Rita O'Hare
Rita O'Hare (née McCulloch; c. 1943[1] – 3 March 2023) was the General Secretary of Sinn Féin, and from 1998 to 2023 the party's representative to the United States.
Early Life
Born Rita McCulloch on January 13, 1943, in Belfast to her Protestant father, Billy from East Belfast and mother, Maureen, a Catholic. Her father Billy worked in the linen mills and was also a member of the Communist Party.[2]
She married Gerry O’Hare in 1960 aged 17 after finished her education at St Dominic’s Grammar School on Falls Road. They had three children and divorced in the early 1990s. Her second husband was Brendan Brownlee, a republican from Belfast republican with whom she had a fourth child.[2]
Provisional IRA activity
Around 1970, Rita O’Hare would become a member of the Provisional IRA.[2]
In 1971, she served six months in Armagh Gaol for wearing a combat jacket and carrying a hurling stick at a protest. After being released in July, her husband Gerry was interned in August.[2]
In October of the same year, during an armed fight between republicans and the security forces in
Her husband Gerry was released from
Her extradition from the Republic of Ireland was blocked as the
Sinn Fein activity and later life
She was the editor of the Irish republican newspaper An Phoblacht ("Republican News") from 1985 to 1990 and became director of publicity for Sinn Féin in 1990.[2]
Based in Dublin, she was temporarily banned from entering the United States after she traveled to Florida for a meeting (the terms of her special visa require that she first notify authorities before such travel). She was ineligible for a regular visa due to the outstanding warrant.[8]
Rita O'Hare became close friends with Jean Kennedy Smith who served as the US ambassador to Ireland from 1993 to 1998 and played a significant role in the peace process. After having to turn down an opportunity to speak at an event in New York in 1998 due to being “on the run”; Jean Kennedy Smith helped secure her a visa.[2]
She was later asked by Gerry Adams to become the Sinn Féin representative in the USA for two years. The position lasted 21 years and Rita O'Hare travelled between Ireland, USA and Canada during this period. She built up a variety of contacts on Capitol Hill and the White House and she has been photographed with USA presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden as well as Nelson Mandela during a 1995 visit to South Africa.[2]
Based in Dublin, she was temporarily banned from entering the United States after she traveled to Florida for a meeting (the terms of her special visa require that she first notify authorities before such travel). She was ineligible for a regular visa due to the outstanding warrant.[9]
O’Hare died on 3 March 2023, aged 80.[10][1] She died at her home in Dublin following a long illness.[11]
References
- ^ a b Moriarty, Gerry; Kelleher, Olivia (4 March 2023). "'A sad day for republicans': Sinn Féin activist Rita O'Hare dies aged 80". The Irish Times.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Obituary: Rita O'Hare, leading republican who played role in peace process and was Sinn Féin's face in the US". Irish Independent. 12 March 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- Washington Times
- ^ Sinn Fein presents expanded list of North fugitives Irish Echo
- ^ "Rita O'Hare obituary: Leading light in republican movement had a violent past". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ Ms Rita O'Hare House Of Commons Hansard
- ^ Written Answers to Questions, Friday 1 March 1996 House Of Commons Hansard, 1 March 1996 : Column: 727
- ^ Sinn Féin's O'Hare refused US visa RTÉ news
- ^ Sinn Féin's O'Hare refused US visa RTÉ news
- ^ Fitzmaurice, Maurice (4 March 2023). "Sinn Féin announces death of veteran republican Rita O'Hare". BelfastLive. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ "Senior republican Rita O'Hare dies aged 80". BBC News. 4 March 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.