Dáithí Ó Conaill
Dáithí Ó Conaill | |
---|---|
Chief of Staff of the Continuity Irish Republican Army | |
In office 1986–1991 | |
Vice President of Sinn Féin | |
In office 1978–1983 | |
Preceded by | Joe Cahill |
Succeeded by | Gerry Adams |
Vice President of Republican Sinn Féin | |
Personal details | |
Born | David O'Connell May 1938 Border Campaign The Troubles |
Dáithí Ó Conaill (English: David O'Connell; May 1938 – 1 January 1991) was an
Joins IRA
Ó Conaill was born in
With most of the IRA leadership under arrest or interned, Ó Brádaigh (who had been on the Army Council at the start of the campaign) became
In an altercation with the RUC and
In the October 1961 Irish general election, Ó Conaill ran as a Sinn Féin candidate in the Cork Borough constituency. Winning 1,956 first preference votes (a share of 5.24 per cent), he just missed taking the fifth and final seat.[5]
Upon release, Ó Conaill took up residence in Glencolmcille, County Donegal, where he taught. He also married Deirdre Caffrey, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh's cousin. Ó Conaill worked closely with Fr. James McDyer who was active in rural development. During the late 1960s, Ó Conaill played little part in the activities of the IRA or Sinn Féin.
With the outbreak of
Sides with Provisional IRA
Ó Conaill helped form the
In 1971 he travelled to
Despite his belief in the armed campaign, Ó Conaill was not solely a militarist. He was deeply involved in the drafting of the Éire Nua policy, working with Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, which was launched by Sinn Féin in June 1972. He also played a leading role in the truce negotiations between the IRA and the British government in June–July 1972.
On 13 June 1972, he appeared at an IRA press conference in Derry, along with
On 20 June 1972, he represented the IRA along with Gerry Adams at secret talks at the home of Colonel Sir Michael McCorkell, Ballyarnett, County Londonderry. The British representatives were Frank Steele, who presented himself as a government official but was an MI6 agent, and Philip John Woodfield of the Northern Ireland Office. The meeting lasted four hours and the British side informed the IRA representatives that while Whitelaw refused to offer political status, he was prepared to suspend arrests of republicans and searches of homes. Both sides then agreed to call a ten-day ceasefire.
In a report, Woodfield noted that "There is no doubt whatever that these two at least genuinely want a ceasefire and a permanent end to violence," and of Ó Conaill and Adams that the "appearance and manner of the men was respectable and respectful". "Their response to every argument was reasonable and moderate. (…) Their behaviour and attitude appeared to bear no relation to the indiscriminate campaigns of bombing and shooting in which they have both been prominent leaders."[7]
On 26 June the IRA called a "bilateral truce". On 7 July he was part of the IRA delegation which met with representatives of the British government in London (see article on
After the collapse of the IRA-British government contacts, Ó Conaill maintained informal contacts with
In 1974, at a secret meeting arranged by journalist
In an interview with
Although Ó Conaill was on the run for much of the early 1970s, he managed to make some public appearances. In 1973, he gave the oration at the
While on the run he was prominent in arranging the
Ó Conaill was Officer Commanding (O/C) of the IRA Southern Command for much of the early 1970s until his arrest in July 1975. (He was replaced by Pat Doherty). He was found guilty of IRA membership and imprisoned in Portlaoise Prison, where in 1977 he was one of 20 men who took part in a 47-day hunger strike in protest at conditions in the jail.
On 18 April 1976, he and his son Feargal took part in a parade to commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising in Drumboe, Stranorlar, County Donegal
Soon after the July 1982 bombings that killed 11 soldiers in London, he spoke at a rally in Monaghan and threatened more bombs in Britain.[14]
Involvement in Sinn Féin electoral campaigns
Upon his release from prison, he was active in the
He was the director of elections in the June 1981 Irish general election in which two prisoners were elected to Dáil Éireann: hunger striker Kieran Doherty in the Cavan–Monaghan constituency and prison protester Paddy Agnew in the Louth constituency.
In 1983, along with Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, he resigned from the position of vice-president of Sinn Féin in opposition to the dropping of the Éire Nua policy.
Joins Republican Sinn Féin
At the 1986 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis, he opposed the decision to drop abstentionism to Leinster House. He joined in the walk out led by Ó Brádaigh and was chairman of Republican Sinn Féin from 1986 to 1987 and subsequently a vice-president of the party.
Three days before his death he wrote a document entitled Towards a Peaceful Ireland, which offered a traditionalist republican solution to Irish partition.[16]
Death
On 1 January 1991, his family found him dead at his home in Raheny,[17] Dublin. He had gone to bed complaining of feeling ill.[18] He is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery where a commemoration is held annually.
External links
- Towards a Peaceful Ireland Archived 1 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine Document drafted by Dáithí Ó Conaill shortly before his death.
Notes and references
- ^ Some sources spell his name David O'Connell
- TheGuardian.com. January 2004. Archivedfrom the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- ISBN 9780786485192.
- ^ Robert White, Ruairi O Bradaigh, The Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary, pp. 84–85.
- ^ "ElectionsIreland .com". Archived from the original on 12 September 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2005.
- ISBN 0-253-34708-4.
- ^ "Adams and IRA's secret Whitehall talks". BBC News. 1 January 2003. Archived from the original on 25 March 2006.
- ^ Bowcott, Owen (1 January 2004). "The general, the IRA leader and the plot to assassinate Edward Heath". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 13 December 2004.
- ^ Kevin Myers, Caught between the devils and the IRA, The Sunday Times, 22 October 2006
- ^ "Nordirland]". Die Zeit.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Robert White, Ruairi O Bradaigh, the Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary, 2006, Indiana University Press.
- ^ "The Troubles" (PDF). British Film Institute (BFI). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2005.
- ^ Robert White, Ruairi O Bradaigh, the Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary, p. 239.
- from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ Robert W. White, Ruairi O Bradaigh, The Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary, p. 278.
- ^ Ó Conaill, Dáithí (29 December 1990). "Towards a Peaceful Ireland". Republican Sinn Féin. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
- ^ "Ó Conaill, Daithi | Dictionary of Irish Biography". www.dib.ie. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ "David O'Connell, 53, Reputed Chief of I.R.A". The New York Times. 2 January 1991. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2014.