Daniel Gerard Morrison (born 9 January 1953) is a former
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...
(IRA) member,
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
author and activist who played a crucial role in public events during
the Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
in
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 ...
. An
Irish republican, Morrison is also a former
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
publicity director and editor of ''
Republican News
Republican News was a longstanding newspaper/magazine published by Sinn Féin. Following the split in physical force Irish republicanism in the late 1960s between the ''Officials'' (Official Sinn Féin — also known as Sinn Féin Gardiner ...
'' and ''
An Phoblacht
''An Phoblacht'' (Irish pronunciation: ; en, "The Republic") is a formerly weekly, and currently monthly newspaper published by Sinn Féin in Ireland. From early 2018 onwards, ''An Phoblacht'' has moved to a magazine format while remaining an ...
''. He is the secretary of the
Bobby Sands
Robert Gerard Sands ( ga, Roibeárd Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh; 9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) was a member (and leader in the Maze prison) of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison M ...
Trust and current chairman of
Féile an Phobail
Féile an Phobail (''The Community's Festival''), also known as the West Belfast Festival is a community arts organisation known for its ''August Féile'' (Festival). The organisation is prominent for its promotion of Irish and international cul ...
, the largest community arts festival in Ireland.
Biography
Early life
Morrison was born in staunchly
Irish nationalist
Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of c ...
Andersonstown
Andersonstown is a suburb of west Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the foot of the Black Mountain and Divis Mountain. It contains a mixture of public and private housing and is largely a working-class area with a strong Irish nationalist and Irish ...
,
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, on 9 January 1953, to Daniel and Susan Morrison. His father worked as a painter at the
Harland and Wolff
Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...
shipyard in East Belfast. The Morrisons were a strongly
republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
family originally from Massereene Street in West Belfast. His uncles had been jailed for their part in the
IRA
Ira or IRA may refer to:
*Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name
*Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name
*Iran, UNDP code IRA
Law
*Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...
's
Northern Campaign in the 1940s; one of his uncles was
Harry White, a prominent IRA member from a previous generation. Morrison joined
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
in 1966 and helped to organise 50th anniversary commemorations of the
Easter Rising in Belfast. At this time, he later recalled, "as far as we were concerned, there was absolutely no chance of the IRA appearing again. They were something in history books".
Provisional IRA
After the
1969 Northern Ireland riots, in which nationalist areas of Belfast were attacked and burned, he joined the newly formed
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 ...
. He believed that, "the IRA had been deliberately run down, so that when August 1969 came, there was little or no defence
f nationalist areas...
oa new IRA was built to ensure that nationalists were never left defenceless again".
After this, he was engaged in clandestine republican activities, but as late as 1971, was still attending Belfast College of Business Studies and editing a student magazine there. Morrison was
interned
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
in
Long Kesh
Long may refer to:
Measurement
* Long, characteristic of something of great duration
* Long, characteristic of something of great length
* Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate
* Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...
in 1972.
Political activist
Morrison's talents for writing and publicity were quickly recognised within the republican movement and after his release in 1975,
Billy McKee
Billy McKee ( ga, Liam Mac Aoidh; 12 November 1921 – 11 June 2019) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican and a founding member and leader of the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
Early life
McKee was born in Belfast on 12 November 1921 ...
, IRA O/C for Belfast, appointed him editor of ''
Republican News
Republican News was a longstanding newspaper/magazine published by Sinn Féin. Following the split in physical force Irish republicanism in the late 1960s between the ''Officials'' (Official Sinn Féin — also known as Sinn Féin Gardiner ...
''. In this journal, he criticised many long-standing policies of the movement, especially the ''
Éire Nua
Éire Nua, or "New Ireland", was a proposal supported by the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin during the 1970s and early 1980s for a federal United Ireland. The proposal was particularly associated with the Dublin-based leadership group centred on ...
'', programme, which advocated a federal
united Ireland
United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the maj ...
with autonomy for
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
. At this time, he became associated with a grouping of young, left-wing Belfast based republicans, led by
Gerry Adams
Gerard Adams ( ga, Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. ...
, who wanted to change the strategy, tactics and leadership of the IRA and Sinn Féin. In particular, Morrison believed the IRA's 1975 ceasefire was 'a disaster'. He was especially critical of IRA killings of other republicans and Protestant civilians.
With the rise of Adams' faction in the republican movement in the late 1970s, Morrison succeed Seán Ó Brádaigh as Director of Publicity for Sinn Féin. During the
1981 Irish hunger strike
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special C ...
, Morrison acted as spokesman for the IRA hunger strikers' leader
Bobby Sands
Robert Gerard Sands ( ga, Roibeárd Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh; 9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) was a member (and leader in the Maze prison) of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison M ...
