Gerry McGeough (born 1958, near
Dungannon,
County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...
) is a prominent
Irish republican who was a
volunteer
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...
in the
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), 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 ...
activist and editor of the defunct ''
The Hibernian'' magazine. McGeough broke with Sinn Féin in 2001 and he is now an independent
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...
/
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
activist. McGeough was set to serve 20 years imprisonment after being found guilty in 2011 for attempted murder, although he was released two years later, on 29 January 2013, 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 ...
.
Early life
McGeough joined the
Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade
The East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), also known as the Tyrone/Monaghan Brigade was one of the most active republican paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland during "the Troubles". It is believed to have drawn ...
in 1975, aged 16. According to
Tim Pat Coogan, Gerry McGeough was beaten by
RUC interrogators at
Cookstown barracks,
Co. Tyrone in 1977, and was deported from Britain following a brief visit to London in 1978. McGeough had been arrested and interrogated for a full week before deportation, on suspicion that he was an IRA member. After activity in Ireland and Europe, he was arrested (along with another IRA member, Gerry Hanratty) in August 1988 while crossing the Dutch-German border with two AK47 rifles in his car. He was charged with attacks on the British Army of the Rhine and held for four years in a specially-built German detention centre. His trial in Germany was interrupted by extradition to the United States, where he was charged with attempting to buy surface-to-air-missiles in 1983. He served three years of his sentence in US prisons until his release in 1996 whereupon he was deported to the Republic of Ireland.
McGeough led Sinn Féin's opposition to the
referendum on the Nice Treaty in the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
. He was also a
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 ...
national executive (ard-comhairle) member before becoming disgusted with what he perceives as the socially "liberal" views of "nouveau Sinn Féin".
Post-Sinn Féin activism
McGeough is known for his opposition to what he perceives as "liberalism" within contemporary Sinn Féin:
You would never get a leader of Sinn Féin condemning abortion, homosexual "marriage" or anything of that nature. I, as an Irish nationalist and Roman Catholic, never want to see the day when there are abortion clinics in every market town in Ireland. But looking around there is no political grouping willing to take a stance against that.
He accompanied
Justin Barrett on a lecture tour of Irish towns in March 2004, in support of Barrett's unsuccessful attempt to become a member of 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 May 2006, McGeough, as editor, and Charles Byrne, a 28-year-old from
Drogheda, launched a monthly magazine called ''
The Hibernian'', dedicated to "Faith, Family and Country". The magazine had articles espousing the views of
Father Denis Fahey and also promoted the
Society of St. Pius X.
In 2007, McGeough declared he would be standing for election in the
Northern Ireland Assembly elections against Sinn Féin in the
Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency. He put himself forward as a protest against Sinn Féin's vote in January 2007 to support the
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ')
is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...
(PSNI), a key provision of the
St Andrews Agreement
The St Andrews Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Chill Rímhinn; Ulster Scots: ''St Andra's 'Greement'', ''St Andrew's Greeance'' or ''St Andrae's Greeance'') is an agreement between the British and Irish governments and Northern Ireland's politica ...
. He polled 1.8% of the vote.
''The Hibernian'' ceased publication in 2008.
In the same period, McGeough became associated with the
Ancient Order of Hibernians
The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH; ) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in N ...
, taking control of the organisation's branch in
County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...
.
[Ex-Provo gives new life to Irish clerical fascism](_blank)
, Scott Millar, Searchlight Magazine, August 2006 McGeough was expelled from the Ancient Order of Hibernians in 2019.
Arrest and conviction
On 8 March 2007 McGeough was arrested by the PSNI whilst leaving the election count centre in Omagh. The arrest was in connection with the 1981 shooting of Sammy Brush. Brush, an off-duty member of the
Ulster Defence Regiment
The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...
, was delivering mail in his job as a
postman
A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...
near
Aughnacloy when he was shot. Brush, who was armed and wearing a bullet-proof vest,
[ managed to return fire in the incident and shot his assailant who fled. McGeough and Vincent McAnespie were charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to murder and possession of firearms with intent to endanger life. Both men were remanded in custody to appear at Dungannon Magistrates' Court on 4 April 2007. McGeough was granted bail on 29 March. Gerry McGeough's lawyers have published a document they claim is proof that a Royal Pardon was given to another alleged IRA member, and questioned why McGeough was not treated similarly. The ]Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; ga, Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for N ...
has stated that it is instead Prerogative of Mercy that was applied to a small number of cases under the Early Release Scheme to resolve technical anomalies.
McGeogh was convicted in February 2011 of attempted murder, possessing firearms with intent, and IRA membership. He was sentenced in April 2011 to 20 years imprisonment, although under the Good Friday Agreement he served less than two years in jail, and was finally released on 29 January 2013.
McAnespie was acquitted of all charges against him.
Comments on the judiciary
On 8 August 2016 McGeough was reported as saying that 'Catholics serving as judges and prosecutors in the Northern Ireland legal system are "traitors" who will be dealt with as "collaborators" once the English are removed. The chairman of the Bar Council of Northern Ireland, Gerry McAlinden QC, stated that "An independent, impartial judiciary and independent, impartial prosecuting counsel play a fundamental role in the maintenance of the rule of law and the protection of rights of all citizens in a free and democratic society ... Impartial and dedicated judges and prosecutors uphold the law and provide justice for victims and the community, and they should be allowed to work without fear or threat. Any attempt to intimidate members of the judiciary or members of the legal profession engaged in prosecution work is to be deplored by all right thinking members of society."
Education
A teacher by profession, Gerry McGeough has a BA Honours Degree in History from Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
and later earned a postgraduate Higher Diploma in Education from University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...
.
Published books
Gerry McGeough is the author of two books, ''The Ambush and other Stories'' (1996) and a novel, ''Defenders'' (1998). He has also published a number of articles in local history periodicals.
References
External links
Gerry McGeough's blog
(inactive since 2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGeough, Gerry
1958 births
Irish republicans
Irish people convicted of attempted murder
Living people
People convicted of arms trafficking
People deported from the United States
People from Dungannon
Provisional Irish Republican Army members
Republicans imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict
Roman Catholics from Northern Ireland
Sinn Féin politicians
Torture victims
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Alumni of University College Dublin