Seán Keenan (died 3 March 1993)Derry republican remembered
Aeneas Bonner. Retrieved 2008-03-01 was an

Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...

from

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 ...

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 ...

. His father James Keenan was a

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

in the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...

(IRA). Keenan was interned without trial on three occasions: 1940–1945, 1957–1961, and 9 August 1971 – 27 April 1972."Whitelaw frees 22 more internees", ''The Irish Times'', 28 April 1972, p. 5 He spent a total of 15 years in jail despite never being convicted of an offence. Keenan was first arrested in 1935 for carrying an Irish flag. He was interned for the duration of World War II in several prisons including the hulk prison ship HMS Al Rawdah. He was again interned during the IRAs Border campaign and again during the period of violence known as

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

. In March 1972, a month before his final release, he was paroled for the funeral of his son Colm, 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 ...

officer who had been shot by the British Army. Keenan was chairman of the

Derry Citizens Defence Association The Derry Citizens' Defense Association (DCDA) was an organisation set up in Derry in July 1969 in response to a threat to nationalist residents from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and civilian unionists, in connection with the annual par ...

between July and October 1969 and played a prominent role in the events surrounding the creation and defence of

Free Derry Free Derry ( ga, Saor Dhoire) was a self-declared autonomous Irish nationalist area of Derry, Northern Ireland, that existed between 1969 and 1972, during the Troubles. It emerged during the Northern Ireland civil rights movement, which sought ...

, including the

Battle of the Bogside The Battle of the Bogside was a large three-day riot that took place from 12 to 14 August 1969 in Derry, Northern Ireland. Thousands of Catholic/Irish nationalist residents of the Bogside district, organised under the Derry Citizens' Defence ...

. In the late 1980s, he was made honorary vice president for life of

Republican Sinn Féin Republican Sinn Féin or RSF ( ga, Sinn Féin Poblachtach) is an Irish republican political party in Ireland. RSF claims to be heirs of the Sinn Féin party founded in 1905 and took its present form in 1986 following a split in Sinn Féin. RS ...

until his death. He is commemorated annually by Republican Sinn Féin in the month of March at the Seán Keenan Memorial (Celtic Cross) on Fahan Street in the

Bogside The Bogside is a neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, Northern Ireland. The large gable-wall murals by the Bogside Artists, Free Derry Corner and the Gasyard Féile (an annual music and arts festival held in a former gasyard) are p ...

area of Derry City.Thorne, p. 356 His son, also named Sean, was a

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 ...

councillor.Sean Keenan: Final farewell
Roisin McManus. 2006-08-04. Retrieved 2008-02-25 He died after a long battle with cancer in August 2006.

References

External links

*
Internment, John McGuffin (1973)
Chapter 8 - INTERNMENT 1971: THOSE DETAINED 1993 deaths Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members Irish republicans Irish republicans interned without trial Republican Sinn Féin members Year of birth missing {{Ireland-hist-stub

See also

References

External links