Miriam Daly (; 6 May 1928 – 26 June 1980) was an Irish
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 ...
and communist activist as well as a university lecturer who was assassinated by the
loyalist
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and Timeline of Ulster Defence Association act ...
(UDA) in 1980.
Background and personal life
She was born Miriam Annette McDonnell in the
Curragh
The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...
Irish Army
The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The Ar ...
camp,
County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
,
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 ...
, one of the two daughters of Commandant Daniel McDonnell and Anne McDonnell (née Cummins).
Her father had served under
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to:
* Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician
* Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...
in the
War of Independence
This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence.
List
See also
* Lists of active separatist movements
* List of civil wars
* List of o ...
and as part of the pro-treaty
National Army during the
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...
. Afterwards, he developed pro-Labour views.
She grew up in Hatch Street,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, where she attended Loreto College on
St Stephen's Green
St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by L ...
and then
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 collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
. While at UCD, Daly was a member of
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. ...
. She graduated BA in 1948 with first-class honours in history and economics, a Higher Diploma in Education in 1949, and then a first-class honours MA, with a dissertation on Irish labour in England in the first half of the nineteenth century. Between 1950 and 1953 she taught
economic history
Economic history is the academic learning of economies or economic events of the past. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of economic theory to historical situations and ins ...
as an assistant lecturer in University College Dublin alongside
Robert Dudley Edwards
Robert Walter Dudley Edwards (4 June 1909 – 5 June 1988) was an Irish historian.
Biography
Robert Walter Dudley Edwards, known to his friends as Robin and his students as 'Dudley'"Dr Robin Dudley Edwards dies in Dublin", ''Irish Times'', 6 Jun ...
, who sexually harassed her until one day her father arrived with a gun and confronted Edwards.
In 1953 she married the psychiatrist Joseph Lee and together the two moved to
Southampton University
, mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour
, type = Public research university
, established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
where she became an active member of the
Association of University Teachers
The Association of University Teachers (AUT) was the trade union and professional association that represented academic (teaching and research) and academic-related (librarians, IT professionals and senior administrators) staff at pre-1992 ...
and a campaigner against the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. Lee died of a heart attack in 1963.
In 1965 she married philosopher and social activist James Daly. They moved to Ireland in 1968 and were appointed lecturers in the departments of scholastic philosophy and of economic and social history at
Queen's University, Belfast
, mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back?
, top_free_label =
, top_free =
, top_free_label1 =
, top_free1 =
, top_free_label2 =
, top_free2 =
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public research university
, parent = ...
.
Civil rights activist
Apart from her set course, Daly taught an extramural course on labour history whose students included numerous Protestant trade unionists. She also lectured both republican and loyalist prisoners 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 ...
and cooperated with both on prisoner welfare work. She contributed regularly to
RTÉ Radio
RTÉ Radio is a division of the Irish national broadcasting organisation Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Radio broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels nationwide.
Founded in January 1926 as 2RN, the first broadcaster in t ...
's Thomas Davis lectures in 1972–3. She was a founding member of the Irish Labour History Society, served on its committee for several years and co-edited its journal ''Saothar''. She was a co-founder of the Economic and Social History Society of Ireland, a committee member of the Ulster Society for Irish Historical Studies, a member of the editorial board of Irish Historical Studies, and organised the first conference on Irish labour history held at an Irish university in 1974.
Daly became active in the
Northern Ireland civil rights movement
The Northern Ireland civil rights movement dates to the early 1960s, when a number of initiatives emerged in Northern Ireland which challenged the inequality and discrimination against ethnic Irish Catholics that was perpetrated by the Ulster Pr ...
following the introduction of
internment
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 ...
without trial of suspected
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 ...
members in 1972 by
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
officials at the request of
Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
The prime minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920; however, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, as with governors- ...
Brian Faulkner
Arthur Brian Deane Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick, (18 February 1921 – 3 March 1977), was the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, from March 1971 until his resignation in March 1972. He was also the chief executive ...
.
She was active in the
(NICRA) and the
Northern Resistance Movement (NRA), becoming involved in the former when she moved to
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 ...
; Daly subsequently joined the
National Democratic Party (NDP), and its successor, the
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...