, who was elected to the British Parliament on an
Anti H-Block
Anti H-Block was the political label used in 1981 by supporters of the Irish republican hunger strike who were standing for election in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. "H-Block" was a metonym for the Maze Prison, within whos ...
platform. According to an intermediary between the IRA leadership and the British government, "Danny Morrison, Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams were the only individuals of sufficient clout to offer the 'persuasion, education and knowledge' to push through any deal" between the strikers and British officials. Blanket protester
Richard O'Rawe and others have claimed that Adams, McGuinness and Morrison withheld an offer and subsequent offers from the British which could have ended the hunger strike after the first four deaths, although this is fiercely disputed by Morrison and Sinn Féin.
At the 1981
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
Ard Fheis
or ''ardfheis'' ( , ; "high assembly"; plural ''ardfheiseanna'') is the name used by many Irish political parties for their annual party conference. The term was first used by Conradh na Gaeilge, the Irish language cultural organisation, for i ...
, Morrison made a famous speech in which he called for the party's constitution to be changed. He said: "Who here really believes we can win the war through the ballot box? But will anyone here object if, with a ballot paper in one hand and an
Armalite
ArmaLite, or Armalite, is an American small arms engineering company, formed in the early 1950s, in Hollywood, California. Many of its products, as conceived by chief designer Eugene Stoner, relied on unique foam-filled fiberglass butt/stock fu ...
in this hand, we take power in Ireland?" It is from this speech that the famous term "
Armalite and ballot box strategy" derived. The term described the two-pronged approach of the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin as it sought to advance the republican cause. In reply, Sinn Féin President Ruairí Ó Brádaigh argued that the Ard Fheis should not "swap a slogan for a policy", referring to ''Éire Nua''. In early 1982,
loyalist paramilitaries unsuccessfully attempted to kill Morrison and his first wife, opening fire on them as they walked from a local bar. Later, at the Ard Fheis in 1982, Morrison famously said of British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
, "She's the biggest bastard we have ever known."
Morrison was elected as a Sinn Féin Member for
Mid Ulster of a short-lived Northern Ireland Assembly from 1982 to 1986. He also stood unsuccessfully for the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
in 1984, receiving 91,476 votes and again in 1989. He also stood for the
Mid Ulster Westminster seat in 1983 and 1986. Morrison, along with
Owen Carron
Owen Gerard Carron (born 9 February 1953) is an Irish republican activist who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 1981 to 1983.
Early life
Carron was born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. He qualified as a teach ...
, was arrested on 21 January 1982 whilst attempting to enter the United States illegally from Canada by car. He was deported and later both men were convicted on a charge of making false statements to US immigration officials.
1990 arrest
Morrison was director of publicity for Sinn Féin from 1979 until 1990, when he was charged with false imprisonment and conspiracy to murder a
double agent
In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organ ...
in the IRA, Sandy Lynch. He was sentenced to eight years in prison and was released in 1995.
The conviction was referred back to the
Court of Appeal by the
Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is the statutory body responsible for investigating alleged miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It was established by Section 8 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 and bega ...
and the convictions of Morrison and the other defendants were overturned in 2008. According to ''
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
'', Lord Chief Justice
Sir Brian Kerr "found the convictions to be unsafe and quashed them." Unusually, the reason was given in a confidential
annex
Annex or Annexe refers to a building joined to or associated with a main building, providing additional space or accommodations.
It may also refer to:
Places
* The Annex, a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada
* The Annex (New H ...
, which Morrison and the others were not allowed access. He claimed that this was because the report contained classified details about double agents working in the IRA and his arrest was a "set-up".
Author
Since 1989, Morrison has published several novels and plays on themes relating to republicanism and events in the modern history of Belfast. His play, ''The Wrong Man'', opened in London in 2005. It is based on his 1997 book of the same name and deals with the career of an IRA man who is suspected by his colleagues of working for the
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
.
His first novel, ''West Belfast'', has been described as “significant for its honest portrayal of a conflict which has been written on extensively by outsiders but rarely by the people involved...This is perhaps the first time that a modern Irish Republican has attempted to show in novel form what his community has gone through under British oppression.” His second book, ''On The Back of the Swallow'', deals with homosexual relationships, loss and the taboo around such relationships during the conflict in Northern Ireland and the treatment of gay men by the RUC. His latest original work, ''Rebel Columns'', was published in 2004 followed by ''Hunger Strike'', which features contributions, poems and stories from
Christy Moore
Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...
and
Ulick O'Connor, with an international view of the hunger strikes from an Iranian man originally published in ''The Blanket''.
''
The Belfast Telegraph
The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant pop ...
