued that under the Special Powers Act a British soldier had no power of arrest and as such he had the legal right to escape. He was awarded £800 in compensation for being illegally detained for twenty-three days, and the government were forced to amend the Special Powers Act to legalise the detention of others held under the Act. He was also charged with membership of the Provisional IRA, and received a three year sentence when he became the first person to be convicted of the offence. He was imprisoned in Long Kesh, and was released on 4 October 1974. At the end of his sentence he was immediately interned without trial, and on 5 December 1975 he was the last internee to be released after internment had been abolished.
On 11 July 1979 the IRA kidnapped a seventeen year old man suspected of being an informer
from a club in the New Lodge
area of Belfast. Over a four day period he was moved between a number of safe house
s where he was beaten and interrogated, and he confessed to working as an informer for the British Army. The victim was rescued by an army patrol which raided the house where he was being held, and one kidnapper was arrested. Meehan and four other men were arrested soon after, and in March 1980 Meehan was sentenced to twelve years imprisonment, after he was found guilty of conspiracy to kidnap and false imprisonment
. Meehan was convicted based largely on the uncorroborated evidence of the informer whose evidence was described by the judge as "poor quality". Meehan protested his innocence, and began a hunger strike
which lasted sixty-six days culminating in a "thirst strike" where he also refused water. His protest ended following the intervention of Cardinal Ó Fiaich, who persuaded Meehan to end his strike. In September 1985 Meehan was released from prison.
In March 1988 Meehan was sentenced to a further fifteen years imprisonment after being convicted of the kidnapping and false imprisonment of a member of the Territorial Army. The soldier had been kidnapped on 12 July 1986 and imprisoned in a house in the Ardoyne area, before being freed in a rescue operation by the British Army. The court heard the soldier had suffered a broken jaw and had been bound and blindfolded in preparation for being shot dead, although Meehan claims he was arrested while attempting to arrange to hand the soldier over to a priest. While in prison Meehan was assaulted by prison officers, for which he later received £14,000 in compensation. He was released from prison on 20 January 1994.
to the Northern Ireland Assembly
in South Antrim
, receiving 3,226 votes. He also stood as a candidate for election to the British House of Commons
in the South Antrim
constituency in the by election of 2000
and the 2001 UK General election
, being unsuccessful each time. On 7 June 2001 he was elected a councillor on Antrim Borough Council. In the 2003 elections
to the Northern Ireland Assembly in South Antrim, Meehan lost by 181 votes to Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
leader David Ford
on the final count. Meehan did not stand in the 2007 Assembly election
, being replaced in South Antrim by Mitchel McLaughlin
, who won a seat.
said he was "shocked and saddened", and that Meehan "gave his whole life to serve both his ideals in republicanism and also the people". He was buried in Milltown Cemetery
on 6 November 2007, pallbearer
s included Gerry Adams
, Martin McGuinness
and Sean Kelly.
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...
politician and former volunteer
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 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). Meehan was the first person to be convicted of membership of the Provisional IRA, and he spent eighteen years in prison during the Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
.
Background and IRA activity
Meehan was born in 1945 in the ArdoyneArdoyne
Ardoyne is an Irish nationalist, working class and mainly Catholic district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during "The Troubles". It is home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants...
area of Belfast
Belfast
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...
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...
. His father had been imprisoned for republican activities in the 1940s, and his grandfather was killed in the Battle of the Somme. Meehan left school aged 15 and began working at Belfast's docks, and in 1966 he became a member of the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army (1922–1969)
The original Irish Republican Army fought a guerrilla war against British rule in Ireland in the Irish War of Independence 1919–1921. Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, the IRA in the 26 counties that were to become the Irish Free State split between supporters and...
. He was sworn in by Billy McMillen
Billy McMillen
Billy McMillen was an Irish republican activist and an officer of the Official Irish Republican Army...
, and described joining as "a big occasion, like joining the priesthood". In 1968 he was arrested for the first time, after he assaulted a member of 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...
(RUC) during a civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
march in Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
. During the August 1969 riots
1969 Northern Ireland Riots
During 12–17 August 1969, Northern Ireland was rocked by intense political and sectarian rioting. There had been sporadic violence throughout the year arising from the civil rights campaign, which was demanding an end to government discrimination against Irish Catholics and nationalists...
in Belfast he was one of a handful of IRA members who tried to defend Catholic areas from attack, and resigned as a result of the organisation's failure to adequately protect Catholic areas. Meehan was arrested on 22 August 1969 for riotous behaviour, and was badly beaten before being imprisoned. The beating was so severe Meehan was given the last rites
Last Rites
The Last Rites are the very last prayers and ministrations given to many Christians before death. The last rites go by various names and include different practices in different Christian traditions...
