Michael McVerry (1 December 1949 – 15 November 1973), was a

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 reun ...

volunteer and Officer Commanding of the First Battalion of the

Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade The South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) operated during the Troubles in south County Armagh. It was organised into two battalions, one around Jonesborough and another around Crossmaglen. By the 1990s, the South Ar ...

. He was killed in Keady in 1973. McVerry was born and raised in the townland of Skerriff near

Cullyhanna Cullyhanna () is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The village extends further over the townlands of Tullynavall and Freeduff. It had a population of 306 in the 2001 Census. It is within the Newry and Mourne Distri ...

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

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 attended Cullyhanna Primary School and later Bessbrook Technical College before starting work on building sites throughout

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 ...

. Michael McVerry joined the IRA in August 1971. He was imprisoned in

Mountjoy Prison Mountjoy Prison ( ga, Príosún Mhuinseo), founded as Mountjoy Gaol and nicknamed ''The Joy'', is a medium security men's prison located in Phibsborough in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current prison Governor is Edward Mullins. History ...

and later The Curragh camp, both 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 the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, where he took part in a hunger and thirst strike. On Sunday, 29 October 1972 he and six other republican prisoners (Colm Murphy, James Hazlett, Tommy Corrigan, Paddy Carty, James McCabe and Christopher Murphy) audaciously escaped from The Curragh through a tunnel and returned to IRA active service. He gradually became the most experienced guerrilla fighter in the IRA at that time and a legend among the local republican population in south

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

. In 1973 he lost his hand while testing grenades. On 15 November 1973 he was killed during an attack on the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

(RUC) barracks in Keady. He was shot by British soldiers after placing a 100 lb bomb against the gable wall of the barracks during the IRA attack. The resulting explosion badly damaged the station and surrounding properties. A second device failed to detonate. A gun battle started as the IRA unit withdrew after attack between them and members of the RUC and

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 ...

in which a policeman was shot in the shoulder. One member of the IRA was also hit. The IRA unit escaped towards Carnagh Custom Post on the border, where they hijacked two cars and set fire to the Custom Post before escaping across the border. McVerry was taken to St Mary's Hospital in Castleblayney, County Monaghan, but was found to be dead on arrival from a bullet wound in the stomach.Lost Lives, 2007 edition,

References

1949 births 1973 deaths Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland Escapees from Irish detention Irish republicans People from County Armagh People killed by security forces during The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Provisional Irish Republican Army members Republicans imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict {{NorthernIreland-paramilitary-bio-stub