Fergal O'Hanlon (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: Feargal Ó hAnnluain (2 February 1936 – 1 January 1957) was 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 ...

in the Pearse Column of 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 th ...

Background

Born in

Ballybay Ballybay () is a town and civil parish in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town is centred on the crossroads of the R183 and R162 regional roads. Geography The town is the meeting point for roads going to Monaghan, Castleblayney, Carrickmac ...

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County C ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, into a staunchly republican family, Feargal O'Hanlon was a draughtsman employed by Monaghan County Council. He was a

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

er and a keen

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

activist. A devout Catholic, O'Hanlon considered becoming 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 partic ...

and spent one year at the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

in St. Macartan's. He joined the IRA in 1956.

Brookeborough raid

Aged 20, O'Hanlon was killed along with Seán South while taking part in an attack on the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Roya ...

barracks in

Brookeborough Brookeborough (; Irish language, Irish: ''Achadh Lon'', meaning 'Field of the Blackbirds') is a village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, at the westerly foot of Slieve Beagh. It lies about eleven miles east of Enniskillen, just off the A4 r ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...

, during the Border Campaign. Several other IRA members were wounded in the botched attack. The IRA fled the scene in a dumper truck. They abandoned it near the border. They left South and O'Hanlon, both then unconscious, in a cow byre, and crossed into the Republic of Ireland on foot for help for their comrades. The wounded IRA men were treated as "car crash victims" by sympathetic staff in the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. The events and personalities are sympathetically recalled in

Dominic Behan Dominic Behan ( ; ga, Doiminic Ó Beacháin; 22 October 1928 – 3 August 1989) was an Irish songwriter, singer, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in Irish and English. He was also a socialist and an Irish republican. Born i ...

's ballad "

The Patriot Game "The Patriot Game" is an Irish ballad with lyrics by Dominic Behan and a melody from the traditional tune " One Morning in May". History The song concerns an incident during the Border Campaign launched by the Irish Republican Army during the 19 ...

". O'Hanlon is mentioned in the song

Sean South of Garryowen “Sean South of Garryowen” is a song about Seán South, (written by Seán Costelloe) a member of the Pearse Column of the Irish Republican Army, who was fatally wounded during the attack on Brookeborough barracks in 1957. It is sung to the same ...

("Brave Hanlon by his side").

Reaction

O'Hanlon's mother remained firmly committed to the IRA and was hurt by the suggestion that there was an alternative to IRA activity or that her son was anything other than an Irish hero. A marble monument now stands at the spot where South and O'Hanlon lost their lives. An annual lecture has been held in memory of O’Hanlon since 1982, and approximately 500 people attended a 50th commemoration of the men's deaths in January 2007 in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

.Seán Sabhat Commemoration: Positive response from Paisley would move situation forward
/ref> In 1971, a monument was unveiled to O'Hanlon in his hometown - on a hill overlooking the Clones Road on which he had made his last journey home. A Gaelic football team was founded in Monaghan in 2003 and called the Fergal O'Hanlons. His brother

Eighneachán Ó hAnnluain Éighneachán Ó hAnnluain (; 1933 – 14 December 1994; sometimes spelled ''Éineachán'') was an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He was elected as a Teachta Dála (TD) at the 1957 general election for the Monaghan constituency. He was one of fou ...

was elected 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 Gr ...

abstentionist TD in the 1957 general election to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland rea ...

. His sister Pádraigín Uí Mhurchadha was a

Councillor on

Monaghan Urban Council Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

. File:Fergal_O'Hanlon.jpg, Fergal O'Hanlon's gravestone. Image:O'hanlon monument.jpg, Monument erected in memory of Fergal O'Hanlon. Image:South and ohanlon.jpg, Monument in Moane's Cross, Fermanagh to South and O'Hanlon.

References

Link

The Patriot Game song lyrics chords and video about Fergal O'Hanlon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohanlon, Fergal 1936 births 1957 deaths Irish language activists Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members People from County Monaghan Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland