Hugh McAteer ( ga, Aodh Mac an tSaoir; 13 August 1916 – 24 June 1970) 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, and leader 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 ...

during their Northern Campaign, and later in 1950 and 1964 unsuccessfully contested for a seat in the British Parliament.

Biography

A bookkeeper by profession, McAteer was from Derry. He served as

IRA Chief of Staff Several people are reported to have served as Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army () in the organisations bearing that name. Due to the clandestine nature of these organisations, this list is not definitive. Chiefs of Staff of the Irish ...

from 1941 until 12 October 1942, when he was captured and arrested by the Royal Ulster Constabulary. He was later sentenced to 15 years imprisonment on the charge of treaso

On 15 January 1943, along with three senior IRA men Patrick Donnelly (IRA), Patrick Donnelly,

Ned Maguire Ned Maguire was an Irish Republican Army volunteer from Belfast,Anderson, B., ''Joe Cahill: A Life in the IRA'', Dublin 2002, p. 86 perhaps best known for his part in the Crumlin Road Gaol breakout of 1943. Having been sentenced to six years im ...

and Jimmy Steele, he escaped over the wall from

Crumlin Road Gaol HMP Belfast, also known as Crumlin Road Gaol, is a former prison situated on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. Since 1996 it is the only remaining Victorian era former prison in Northern Ireland. It is colloquially known as ' ...

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 Kingdom ...

. On Easter Saturday, 24 April 1943, he participated in the Broadway Cinema operation on the Falls Road when armed IRA men took over the cinema, stopped the film, and went on stage and read a statement from the

IRA Army Council The IRA Army Council was the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, a paramilitary group dedicated to bringing about independence to the whole island of Ireland and the end of the Union between Northern Ireland and Grea ...

and the

Proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

of the 1916 Easter Rising. The statement denounced the British military presence in

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 ...

as an "invasion of our rights" and warned that they will be targeted in "a resumption of hostilities between the

Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( ga, Poblacht na hÉireann or ) was an unrecognised revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

". McAteer was subsequently rearrested. Along with other IRA prisoners, he was released in 1950. In 1950, McAteer ran as 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 G ...

candidate for the Londonderry constituency in the British general election on an independent republican

abstentionist Abstentionism is standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abstentionists participate in ...

ticket. He polled 21,880 votes or 37.41%. (Other Republican candidates included Jimmy Steele (for West Belfast) and Liam Burke (for Mid Ulster). The three candidates polled 23,362 votes together but were not elected.) He also contested the 1964 British general election for the same constituency and on the same ticket, polling 21,123 votes (35.91%).

Family

McAteer was the third son of Hugh McAteer, a labourer, and Bridget Doherty. He was a brother of

Eddie McAteer Eddie McAteer (25 June 1914 – 25 March 1986) was an Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland. Born in Coatbridge, Scotland, McAteer's family moved to Derry in Northern Ireland while he was young. In 1930 he joined the Inland Revenu ...

, leader of the Nationalist Party and Stormont MP. Hugh McAteer's son, Aidan, was a personal assistant to

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. ...

and onetime staff officer of the IRA's Belfast Brigade. Hugh McAteer's grandson, Ronan McGinley, was elected as a Sinn Féin Councillor in 2014. He served as Mid Ulster Council Group Leader. His many interests included Irish Traditional singing and he even provided the notes for an album entitled "Ireland Her Own" (Topic Records, 1967), recorded by two former IRA volunteers -

Paddy Tunney Paddy Tunney (28 January 1921 – 7 December 2002) was an Irish traditional singer, poet, writer, raconteur, lilter and songwriter. He was affectionately known as the ''Man of Songs''. From Glasgow to Garvery Tunney was born in Glasgow to Ir ...

and Arthur Kearney - who had been imprisoned with him in the

in the 1940s.

Death

McAleer died suddenly in Belfast on 24 June 1970. He is buried in Miltown Cemetery, Belfast.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McAteer, Hugh 1916 births 1970 deaths Politicians from Derry (city) Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members Republicans imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict Sinn Féin politicians People convicted of treason against the United Kingdom