Thomas McElwee (30 November 1957 – 8 August 1981) was an Irish republican who participated in the

1981 hunger strike The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Cat ...

and 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

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 reu ...

(IRA). From

Bellaghy Bellaghy () is a village in County Derry, Northern Ireland. It lies north west of Lough Neagh and about 5 miles north east of Magherafelt. In the centre of the village (known locally as The Diamond) three main roads lead to Magherafelt, Po ...

, County Londonderry,

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 ...

, he died at the age of 23 after 62 days on hunger strike.Bobby Sands Trust
- Thomas McElwee

Paramilitary activity

Thomas McElwee and his cousin Francis Hughes formed an independent Republican unit, which for several years carried out ambushes on

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 ...

patrols as well carrying out bomb attacks in neighbouring towns such as

Magherafelt Magherafelt (, �mˠaxəɾʲəˈfʲiːlt̪ˠə is a small town and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,805 at the 2011 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of the county and is the social, econo ...

Castledawson Castledawson is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is mostly within the townland of Shanemullagh (, IPA: �anˠˈʃanˠˌwʊl̪ˠəx, about four miles from the north-western shore of Lough Neagh, and near the market town of Mag ...

, and

Maghera Maghera (pronounced , ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,220 in the 2011 Census, increasing from 3,711 in the 2001 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster Distri ...

. In October 1976, McElwee took part in a planned bombing blitz on the town of Ballymena. Along with several colleagues, he was transporting one of the bombs, which exploded prematurely and blinded him in his right eye. Following his arrest, he was charged and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for possession of explosives and the murder of Yvonne Dunlop, who was killed when one of the firebombs destroyed the shop she was working in. His murder charge was reduced to manslaughter on appeal, although the original jail term stood. In prison he became involved in the

blanket protest The blanket protest was part of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) prisoners held in the Maze prison (also known as "Long Kesh") in Northern Ireland. The ...

. He joined the

1981 Irish hunger strike The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special C ...

and died on 8 August 1981 at the age of 23, after 62 days on the strike.

Aftermath

In 2009, Republican Sinn Féin named their

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

cumann A (Irish for association; plural ) is the lowest local unit or branch of a number of Irish political parties. The term ''cumann'' may also be used to describe a non-political association. Traditionally, Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil have called ...

after him replacing that of

George Lennon George Lennon (25 May 1900 – 20 February 1991) was an Irish Republican Army leader during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. Background and early Republican activities George Gerard Lennon was born in Dungarvan, Count ...

, O/C of the Waterford Flying Column who led the IRA anti-Treaty Republicans into Waterford City in March 1922. The Waterford RSF had adopted the Lennon name without the permission of his son who noted that his father had, in later years, become a committed pacifist and opponent of the war in Vietnam. McElwee is the main subject of the song ''Farewell to Bellaghy'', which also mentions his cousin Francis Hughes, other members of the independent Republican unit and deceased

volunteers 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 ...

of the South Derry Brigade of the Provisional IRA. He is also the subject of the

Crucifucks The Crucifucks were an American punk band formed in 1981 in Lansing, Michigan. They were noted for their political agitation, provocative lyrics, and unusually shrill vocals by band leader Doc Corbin Dart. Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra sig ...

' song ''The Story of Thomas McElwee''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McElwee, Thomas 1957 births 1981 deaths Irish republicans Irish people convicted of manslaughter People from County Londonderry People who died on the 1981 Irish hunger strike Provisional Irish Republican Army members Bombers (people)