Billy Fox (3 January 1939 – 12 March 1974) was an Irish

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

politician who served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the

Cultural and Educational Panel The Cultural and Educational Panel () is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Cultural and Educational Panel elects five s ...

from 1973 to 1974 and a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for the

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

constituency from 1969 to 1973. He was shot dead by IRA gunmen who were carrying out a raid on his girlfriend's farmhouse. Five members of the

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

were convicted of involvement in his murder.

Political career

A member of the

party, Fox was first elected to

Monaghan County Council Monaghan County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Mhuineacháin) is the authority responsible for local government in County Monaghan, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ho ...

in 1967, and as a Fine Gael TD to the

19th Dáil 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics 19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...

for the

constituency at the 1969 general election. He lost his seat at 1973 general election, but later that year he was elected to the 13th Seanad as a Senator for the

. Fox was also one of a handful of members of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

from the minority Protestant community. Fox came to prominence when he campaigned against the British Army's cratering of border roads and its use of CS gas and

rubber bullet Rubber bullets (also called rubber baton rounds) are a type of baton round. Despite the name, rubber bullets typically have either a metal core with a rubber coating, or are a homogeneous admixture with rubber being a minority component. Altho ...

s. On one occasion, he brought

CS gas The compound 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (also called ''o''-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile; chemical formula: C10H5ClN2), a cyanocarbon, is the defining component of tear gas commonly referred to as CS gas, which is used as a riot control agent ...

canisters and rubber bullets into the Dáil chamber and berated the

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

Government's policy on

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. He was forcibly removed from the Dáil and the incident made front-page news.

Death

On the night of Monday 11 March 1974, about a dozen gunmen arrived at the home of Senator Fox's girlfriend, Marjorie Coulson. McKittrick, David. ''Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles''. Random House, 2001. pp.426–427 She lived there with her parents and brother, and Senator Fox regularly visited on Monday evenings. The farmhouse was in the rural townland of Tircooney in

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...

, near the border between

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and Northern Ireland. The gunmen searched the farmhouse and demanded the occupants hand over weapons. As this was taking place, Senator Fox drove down the laneway and was stopped by some of the gunmen who were outside. He ran, but was shot and killed by a single gunshot wound through the upper torso. The gunmen then ordered everyone out of the house, set it on fire, and escaped. The next day, the

Ulster Freedom Fighters The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...

claimed that it had killed Senator Fox because he had links to the Provisional IRA. The IRA issued a statement saying that it was not involved, adding that "Mr Fox was known personally to a number of the leadership of the republican movement". However, shortly after the shooting, five men from County Monaghan were charged with Senator Fox's murder and IRA membership. They were convicted in May 1974 and sentenced to penal servitude for life. One of those convicted told the court they had raided the farm because they received a tip-off that UVF weapons were being stored there. He said there was an agreement that no shots were to be fired. His understanding was that Senator Fox had taken some of the men by surprise and they had shot to wound, not recognizing him. It was reported that the tip-off came from another local family and was the result of a grudge. IRA members were already suspicious that the UVF was receiving local help, following an incident in November 1973."The crime and punishment of Michael Kinsella "
Politico.ie. 1 October 1984. Loyalist gunmen had bombed a house at nearby Legnakelly and shot one of the occupants, a republican activist. In its statement on Fox's killing, the IRA said "We have repeatedly drawn attention to the murderous acts of a group of former

B Specials The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC; commonly called the "B-Specials" or "B Men") was a quasi-military reserve special constable police force in what would later become Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, shortly before the par ...

from Co. Fermanagh … led by serving officers of the British Army". The author Tim Pat Coogan, however, suggests that members of the

Official IRA The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA (OIRA; ) was an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a "workers' republic" encompassing all of Ireland. It emerged ...

were responsible for killing Senator Fox.''The IRA'', Tim Pat Coogan, p. 357; . The Seanad adjourned for a week as a mark of respect. About 500 people attended his funeral at Aughnamullen, including the

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

and the Irish President, Erskine Childers. Fox was the first member of the

to be killed since

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

Kevin O'Higgins Kevin Christopher O'Higgins ( ga, Caoimhghín Críostóir Ó hUigín; 7 June 1892 – 10 July 1927) was an Irish politician who served as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Justice from 1922 to 1927, Minister for External ...

by the anti-Treaty

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...

in 1927. When

John Bruton John Gerard Bruton (born 18 May 1947) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2004 to 2009, Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001, Leader of ...

first became a TD in 1969 he shared an office with Billy Fox. Bruton has said that he is still angry at the murder. The

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

documentary ''Rumours from Monaghan'' reported in detail on the circumstances of Fox's killing. Because Fox was a Protestant,Senator Assassinated
WikiLeaks, 12 March 1974. several TDs have stated that the motive for the killing was sectarian. One of those convicted for Fox's killing, Sean Kinsella, later escaped from

Portlaoise Prison Portlaoise Prison ( ga, Príosún Phort Laoise) is a maximum security prison in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland. Until 1929 it was called the Maryborough Gaol. It should not be confused with the Midlands Prison, which is a newer, medium secur ...

and was later convicted of arms offences and

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

in England. He was released by the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

under the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

. The Senator Billy Fox Memorial Park in Latton is named in his memory. The Cavan-Monaghan

Young Fine Gael Young Fine Gael (YFG) is the autonomous youth wing of Fine Gael, one of Ireland’s major centre-right political parties. It offers its members scope to assist in formulation of political policy, and the day-to-day running of the senior party. ...

branch was also named after him in his memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Billy 1939 births 1974 deaths Politicians from County Monaghan Irish Anglicans Fine Gael TDs Members of the 19th Dáil Members of the 13th Seanad Assassinated Irish politicians People killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army Deaths by firearm in the Republic of Ireland People murdered in the Republic of Ireland Terrorism deaths in Ireland Fine Gael senators 1974 murders in the Republic of Ireland