(SDLP). As a member of the SDLP she butted heads with
John Hume
John Hume (18 January 19373 August 2020) was an Irish nationalist politician from Northern Ireland, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the recent political history of Ireland, as one of the architects of the Northern Irela ...
and opposed advocacy for increased private home ownership rather than extended state housing. At the first SDLP annual conference, Daly led opposition to a motion condemning all political violence that was proposed by Hume.
The rapid escalation of violence in Northern Ireland during this period, in particular, the killing of 14 civil rights marchers by members of
1 PARA
The 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment (1 PARA), is a battalion of the British Army's Parachute Regiment. Along with various other regiments and corps from across the British Armed Forces, it is part of Special Forces Support Group.
A specia ...
in
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
on 14 January 1972 in what later became known as "
Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday may refer to:
Historical events Canada
* Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
* Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...
" further radicalised her. After Bloody Sunday, she left the SDLP and 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 Gri ...
.
During her political career, Daly, in line with many Irish republicans, opposed the
two nations theory which held that
Ulster Protestants
Ulster Protestants ( ga, Protastúnaigh Ultach) are an ethnoreligious group in the Irish province of Ulster, where they make up about 43.5% of the population. Most Ulster Protestants are descendants of settlers who arrived from Britain in the ...
constituted a distinct Irish
nation
A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...
. She also joined the Prisoners' Relatives Action Committee (PRAC), the National Hunger Strike Committee (NHSC) and the Murray Defence Committee (MDC), the latter of which successfully prevented the
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
couple
Marie and Noel Murray from being executed after they were convicted of murder and
sentenced to death
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
in June 1976 for murdering
Garda Síochána
(; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...
officer Michael Reynolds. During the campaign to prevent the Murrays from being executed, Daly worked with
Seamus Costello
Seamus Costello ( ga, Séamus Mac Coisdealbha, 1939 – 5 October 1977) was an Irish politician. He was a leader of Official Sinn Féin and the Official Irish Republican Army and latterly of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) and the Ir ...
.
In 1977, Daly and her partner left Sinn Féin over the party's advocacy of an Irish federation of four
self-governing
__NOTOC__
Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of ...
provinces. They were recruited in August 1977 to the IRSP by Costello, and co-opted to its Árd Chomhairle or governing body just before Costello's assassination on 5 October 1977, allegedly by 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 ...
. In February 1978 Miriam Daly was elected chair of the IRSP. Some later IRSP/INLA material describes Daly as a 'volunteer', but she was never a member of the
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA, ga, Arm Saoirse Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group formed on 10 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as "the Troubles". The group seek ...
, the IRSP's military wing.
In 1974 the Dalys, who had received death threats, moved from their home in
Stranmillis, close to Queen's University and working-class Protestant
loyalist
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
districts, to the
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 ...
Road, deep within the west Belfast
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
ghetto
A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
.
From 1978 onwards Daly campaigned for political status for paramilitary prisoners.
Assassination
On 26 June 1980, Daly was shot dead at home, in the
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 ...
area of west
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 ...
. At the time of her assassination, she was in charge of the IRSP prisoners' welfare.
According to reports in ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'', members of the
Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and Timeline of Ulster Defence Association act ...
(UDA) had gained entry to her home with the intention of killing her husband.
[David McKittrick et al, ''Lost Lives'', Mainstream Publishing, 208, p. 830] They tied up Daly and waited for him to return home. Her husband was in Dublin at the time and so did not arrive.
After a considerable time, the UDA men decided to kill Daly instead. Muffling the sound of the gun with a pillow, they shot her in the head and cut the phone lines before fleeing. Her body was discovered when her ten-year-old daughter arrived home from school.
However, The Irish Times also referred to Daly as a "housewife".
Daly's death occurred soon after
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
politician and incumbent
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is a member of the British Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and their department, the Northern Ireland Office. The post is currently he ...
Airey Neave
Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave, (;) (23 January 1916 – 30 March 1979) was a British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) from 1953 until his assassination in 1979.
During World War II he was the first British prisoner-of-war
...
was assassinated in
Westminster Palace
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
by members of the INLA, and some have speculated that the UDA's killing of Daly (along with the murder and attempted murder of other
Irish Republican Socialist Party
The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP ( ga, Páirtí Poblachtach Sóisialach na hÉireann) is a Marxist-Leninist and republican party in Ireland. It is often referred to as the "political wing" of the Irish National Liberation Army (I ...
