Seamus Costello
Encyclopedia
Seamus Costello was a leader of Official Sinn Féin
and the Official Irish Republican Army and latterly of the Irish Republican Socialist Party
(IRSP) and the Irish National Liberation Army
(INLA).
He argued for a combination of socialist politics on economic issues and traditional "physical force" Irish republicanism
. He is best remembered for the founding of the IRSP and the INLA. He was a victim of the feud with his former comrades in the Official IRA.
, County Wicklow
, he was educated at Christian Brothers College, Monkstown. He left school at 15 and became a mechanic and later car salesman in Dublin.
At the age of 16 he joined Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Army. Within a year, he was commanding an active service unit of the IRA in south County Londonderry
during the Border Campaign
, where his leadership skills and his burning down of the courthouse in Magherafelt
earned him the nickname of "the Boy General". The most publicised actions of his unit included the destruction of bridges and the burning of Magherafelt
courthouse.
He was arrested in Glencree
, County Wicklow
, in 1957 and sentenced to six months in Mountjoy Prison
. On his release, he was immediately interned in the Curragh
prison camp for two years.
He spent his time in prison studying. He was particularly inspired by his studies of the Vietnam
ese struggle. He became a member of the escape committee which engineered the successful escapes of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
and Dáithí Ó Conaill
, among others. Costello would later refer to this time as his "university days".
as Sinn Féin's local organiser. Costello strongly supported the movement's left-wing orientation of these years - especially its emphasis on grassroots political activism. He helped found a strong tenants' association in Bray
, and also became involved with the credit union
movement and various farmers' organisations. During this period, he found time to marry a Tipperary
woman, Maeliosa, who also became active in the republican movement. Costello stood for election to the Bray Urban District Council and the Wicklow county council in 1966 and was successful.
After the Troubles
broke out in Northern Ireland
in 1969, the IRA and Sinn Féin both split over abstentionism
and the "left-wing" faction's "extreme socialism" politics. During the split of the Republican Movement into Official and Provisional movements in 1969, Costello remained with the Officials, due to their greater commitment to left wing politics. He served as Vice-President of Official Sinn Féin and as a staff officer in the Official IRA
.
Costello was opposed to the 1972 ceasefire and he began to clash openly with the leadership and with Eoin O'Murchu. Costello was subjected to a court martial in 1974. Brigid Makowski
, who was called to testify at his court martial in Mornington in County Louth, remarked that "Jesus could have testified on Costello's behalf and it wouldn't have changed the verdict." He was dismissed from OSF in 1974 after the OSF leadership blocked his supporters from attending the party convention.
He enjoyed considerable political support, being elected as chairman of Bray town council and topping the poll in his Bray county council constituency.
was formed by republicans, socialists, and trade unionists with Costello as the Chairperson.
At a private meeting later the same day, the Irish National Liberation Army
was formed with Costello as the Chief of Staff, although its existence was to be kept secret for a time. The new grouping intended to combine left politics with the "armed struggle" against British security forces in Northern Ireland.
Within days of its founding, the fledgling Irish Republican Socialist Movement
was embroiled in a bitter feud with the Official IRA. The feud resulted in the attempted assassination of Official IRA leader Sean Garland
who was wounded in an IRSP attack near his home in the Ballymun area of Dublin (Garland was wounded six times but survived the attack). Before a truce was reached, three members of the IRSP were dead. Later that same year, Bernadette McAliskey resigned from the IRSP over the failure of a motion that would have brought the INLA under IRSP control, taking over half of the Árd Chomhairle members with her.
In July 1976 Costello was replaced as INLA chief-of-staff by South Derry man Eddy McNicholl, although he still wielded considerable influence within the movement, retaining his position as chairman of the IRSP.
Costello was the first (and so far only) leader of an Irish political party to be murdered.
At the time of his death, he was a member of the following bodies:
as well as still holding the positions of
His funeral was attended by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
, the then president of Sinn Féin
, Michael O'Riordan
of the Communist Party of Ireland
, Bernadette McAliskey and local Wicklow TD
s Liam Kavanagh
(Labour
), Ciarán Murphy
(Fianna Fáil
) and Godfrey Timmins
(Fine Gael
). At his funeral, Senator Nora Connolly O'Brien
, daughter of the Easter Rising
leader James Connolly
, gave the oration.
Workers' Party of Ireland
The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
and the Official Irish Republican Army and latterly of the Irish Republican Socialist Party
Irish Republican Socialist Party
The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP is a republican socialist party active in Ireland. It claims the legacy of socialist revolutionary James Connolly, who founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in 1896 and was executed after the Easter Rising of 1916.- History :The Irish Republican...
(IRSP) and the Irish National Liberation Army
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
(INLA).
He argued for a combination of socialist politics on economic issues and traditional "physical force" Irish republicanism
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...
. He is best remembered for the founding of the IRSP and the INLA. He was a victim of the feud with his former comrades in the Official IRA.
Early life: IRA Border Campaign
Born into a middle class family in BrayBray
Bray is a town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is a busy urban centre and seaside resort, with a population of 31,901 making it the fourth largest in Ireland as of the 2006 census...
, County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
, he was educated at Christian Brothers College, Monkstown. He left school at 15 and became a mechanic and later car salesman in Dublin.
At the age of 16 he joined Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Army. Within a year, he was commanding an active service unit of the IRA in south County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
during the Border Campaign
Border Campaign (IRA)
The Border Campaign was a campaign of guerrilla warfare carried out by the Irish Republican Army against targets in Northern Ireland, with the aim of overthrowing British rule there and creating a united Ireland.Popularly referred to as the Border Campaign, it was also referred to as the...
, where his leadership skills and his burning down of the courthouse in Magherafelt
Magherafelt
Magherafelt is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,372 people recorded in the 2001 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of County Londonderry and is the social, economic and political hub of the area...
earned him the nickname of "the Boy General". The most publicised actions of his unit included the destruction of bridges and the burning of Magherafelt
Magherafelt
Magherafelt is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,372 people recorded in the 2001 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of County Londonderry and is the social, economic and political hub of the area...
courthouse.
He was arrested in Glencree
Glencree
Glencree is a valley in the Wicklow Mountains in eastern Ireland. It is the second closest valley in the mountains to Dublin city, the first being Glencullen. The river Dargle flows down the valley, which rises to a height of abut 400 metres...
, County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
, in 1957 and sentenced to six months in 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...
. On his release, he was immediately interned in the Curragh
Curragh Camp
The Curragh Camp is an army base and military college located in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Irish Army.- Brief history of the Curragh's military heritage :...
prison camp for two years.
He spent his time in prison studying. He was particularly inspired by his studies of the Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese struggle. He became a member of the escape committee which engineered the successful escapes of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh is an Irish republican. He is a former chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army , former president of Sinn Féin and former president of Republican Sinn Féin.-Early life:...
and Dáithí Ó Conaill
Dáithí 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:...
, among others. Costello would later refer to this time as his "university days".
Political activism
After his release, Costello worked to rebuild the republican movement, beginning by building a local base of support in County WicklowCounty Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
as Sinn Féin's local organiser. Costello strongly supported the movement's left-wing orientation of these years - especially its emphasis on grassroots political activism. He helped found a strong tenants' association in Bray
Bray
Bray is a town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is a busy urban centre and seaside resort, with a population of 31,901 making it the fourth largest in Ireland as of the 2006 census...
, and also became involved with the credit union
Credit union
A credit union is a cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members and operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit at competitive rates, and providing other financial services to its members...
movement and various farmers' organisations. During this period, he found time to marry a Tipperary
Tipperary
Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....
woman, Maeliosa, who also became active in the republican movement. Costello stood for election to the Bray Urban District Council and the Wicklow county council in 1966 and was successful.
After 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...
broke out 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...
in 1969, the IRA and Sinn Féin both 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...
and the "left-wing" faction's "extreme socialism" politics. During the split of the Republican Movement into Official and Provisional movements in 1969, Costello remained with the Officials, due to their greater commitment to left wing politics. He served as Vice-President of Official Sinn Féin and as a staff officer in the Official IRA
Official IRA
The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA is an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to create a "32-county workers' republic" in Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of "The Troubles"...
.
Costello was opposed to the 1972 ceasefire and he began to clash openly with the leadership and with Eoin O'Murchu. Costello was subjected to a court martial in 1974. Brigid Makowski
Brigid Makowski
Brigid Makowski from the Bogside in Derry, Northern Ireland, is a former member of Shannon Town Commission and Clare County Council. She was elected initially representing the Irish Republican Socialist Party of which she was a founding member....
, who was called to testify at his court martial in Mornington in County Louth, remarked that "Jesus could have testified on Costello's behalf and it wouldn't have changed the verdict." He was dismissed from OSF in 1974 after the OSF leadership blocked his supporters from attending the party convention.
He enjoyed considerable political support, being elected as chairman of Bray town council and topping the poll in his Bray county council constituency.
Founds INLA and IRSP
At a meeting in the Lucan Spa Hotel near Dublin, on 10 December 1974, the Irish Republican Socialist PartyIrish Republican Socialist Party
The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP is a republican socialist party active in Ireland. It claims the legacy of socialist revolutionary James Connolly, who founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in 1896 and was executed after the Easter Rising of 1916.- History :The Irish Republican...
was formed by republicans, socialists, and trade unionists with Costello as the Chairperson.
At a private meeting later the same day, the Irish National Liberation Army
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
was formed with Costello as the Chief of Staff, although its existence was to be kept secret for a time. The new grouping intended to combine left politics with the "armed struggle" against British security forces in Northern Ireland.
Within days of its founding, the fledgling Irish Republican Socialist Movement
Irish Republican Socialist Movement
The Irish Republican Socialist Movement is an umbrella term for the political-paramilitary grouping of the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the Irish National Liberation Army, prisoners who belong to either the IRSP or the INLA, the Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America, and the...
was embroiled in a bitter feud with the Official IRA. The feud resulted in the attempted assassination of Official IRA leader Sean Garland
Seán Garland
Seán Garland is a former President of the Workers' Party in Ireland.-Early Life:Born at Belvedere Place, off Mountjoy Square in Dublin, Garland joined the Irish Republican Army in 1953. In 1954, he briefly joined the British Army as an IRA agent and collected intelligence on Gough Barracks in...
who was wounded in an IRSP attack near his home in the Ballymun area of Dublin (Garland was wounded six times but survived the attack). Before a truce was reached, three members of the IRSP were dead. Later that same year, Bernadette McAliskey resigned from the IRSP over the failure of a motion that would have brought the INLA under IRSP control, taking over half of the Árd Chomhairle members with her.
In July 1976 Costello was replaced as INLA chief-of-staff by South Derry man Eddy McNicholl, although he still wielded considerable influence within the movement, retaining his position as chairman of the IRSP.
Death
Despite the truce, Costello was shot dead as he sat in his car on the North Strand Road in Dublin on 5 October 1977 by a member of the Official IRA, Jim Flynn who happened to be in the area at the time. The Official and Provisional IRAs both denied responsibility and Sinn Féin/The Workers' Party issued a statement condemning the killing. Members of an opposing INLA faction in Belfast also denied the killing. However, the INLA eventually deemed Flynn the person responsible, and he was shot dead in June 1982 in the North Strand, Dublin, very close to the spot where Costello died.Costello was the first (and so far only) leader of an Irish political party to be murdered.
At the time of his death, he was a member of the following bodies:
- Wicklow County Council
- County Wicklow Committee of Agriculture
- General Council of Committees of Agriculture
- Eastern Regional Development Organisation
- National Museum Development Committee
- Bray Urban District Council
- Bray Branch of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union
- Bray and District Trade Unions Council (of which he was president 1976-77)
- Cualann Historical Society
as well as still holding the positions of
- Chairperson of the IRSP and
- Chief of Staff of the INLA.
His funeral was attended by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh is an Irish republican. He is a former chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army , former president of Sinn Féin and former president of Republican Sinn Féin.-Early life:...
, the then president of Sinn Féin
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...
, Michael O'Riordan
Michael O'Riordan
Michael O'Riordan was the founder of the Communist Party of Ireland and also fought with the Connolly Column in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.-Early life:...
of the Communist Party of Ireland
Communist Party of Ireland
The Communist Party of Ireland is a small all-Ireland Marxist party, founded in 1933. An earlier party, the Socialist Party of Ireland, was renamed the Communist Party of Ireland in 1921 on its affiliation to the Communist International but was dissolved in 1924. The present-day CPI was founded in...
, Bernadette McAliskey and local Wicklow TD
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
s Liam Kavanagh
Liam Kavanagh
Liam Kavanagh is a former Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1969 general election as a Labour Party Teachta Dála for the Wicklow constituency. He remained in the Dáil until losing his seat at the 1997 general election...
(Labour
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
), Ciarán Murphy
Ciarán Murphy
Ciarán Murphy is a retired Irish Fianna Fáil party politician who was a Teachta Dála for Wicklow from 1973 to 1982.A secondary school teacher before entering politics, Murphy was elected to Dáil Éireann on his first attempt, at the 1973 general election...
(Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
) and Godfrey Timmins
Godfrey Timmins
Michael "Godfrey" Timmins was a former Irish Fine Gael party TD who served for more than thirty years in Dáil Éireann.- Early and private life :Born in Weaver's Square, Baltinglass, County Wicklow, Godfrey was the eldest of four children...
(Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
). At his funeral, Senator Nora Connolly O'Brien
Nora Connolly O'Brien
Nora Connolly O'Brien was an activist and writer; she was also a member of the Irish Senate.The second daughter of James Connolly and Lillie Connolly, she was born in Scotland. In 1904, the family moved to the United States and moved to Belfast in 1907...
, daughter of the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
leader James Connolly
James Connolly
James Connolly was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents and spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of...
, gave the oration.