Tony Magan
Encyclopedia
Tony Magan (born 1911, died?) was an Irish
republican and chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Magan was a son of farmer James Magan and his wife Elizabeth, of Kilmore, County Meath.
Magan was interned in the Curragh during the Irish Emergency (during the Second World War). In March 1946, he was arrested along with a number of other IRA men in the Ardee Bar, Dublin. Jailed, he was released in December 1946 along with Micksie Conway. Both men resumed their attempts to reorganise the IRA.
A lifelong bachelor and County Meath
farmer, Magan sold his farm and devoted all his time and money to the IRA. He was appointed IRA chief of staff by the IRA Army Executive at its convention in September 1948. The IRA had almost been destroyed in the 1940s and Magan immediately set out to reorganise the political and military wings of the Republican Movement
, namely the IRA and Sinn Féin
, along with Michael Traynor, Paddy McLogan
, and Tomás Mac Curtain
.
Magan was not a popular choice for the position and several members of his previous IRA Army Council
were not impressed by him but did not oppose his nomination outright. Magan drew support chiefly from Dublin delegates, who felt that "the Army needed a steel core and that Magan could supply it".
Magan was a determined physical force traditionalist. According to J. Bowyer Bell
, he "wanted to create a new Army, untarnished by the dissent and scandals of the previous decade", with "no shadow of a gangster gunman, no taint of communism
, but a band of Volunteers solely dedicated to reuniting Ireland by physical force". Tim Pat Coogan
describes him as "priest-like - who had given all his money, time and thought to the IRA, a deeply religious man of the old-guard school of Irish Catholicism [and] when he was again interned in the Curragh during the 1950s Border Campaign he organised a flourishing branch of the Legion of Mary".
At the 1950 Sinn Féin
Ardfheis, Magan was elected honorary joint secretary of the party. Coogan recounts that Magan's Sinn Féin submitted key political and economic policies for review by friendly clergy, "to ensure that they contained nothing contrary to Catholic teaching". In May 1951, the IRA leadership established a Military Council to draft an overall plan for the Republican Movement as a whole. Its members were Magan (as Chief of Staff), Tomás Mac Curtáin (as chairman of the Army Council), Pádraig Mac Lógáin (as president of Sinn Féin and chairman of the IRA Army Executive), a former British army officer with World War II
experience service who was an expert on guerrilla warfare
, and one other person.
In 1953, Magan played a role in organising and carrying out the Felstead arms raid. Unlike Seán Mac Stiofáin
, Cathal Goulding
, and Manus Canning, later jailed for the raid, Magan evaded arrest and managed to return safely to Ireland.
Magan was chief of staff and the commencement of the IRA's Border Campaign
, codenamed Operation Harvest, which began on 11 December 1956.
He resigned from the Republican Movement in 1962 in a dispute over the relationship between the IRA and Sinn Féin.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
republican and chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Magan was a son of farmer James Magan and his wife Elizabeth, of Kilmore, County Meath.
Magan was interned in the Curragh during the Irish Emergency (during the Second World War). In March 1946, he was arrested along with a number of other IRA men in the Ardee Bar, Dublin. Jailed, he was released in December 1946 along with Micksie Conway. Both men resumed their attempts to reorganise the IRA.
A lifelong bachelor and County Meath
County Meath
County Meath 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 ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...
farmer, Magan sold his farm and devoted all his time and money to the IRA. He was appointed IRA chief of staff by the IRA Army Executive at its convention in September 1948. The IRA had almost been destroyed in the 1940s and Magan immediately set out to reorganise the political and military wings of the Republican Movement
Republican Movement (Ireland)
The Republican Movement is a collective term used to describe the Irish Republican Army and other political, social and paramilitary organisations associated with it.The term is not restricted to any one movement and can include:...
, namely the IRA and 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...
, along with Michael Traynor, Paddy McLogan
Paddy McLogan
Paddy J. McLogan was President of Sinn Féin from 1950–52 and again from 1954 to 1962.Born in Markethill, Co Armagh, he spent some time in Scotland. He joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1913 and the Irish Volunteers. The same year he was imprisoned by the British authorities and went on a...
, and Tomás Mac Curtain
Tomás Mac Curtain
Tomás Mac Curtain was a Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork, Ireland. He was elected in January 1920.He was born at Ballyknockane in the Parish of Mourne Abbey in March 1884. He attended Burnfort National School. In 1897 the family moved to Blackpool on the northside of Cork where he attended The North...
.
Magan was not a popular choice for the position and several members of his previous IRA Army Council
IRA Army Council
The IRA Army Council was the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, more commonly known as the IRA, a paramilitary group dedicated to bringing about the end of the Union between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. The council had seven members, said by the...
were not impressed by him but did not oppose his nomination outright. Magan drew support chiefly from Dublin delegates, who felt that "the Army needed a steel core and that Magan could supply it".
Magan was a determined physical force traditionalist. According to J. Bowyer Bell
J. Bowyer Bell
J. Bowyer Bell was an American historian, artist and art critic.-Background and early life:Bell was born into an Episcopalian family on 15 November 1931 in New York City. The family later moved to Alabama, from where Bell attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, majoring in...
, he "wanted to create a new Army, untarnished by the dissent and scandals of the previous decade", with "no shadow of a gangster gunman, no taint of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, but a band of Volunteers solely dedicated to reuniting Ireland by physical force". Tim Pat Coogan
Tim Pat Coogan
Timothy Patrick Coogan is an Irish historical writer, broadcaster and newspaper columnist. He served as editor of the Irish Press newspaper from 1968 to 1987...
describes him as "priest-like - who had given all his money, time and thought to the IRA, a deeply religious man of the old-guard school of Irish Catholicism [and] when he was again interned in the Curragh during the 1950s Border Campaign he organised a flourishing branch of the Legion of Mary".
At the 1950 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...
Ardfheis, Magan was elected honorary joint secretary of the party. Coogan recounts that Magan's Sinn Féin submitted key political and economic policies for review by friendly clergy, "to ensure that they contained nothing contrary to Catholic teaching". In May 1951, the IRA leadership established a Military Council to draft an overall plan for the Republican Movement as a whole. Its members were Magan (as Chief of Staff), Tomás Mac Curtáin (as chairman of the Army Council), Pádraig Mac Lógáin (as president of Sinn Féin and chairman of the IRA Army Executive), a former British army officer with World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
experience service who was an expert on guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
, and one other person.
In 1953, Magan played a role in organising and carrying out the Felstead arms raid. Unlike Seán Mac Stiofáin
Seán Mac Stíofáin
Seán Mac Stíofáin was an Irish republican paramilitary activist born in London, who became associated with the republican movement in Ireland after serving in the Royal Air Force...
, Cathal Goulding
Cathal Goulding
Cathal Goulding was Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army and the Official IRA.One of seven children born into a republican family in East Arran Street in the north inner city of Dublin, Goulding was involved as teenager in Fianna Éireann, the IRA youth wing which he joined with his...
, and Manus Canning, later jailed for the raid, Magan evaded arrest and managed to return safely to Ireland.
Magan was chief of staff and the commencement of the IRA's 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...
, codenamed Operation Harvest, which began on 11 December 1956.
He resigned from the Republican Movement in 1962 in a dispute over the relationship between the IRA and Sinn Féin.