Redmond O'Neill (8 February 1954 – 21 October 2009) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

political activist. Born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

to an Irish family from

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...

, O'Neill studied at Sussex University, where he joined the

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...

International Marxist Group :''See also the International Marxist Group (Germany). The International Marxist Group (IMG) was a Trotskyist group in Britain between 1968 and 1982. It was the British Section of the Fourth International. It had around 1,000 members and suppor ...

(IMG). Ken Livingstone
Redmond O'Neill obituary
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 27 October 2009 One faction in the IMG later became Socialist Action, and O'Neill was recognised as its leader. Under his leadership, the group opposed the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

and founded the Anti-Racist Alliance. Andrew Murray,
''Morning Star'' obituary for O'Neill"
'' Morning Star'', 27 October 2009 In 1987, O'Neill met Labour Party hard left politician Ken Livingstone, and subsequently became his main advisor on Irish issues. In the 1990s, he met and married

Kate Hudson Kate Garry Hudson (born April 19, 1979) is an American actress and businesswoman. She has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award and a Satellite Award, as well as nominations f ...

, who later became the Chair of the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuc ...

. In 2000, he was appointed as

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...

Ken Livingstone's deputy chief of staff, responsible for transport, trade union relations, public affairs and editing ''The Londoner'' newsletter. He launched a major celebration of

St Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

in London in 2002, took the lead on

congestion charging Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand, such as through higher peak charges for use of bus services, electricity, metros, railways, tele ...

, and developed links with

Hugo Chavez Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

, exchanging transport expertise for cheap fuel. O'Neill's role in Socialist Action was widely reported in the press in advance of the

2008 London mayoral election The 2008 London mayoral election for the office of Mayor of London, England, was held on 1 May 2008. Conservative candidate Boris Johnson defeated incumbent Labour Mayor Ken Livingstone. It was the third London mayoral election, the previous e ...

, with the '' Sunday Times'' describing allegations that the group remained active as suggesting "Marxist infiltration". A former member of the organisation claimed that O'Neill had operated under the pseudonym "Lark". Following O'Neill's death, at the age of 55,

Gerry Adams Gerard Adams ( ga, Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. ...

described him as a "very dedicated and energetic supporter of Irish reunification, of the peace process and of justice and equality campaigns", the Foreign Minister of Venezuela called him "an intimate friend, a companion in the fight for equality and justice". Ma Hui, deputy head of the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party referred to his efforts "to promote and encourage better understanding and mutually beneficial cooperation between Beijing and London". Cuba's UK Ambassador said O'Neill "will forever be remembered as an example of dedication to the anti-imperialist struggle". Member of Parliament

John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...

stated that "Redmond's contribution to our movement will be remembered with immense respect." On 24 October 2009 the demonstration in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

against Britain's involvement in Afghanistan held a minute's silence marking O'Neill’s death.Jeremy Corbyn MP "Remembering a fine comrade" in the Morning Star
/ref> He is buried on the eastern side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Redmond 1954 births 2009 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery Alumni of the University of Sussex British people of Irish descent International Marxist Group members Politicians from London