, the first of four occasions he received them. He was released after spending two months in prison. After his release Billy McKee
Billy McKee
Billy McKee is an Irish republican and was a founding member and former leader of the Provisional Irish Republican Army .-Early life:McKee was born in Belfast in the early 1920s, and joined the Irish Republican Army in 1939. During the Second World War, the IRA carried out a number of armed...
convinced Meehan to rejoin the IRA. Meehan sided with the Provisional IRA following the split in January 1970, and by mid-1970 was a senior IRA leader in the Ardoyne area. On 27 June 1970 rioting broke out across Belfast following a parade by the Orange Order, and a gun battle started in the Ardoyne area. Meehan stated:
In the six weeks following the introduction of internment
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
in August 1971, six soldiers from the Green Howards regiment were killed by the IRA in north Belfast. Meehan became one of the most wanted IRA members in the area, and when arrested he was badly beaten by soldiers and needed 47 stitches to the back of his head. Meehan was imprisoned without charge under the Special Powers Act
Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Act (Northern Ireland) 1922
The Civil Authorities Act 1922, often referred to simply as the Special Powers Act, was an Act passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland shortly after the establishment of Northern Ireland, and in the context of violent conflict over the issue of the partition of Ireland...
in Crumlin Road Jail. Meehan and two other IRA members escaped from prison on 2 December 1971. The men covered themselves in butter in order to keep warm, then hid inside a manhole
Manhole
A manhole is an opening used to gain access to sewers or other underground structures, usually for maintenance.Manhole may also refer to:* Manhole , a metal band from Los Angeles* The Manhole, a computer game...
for six-and-a-half hours before scaling the prison walls using ropes made from knotted blankets and sheets.
Meehan escaped across the border to Dundalk
Dundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
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,...
, and on 27 January 1972 he was arrested by the Garda
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 :...
along with seven other IRA members following a four-hour cross-border gun battle between the IRA and soldiers from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. It was formed on 2 July 1971 at Holyrood, Edinburgh, by the amalgamation of the 3rd Carabiniers The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) (SCOTS DG) is a cavalry regiment of...
. Meehan told reporters "We pasted them. You could have heard them squealing for miles", but despite over 4,500 rounds of ammunition being fired the only casualty was a farmer's prize winning pig. The IRA members were arrested in possession of an anti-tank gun, a carbine
Carbine
A carbine , from French carabine, is a longarm similar to but shorter than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length....
and seven rifles, but were acquitted at their trial the following month due to lack of evidence.
Meehan returned to Northern Ireland, where he was arrested on 9 August 1972. He was charged with escaping from lawful custody, and at his trial successfully argued that under the Special Powers Act a British soldier had no power of arrest and as such he had the legal right to escape. He was awarded £800 in compensation for being illegally detained for twenty-three days, and the government were forced to amend the Special Powers Act to legalise the detention of others held under the Act. He was also charged with membership of the Provisional IRA, and received a three year sentence when he became the first person to be convicted of the offence. He was imprisoned in Long Kesh, and was released on 4 October 1974. At the end of his sentence he was immediately interned without trial, and on 5 December 1975 he was the last internee to be released after internment had been abolished.
On 11 July 1979 the IRA kidnapped a seventeen year old man suspected of being an informer
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
from a club in the New Lodge
New Lodge, Belfast
The New Lodge is an urban, working-class Catholic community in Belfast, Northern Ireland, immediately to the north of city centre. The landscape is dominated by several large tower blocks. The area has a number of murals, mostly sited along the New Lodge Road...
area of Belfast. Over a four day period he was moved between a number of safe house
Safe house
In the jargon of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, a safe house is a secure location, suitable for hiding witnesses, agents or other persons perceived as being in danger...
s where he was beaten and interrogated, and he confessed to working as an informer for the British Army. The victim was rescued by an army patrol which raided the house where he was being held, and one kidnapper was arrested. Meehan and four other men were arrested soon after, and in March 1980 Meehan was sentenced to twelve years imprisonment, after he was found guilty of conspiracy to kidnap and false imprisonment
False imprisonment
False imprisonment is a restraint of a person in a bounded area without justification or consent. False imprisonment is a common-law felony and a tort. It applies to private as well as governmental detention...
. Meehan was convicted based largely on the uncorroborated evidence of the informer whose evidence was described by the judge as "poor quality". Meehan protested his innocence, and began a hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
which lasted sixty-six days culminating in a "thirst strike" where he also refused water. His protest ended following the intervention of Cardinal Ó Fiaich, who persuaded Meehan to end his strike. In September 1985 Meehan was released from prison.
In March 1988 Meehan was sentenced to a further fifteen years imprisonment after being convicted of the kidnapping and false imprisonment of a member of the Territorial Army. The soldier had been kidnapped on 12 July 1986 and imprisoned in a house in the Ardoyne area, before being freed in a rescue operation by the British Army. The court heard the soldier had suffered a broken jaw and had been bound and blindfolded in preparation for being shot dead, although Meehan claims he was arrested while attempting to arrange to hand the soldier over to a priest. While in prison Meehan was assaulted by prison officers, for which he later received £14,000 in compensation. He was released from prison on 20 January 1994.
Political career
Following his release from prison Meehan became a leading member of Sinn Féin, serving on the party's national executive, or Ard Comhairle. He was also chairman of Saoirse, an organisation which campaigned for the release of paramilitary prisoners. Meehan stood in the 1998 electionsNorthern Ireland Assembly election, 1998
-Seats summary:-Details:Although the SDLP won the most first preference votes, the Ulster Unionists won the most seats in the Assembly. This has been attributed to several reasons, including:...
to the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
in South Antrim
South Antrim (Assembly constituency)
South Antrim is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...
, receiving 3,226 votes. He also stood as a candidate for election to the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
in the South Antrim
South Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)
South Antrim is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:From 1885, this constituency was one of four county divisions of the former Antrim constituency...
constituency in the by election of 2000
South Antrim by-election, 2000
Clifford Forsythe, the Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for South Antrim, died on April 27, 2000, precipitating a by-election.-Candidates:...
and the 2001 UK General election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, being unsuccessful each time. On 7 June 2001 he was elected a councillor on Antrim Borough Council. In the 2003 elections
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003
The second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year, were held on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Six members were elected by Single Transferable Vote from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary...
to the Northern Ireland Assembly in South Antrim, Meehan lost by 181 votes to Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is a liberal and nonsectarian political party in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's fifth-largest party overall, with eight seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly and one in the House of Commons....
leader David Ford
David Ford
David Ford is a politician who is a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Ford has been leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland since 2001 and has been Northern Ireland Minister of Justice since April 2010.- Early life :...
on the final count. Meehan did not stand in the 2007 Assembly election
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007
The third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were elected. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, along with the Alliance Party, increase their...
, being replaced in South Antrim by Mitchel McLaughlin
Mitchel McLaughlin
John Mitchel McLaughlin is the former General Secretary of Sinn Féin and an MLA.McLaughlin was born in Derry city, Northern Ireland and educated at Long Tower Boys School, Derry and Christian Brothers Technical College, Derry....
, who won a seat.
Elections contested
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1998 | South Antrim | Sinn Féin | 3,226 | |
| South Antrim by-election, 2000 South Antrim by-election, 2000 Clifford Forsythe, the Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for South Antrim, died on April 27, 2000, precipitating a by-election.-Candidates:... |
South Antrim | Sinn Féin | 2,611 | 8.55 |
| United Kingdom general election, 2001 United Kingdom general election, 2001 The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats... |
South Antrim | Sinn Féin | 4,160 | 9.42 |
| Northern Ireland council election, 2001 | Antrim North West | Sinn Féin | 1,007 | |
| Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003 | South Antrim | Sinn Féin | 4,295 | 11.5 |
| Northern Ireland council election, 2005 | Antrim Line | Sinn Féin | 670 | |
Death
Meehan died on 3 November 2007, after suffering a heart attack at his home. Sinn Féin member Gerry KellyGerry Kelly
Gerard "Gerry" Kelly is an Irish republican politician and former Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer who played a leading role in the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998...
said he was "shocked and saddened", and that Meehan "gave his whole life to serve both his ideals in republicanism and also the people". He was buried 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...
on 6 November 2007, pallbearer
Pallbearer
A pall-bearer is one of several funeral participants who helps carry the casket of a deceased person from a religious or memorial service or viewing either directly to a cemetery or mausoleum, or to and from the hearse which carries the coffin....
s included 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...
, Martin McGuinness
Martin McGuinness
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and the current deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. McGuinness was also the Sinn Féin candidate for the Irish presidential election, 2011. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland....
and Sean Kelly.