Tommy McKearney
Encyclopedia
Tommy McKearney is an Irish republican
, socialist
, and former hunger strike
r and volunteer
of the Provisional Irish Republican Army
.
in the Irish War of Independence
, his maternal grandfather Tom Murray was an Adjutant General
in the North Roscommon Brigade. McKearney has lost three of his brothers during the Troubles
. Sean was killed by his own bomb in 1974, Pádraig
was killed by the SAS
in Loughgall
in 1987, and Kevin, a non-paramilitary, was killed by Loyalists
in 1992 while working in the family's butcher shop.
without trial was introduced, McKearney received his A-level results. McKearney had hoped to study at Queen's University Belfast and become a teacher but his results were not good enough to secure entry. McKearney describes the introduction of internment as "the straw that broke the camel's back" and decided to join the IRA, becoming a member of the East Tyrone Brigade
. He became the brigade's Officer Commanding
during the mid seventies. On 19 October 1977 he was arrested and charged with the murder of Stanley Adams, a postman and part-time Ulster Defence Regiment
member. McKearney was interrogated for seven days under the Prevention of Terrorism Act
, and claims to have been ill-treated while in custody. McKearney later received a life sentence with a recommended minimum term of twenty years for the murder of Adams, after a statement which he never signed was accepted by the court on the word of a Royal Ulster Constabulary
Inspector.
and dirty protest
s, then took part in the 1980 hunger strike, along with fellow IRA members Brendan Hughes
, Raymond McCartney
, Tom McFeeley, Sean McKenna, Leo Green, and Irish National Liberation Army
member John Nixon. Prior to commencing the hunger strike, McKearney told his mother and father:
McKearney spent 53 days on hunger strike, from 27 October to 18 December, and according to a doctor had only a few hours left to live when the strike was called off.
documentary Life After Life with former Ulster Volunteer Force prisoner Billy Mitchell
. He now works as a freelance journalist, edits the publication Fourthwrite, and is an organiser for the Independent Workers Union of Ireland
.
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...
, socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, and former 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...
r and 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...
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...
.
Background
McKearney was born into a family with a long republican tradition. Both his grandfathers had fought in the Irish Republican ArmyIrish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
in the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
, his maternal grandfather Tom Murray was an Adjutant General
Adjutant general
An Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...
in the North Roscommon Brigade. McKearney has lost three of his brothers 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...
. Sean was killed by his own bomb in 1974, Pádraig
Pádraig McKearney
Pádraig Oliver McKearney was a Marxist-oriented Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer. He was killed in a Special Air Service ambush with seven other IRA men at Loughgall, County Armagh in May 1987.-Background:...
was killed by the SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
in Loughgall
Loughgall
Loughgall is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 285 people.Loughgall was named after a small nearby loch. The village is at the heart of the apple-growing industry and is surrounded by orchards. Along the village's main street...
in 1987, and Kevin, a non-paramilitary, was killed by Loyalists
Ulster loyalism
Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
in 1992 while working in the family's butcher shop.
IRA membership
On 9 August 1971, the day internmentInternment
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...
without trial was introduced, McKearney received his A-level results. McKearney had hoped to study at Queen's University Belfast and become a teacher but his results were not good enough to secure entry. McKearney describes the introduction of internment as "the straw that broke the camel's back" and decided to join the IRA, becoming a member of 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"...
. He became the brigade's 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...
during the mid seventies. On 19 October 1977 he was arrested and charged with the murder of Stanley Adams, a postman and part-time Ulster Defence Regiment
Ulster Defence Regiment
The Ulster Defence Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army which became operational in 1970, formed on similar lines to other British reserve forces but with the operational role of defence of life or property in Northern Ireland against armed attack or sabotage...
member. McKearney was interrogated for seven days under the Prevention of Terrorism Act
Prevention of Terrorism Act (Northern Ireland)
The Prevention of Terrorism Acts were a series of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1974 to 1989 that conferred emergency powers upon police forces where they suspected terrorism....
, and claims to have been ill-treated while in custody. McKearney later received a life sentence with a recommended minimum term of twenty years for the murder of Adams, after a statement which he never signed was accepted by the court on the word of a 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...
Inspector.
Hunger strike
McKearney was involved in the blanketBlanket protest
The blanket protest was part of a five year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison in Northern Ireland. The republican prisoners' status as political prisoners, known as Special Category Status, had...
and dirty protest
Dirty protest
The dirty protest was part of a five year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison and Armagh Women's Prison in Northern Ireland.-Background:Convicted paramilitary prisoners were treated as ordinary...
s, then took part in the 1980 hunger strike, along with fellow IRA members Brendan Hughes
Brendan Hughes
Brendan Hughes , also known as "The Dark", was an Irish republican and former Officer Commanding of the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army...
, Raymond McCartney
Raymond McCartney
Raymond McCartney is a Sinn Féin politician, and a former hunger striker and volunteer within the Provisional Irish Republican Army .-IRA membership:...
, Tom McFeeley, Sean McKenna, Leo Green, and 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....
member John Nixon. Prior to commencing the hunger strike, McKearney told his mother and father:
McKearney spent 53 days on hunger strike, from 27 October to 18 December, and according to a doctor had only a few hours left to live when the strike was called off.
Release
McKearney was released from prison in 1993, having served 16 years of his sentence. In 2003 he appeared in the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary Life After Life with former Ulster Volunteer Force prisoner Billy Mitchell
Billy Mitchell (loyalist)
Billy Mitchell was a Northern Irish community activist and member of the Progressive Unionist Party. Mitchell was a leading member of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force and served a life sentence for his part in a double murder but later abandoned UVF membership and took up cross-community...
. He now works as a freelance journalist, edits the publication Fourthwrite, and is an organiser for the Independent Workers Union of Ireland
Independent Workers Union of Ireland
The Independent Workers Union of Ireland is a trade union in Ireland with its headquarters in Cork City. It was formed by Irish workers dissatisfied with the trade union movement in Ireland which it states, has "become nothing more than an arm of the state and management." It has 1,000 paying...
.