(ISRP) and
National H-Block Committee members such as
Ronnie Bunting
Ronnie Bunting (10 January 1948 – 15 October 1980) was a Protestant Irish republican and socialist activist in Ireland. He became a member of the Official IRA in the early 1970s and was a founder-member of the Irish National Liberation Army ( ...
,
John Turnley
John Turnley (1935 – 5 June 1980) was an Irish politician and activist. Originally from a Unionism in Ireland, unionist background, he was gradually drawn to Irish nationalism and became a Irish republicanism, republican activist. He was assa ...
and
Bernadette Devlin McAliskey
Josephine Bernadette McAliskey (née Devlin; born 23 April 1947), usually known as Bernadette Devlin or Bernadette McAliskey, is an Irish civil rights leader, and former politician. She served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Ulster in Nort ...
during this period) was in retaliation for Neave's murder. Solicitor Michael Brentnall claimed in an interview that "There are compelling circumstances which indicate that the killings were either committed by the British security services or facilitated by them and these killings are connected in proximity and organisational terms to the killing of Airey Neave."
Daly was buried in
Swords, County Dublin
Swords ( or ), the county town of Fingal, is a large suburban town on the east coast of Ireland, situated ten kilometres north of Dublin city centre. The town was reputedly founded . Located on the Ward River, Swords features Swords Castle, ...
with her first husband, after a paramilitary funeral. Mourners included
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
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 ...
, but also old friends such as
Supreme Court of Ireland
, image = Coat of arms of Ireland.svg
, imagesize = 120px
, alt =
, caption = Coat of Arms of Ireland
, image2 = Four Courts, Dublin 2014-09-13.jpg
, imagesize2 =
, alt2 ...
(and later
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
) judge
Donal Barrington
Donal Patrick Michael Barrington (28 February 1928 – 3 January 2018) was an Irish judge who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 1996 to 2000, a Judge of the European Court of Justice from 1989 to 1996 and a Judge of the High Court from ...
and UCD historian
F.X. Martin. In the graveside oration,
Osgur Breatnach said that Daly stood for a peaceful, socialist united Ireland. She is included as 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 ...
on the INLA monument 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 ...
and is one of several commemorated by an IRSP mural on the
Springfield Road, Belfast
The Springfield Road ( ga, Bóthar Chluanaí) is a residential area and road traffic thoroughfare adjacent to the Falls Road in west Belfast. The local population is predominantly Irish nationalist and republican. Parts of the road form an i ...
.
In 2021 her commemoration held by the IRSP in Belfast was attended by her son and husband at the time of her death.
Political views
Daly was an advocate of
State Socialism
State socialism is a political and economic ideology within the socialist movement that advocates state ownership of the means of production. This is intended either as a temporary measure, or as a characteristic of socialism in the transition fr ...
based on the nation-state, with government control of credit and industry. She rejected capitalism and free trade on the basis of her belief that free trade was overwhelmingly biased in the favour of the already-developed countries. Daly developed this view from her academic research into 19th-century Ireland and in particular her analysis of the deindustrialising effect of improved transport links.
Daly considered the
1916 Easter Rising and the
1917 Russian Revolution to be twin revolutions against the "capitalist world order", and generally held pro-Soviet views.
Daly rejected the view that
Ulster Protestants
Ulster Protestants ( ga, Protastúnaigh Ultach) are an ethnoreligious group in the Irish province of Ulster, where they make up about 43.5% of the population. Most Ulster Protestants are descendants of settlers who arrived from Britain in the ...
form a distinct "nation" within the geography of Ireland, dismissing them as "a product of British colonial manipulation and native collaboration".
References
External links
Straight from the Heart - an interview with Miriam Daly's widower, Jim Daly accessed 24 April 2008
accessed 24 April 2008
accessed 24 April 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daly, Miriam
1928 births
1980 deaths
1980 murders in the United Kingdom
Academics of Queen's University Belfast
Alumni of University College Dublin
Assassinated Irish politicians
Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland
Irish communists
Irish National Liberation Army members
Irish women's rights activists
People educated at Loreto College, St Stephen's Green
People from County Kildare
People killed by the Ulster Defence Association
People murdered in Belfast
Politicians from Belfast
Women in war in Ireland
Women in warfare post-1945
Writers from Belfast
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