Rita O'Hare ( McCulloch; 1943 – 3 March 2023) was the General Secretary of

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 ...

, and from 1998 to 2023 the party's representative to the United States. Rita McCulloch was born and raised in

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 ...

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 ...

, the daughter of a Catholic nationalist mother and a Protestant Socialist father. She had one surviving sibling, a brother, Alan McCulloch. O'Hare was involved in the civil rights campaign and later became a republican. She was editor of the Irish republican newspaper ''

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 ...

'' ("Republican News") (AP/RN) in the 1980s and early 1990s. She was also director of publicity for Sinn Féin, succeeding Danny Morrison in that position. O'Hare was arrested in

in 1972 for the attempted murder of

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 ...

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

Frazer Paton in Belfast in October 1971. She also faced malicious wounding and possession of firearms charges. Upon her release on bail she fled to

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 ...

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 she lived with her family. She was unable to return to the UK due to an outstanding

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a j ...

. Sinn Féin had presented her case to the

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

as one of the IRA 'on the runs' (OTRs) under consideration to be allowed to return to Northern Ireland. O'Hare served a three-year sentence in

Limerick Prison Limerick Prison in Limerick is an Irish penal institution. It is a closed, medium security prison, and has an official capacity of 290 male beds and 20 female beds. The average daily number of male inmates in 2009 was 298 and of female inmates ...

for smuggling explosives to an IRA member and was released in 1979. Upon her release, her extradition from the Republic of Ireland was blocked as the

Irish High Court The High Court ( ga, An Ard-Chúirt) of Ireland is a court which deals at first instance with the most serious and important civil and criminal cases. When sitting as a criminal court it is called the Central Criminal Court and sits with judg ...

ruled in March 1978 that O'Hare should not be extradited to Northern Ireland, on the grounds that the offences that she was alleged to have committed fell within the

political offence exception A political offence exception (or exemption) is a provision which limits the obligation of a sovereign state under an extradition or mutual legal assistance treaty or statute. Such provisos allow the state whose assistance has been requested ("th ...

. Based in

, she was temporarily banned from entering the United States after she traveled to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

for a meeting (the terms of her special visa require that she first notify authorities before such travel). She was ineligible for a regular visa due to the outstanding warrant. O’Hare died on 3 March 2023, aged 80. She died at her home in

following a long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohare, Rita 1940s births Year of birth missing 2023 deaths 20th-century politicians from Northern Ireland 21st-century politicians from Northern Ireland Fugitives wanted by the United Kingdom Irish republicans Politicians from Belfast Provisional Irish Republican Army members Republicans imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict Sinn Féin politicians Women in the politics of Northern Ireland Women in war in Ireland Women in warfare post-1945