Patrick Fell ( ga, Pádraig Ó Fithchill; 1940 – 18 September 2011) was a

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 ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

who was accused and later convicted in the 1970s of being a commander of 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 ...

(IRA)

active service unit An active service unit (ASU; ) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) cell of four to ten members, tasked with carrying out armed attacks. In 2002, the IRA had about 1,000 active members of which about 300 were in active service units. T ...

. Fell never admitted to being an IRA

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 ...

and pleaded not guilty to the charges. In June 1984 he was successful in his action to find the British Government guilty of violating the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

. The Government had denied the right of legal representation to prisoners facing internal prison disciplinary charges. The ECHR ordered that "the United Kingdom is to pay to the applicants ell and Campbell in respect of legal costs and expenses, the sum of thirteen thousand pounds sterling (£13,000), together with any value added tax that may be due."

Early life

Fell was born in England and was a convert to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

before being ordained as a priest. He was assistant priest at All Souls Church, Chapelfields, Coventry.

Arrest and trial

In April 1973, Fell was arrested with six others alleged to comprise an IRA unit planning a campaign in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

. He was tried at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

's Crown Court. The jury found three of the seven not guilty; the remaining four were all found guilty of criminal damage and conspiracy to commit arson. Fell pleaded not guilty. Fell and Frank Stagg, were accused of being the unit's commanding officers. Upon conviction, Stagg was given a ten-year sentence and Fell twelve years. (Stagg would later die on hunger strike.) Thomas Gerald Rush was given seven years and Anthony Roland Lynch, who was also found guilty of possessing articles with intent to destroy property, namely nitric acid, balloons, wax, and

sodium chlorate Sodium chlorate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Na ClO3. It is a white crystalline powder that is readily soluble in water. It is hygroscopic. It decomposes above 300 °C to release oxygen and leaves sodium chloride. Sever ...

, was given ten years. Fell never admitted IRA membership.

Imprisonment

Fell was eventually sent to the top security Albany Prison on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. It was here in 1976, following an incident, he was one of six republican prisoners charged with various offences including

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

, incitement to mutiny, and violence. Fell and the others were involved in a "sitting down" protest against the treatment of another prisoner. As a result of attempts to break up the protest, both prisoners and prison warders received personal injuries. Fell was punished by the Prison's

Board of Visitors In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual col ...

and given 91 days

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

and 570 days loss of remission.

Release

Upon his release Fell served as a parish priest in rural Frosses, County Donegal. He died in

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

on 18 September 2011.Announcement of Fell's death
, announce.jpress.ie; accessed 4 November 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fell, Patrick Place of birth missing 1940 births 2011 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism Irish republicans imprisoned for criminal damage 20th-century English Roman Catholic priests