'' reviewer wrote that his third book, ''The Wrong Man'' (1997), "should come to be regarded as one of the most important books of the Troubles", while the ''
Sunday Times'' called it "a powerful and complex piece of storytelling". The book is discussed in the ''Oxford Companion to Irish Literature'', which describes it as "a powerful evocation of betrayal, deceit and guilt".
It was adapted into a play that was produced in London in 2005.
His fourth book, 'Then the Walls Came Down: A Prison Journal' (1999), was described in the ''Irish Times'' as 'remarkable as a human document' and compared it to Brendan Behan's 'Borstal Boy'.
Another review in the same newspaper called it 'one of the most important books to emerge from the conflict in Northern Ireland... a vividly humane account of life in prison.
'The Observer commented that in 'post-ceasefire Northern Ireland...the new thinking has come from those involved in the republican war. Danny Morrison's prison memoirs in an honest study of a man seeking fresh solutions to the stalemate the Provos found themselves in at the beginning of the Nineties.' ''The Irish News'' said it was 'invaluable as a rare look at prisoners as human beings.'
''All the Dead Voices'' (2002) is a memoir. It was followed by ''Rebel Columns'' (2004), a collection of articles. Morrison edited ''Hunger Strike: Reflections on the 1981 Hunger Strike'' (2007), which features poems, stories, and reflections on the strike by contributors such as
Tony Benn
Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. A member of the Labour Party, ...
,
Edna O'Brien
Josephine Edna O'Brien (born 15 December 1930) is an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. Elected to Aosdána by her fellow artists, she was honoured with the title Saoi in 2015 and the "UK and Ireland Nobel" ...
and
Christy Moore
Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...
. The publisher describes the book as follows: "Well-known novelists and poets, former prisoners and activists reflect upon the deaths of the ten republican hunger strikers who died in protest to gain political prisoner status from the British government in Northern Ireland. Their deaths proved a turning point in relations between Britain and Ireland in the early 1980s. Most of the pieces here were specifically commissioned, and while they differ greatly, what they have in common is a sense of the intensity of the experience of the hunger strike at the time, and the intensity of the impression made by it even now."
Morrison lives in West Belfast with his Canadian-born wife, Leslie; he has two sons from his first marriage.
The Bobby Sands Trust
The
Bobby Sands Trust was formed after the 1981 Hunger Strike where ten republican prisoners died due to their hunger strike protest against the UK Government. The legal firm Madden & Finucane continues to act for the Trust whose original members were Gerry Adams, Danny Morrison, Tom Hartley, Tom Cahill
eceased Marie Moore (deceased) and Danny Devenny. For a time Bobby's two sisters, Marcella and Bernadette, were members of the Trust. Current members are Gerry Adams MP, Danny Morrison, Tom Hartley, Jim Gibney, Brendan ‘Bik’ McFarlane, Sile Darragh, Caral Ni Chuilin MLA, and Peter Madden.
The BST claims to hold copyright to all the written works of Bobby Sands. The family of Bobby Sands has been critical of the BST and they have called for it to disband. Journalist and author Ed Moloney republished an article he had written for the ''Sunday Tribune'' highlighting that Bobby Sands' next of kin wanted to take legal action against the BST. Moloney, with ex-IRA prisoner and journalist Anthony McIntyre, published an open letter to the BST which detailed their challenge to the legality of the trust.
Select bibliography
* 1989 – ''West Belfast''
* 1994 – ''On the Back of the Swallow''
* 1997 – ''The Wrong Man''
* 1999 – ''Then the Walls Came Down''
* 2002 – ''All the Dead Voices''
* 2004 – ''Rebel Columns''
* 2008 – ''Hunger Strike'' (editor)
* 2010 – ''Rudi''
See also
*
List of Irish writers
This is a list of writers either born in Ireland or holding Irish citizenship, who have a Wikipedia page. Writers whose work is in Irish are included.
Dramatists A–D
*John Banim (1798–1842)
* Ivy Bannister (born 1951)
*Sebastian Barry (born ...
*
List of writers from Northern Ireland
This is a list of writers born or who have lived in Northern Ireland.
__NOTOC__
B
*Tony Bailie (born 1962)
*Jo Bannister (born 1951)
*Colin Bateman (born 1962)
* Ronan Bennett (born 1956)
*Maureen Boyle (born 1961)
*Kenneth Branagh (born 1960) ...
References
External links
Danny Morrison's website*The Broke
ElbowThe Pensive QuillBobby Sands Trust (BST)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Danny
1953 births
Irish republicans
Irish republicans imprisoned on charges of terrorism
Irish republicans interned without trial
Irish socialists
Living people
Male dramatists and playwrights from Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland MPAs 1982–1986
Male novelists from Northern Ireland
Overturned convictions in the United Kingdom
People convicted of making false statements
People deported from the United States
Writers from Belfast
Provisional Irish Republican Army members
Sinn Féin parliamentary candidates