Leo Martin (1937–2011) was a founder 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 ...

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 Kingdo ...

and a prominent figure in

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 " ...

Early life

Martin was born in 1937, and had been

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 ...

during the Border campaign of 1956–1962. In June 1953 he was sentenced to 30 days' imprisonment for possessing copies of ''

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 ...

''.

IRA career

In 1966 he narrowly twice avoided assassination by the UVF, who had been actively seeking him out; failing to find him, they shot Matilda Gould—a

protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

—and John Scullion. Martin, a prominent republican, was one of only two men from the north who were members of the Pre-split IRA Army Council; the rest were from Dublin or other parts of the Republic. Martin, by now considered a veteran of the movement, attended the meeting of 24 August 1969 at which it was alleged that the

Officer Commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, t ...

the IRA's

Belfast Brigade "Belfast Brigade" is an Irish folk song, to the tune of "Battle Hymn of the Republic". Context The song is about the Belfast Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), and in particular the 1st, or West Belfast battalion, during the Irish War ...

, Liam McMillen was not defending the city's Catholic community as they expected him to. As a result, he was allowed to remain as OC only on the condition that he broke off contact with the Dublin leadership. Following the split in the republican movement in 1969 between the

Official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

and the

s, Martin was voted onto the first Provisional Army Council that selected Chief of Staff

Seán Mac Stíofáin Seán Mac Stíofáin (born John Edward Drayton Stephenson; 17 February 1928 – 18 May 2001) was an English-born chief of staff of the Provisional IRA, a position he held between 1969 and 1972. Childhood Although he used the Gaelicised ver ...

, and in August was despatched with the mission to collect as many arms from the south as possible. In the early 1970s,

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

agents were in contact with Martin and other Provisionals in Clonard in an attempt calm the rioting which was occurring almost every Friday night. Imprisoned in

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 ...

in 1977, he led a mass-

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

, along with O'Connaíll and Dan Hoban which lasted 47 days.

Later life and death

Martin left the Provisionals and joined

Ruairí Ó Brádaigh Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (; born Peter Roger Casement Brady; 2 October 1932 – 5 June 2013) was an Irish republican political and military leader. He was Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) from 1958 to 1959 and again from 1960 to ...

Republican Sinn Fein 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 ...

. In 2014 Loyalist

supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey ( ...

Gary Haggarty revealed that Martin had been an intended target of the UVF in an attack planned weeks before the organisation called its 1994 ceasefire. Martin died in Belfast in 2011 and was buried in

Milltown Cemetery Milltown Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Bhaile an Mhuilinn) is a large cemetery in west Belfast, Northern Ireland. It lies within the townland of Ballymurphy, between Falls Road and the M1 motorway. History Milltown Cemetery opened in 1869 as part ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Leo 1937 births 2011 deaths Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members Paramilitaries from Belfast Provisional Irish Republican Army members Republicans imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict