Breandán Mac Cionnaith is an Irish politician and a prominent residents' group leader. He is a member of

Éirígí Éirígí (), officially Éirígí For A New Republic, is a socialist republican political party in Ireland. The party name, , means "Arise" or "Rise Up" in Irish, and is a reference to the slogan "The great only appear great because we are ...

, a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

republican party. He used to be an adviser to

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

members of the

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

. He came to prominence in the 1990s as the spokesman for the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition (also known as the Garvaghy Road Residents' Association). In the early 1980s, Mac Cionnaith was jailed for six years for his involvement in the IRA bombing of Portadown's town centre.

Garvaghy stand-off

From 1997, Mac Cionnaith was the spokesman for the Garvaghy Road residents in the

Drumcree conflict The Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is a dispute over yearly Parades in Northern Ireland, parades in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The town is mainly Ulster Protestants, Protestant and hosts numerous Protestant marches each s ...

, which centres on the desire of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

a traditional route through an area that had become predominantly

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. In 1997 he was elected to

Craigavon Borough Council Craigavon Borough Council was a local council in counties Armagh, Down and Antrim, in Northern Ireland. It merged with Armagh City and District Council and Banbridge District Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Nor ...

for the Portadown area and sat on the council until 2001 Prior to 2002, Mac Cionnaith had received death threats and a live bullet had been sent to him.

Other activity

On 10 April 2007, Mac Cionnaith resigned from

, soon after the party decided to support the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...

(PSNI) and after an unsuccessful attempt to secure the party's nomination for the

elections. Mac Cionnaith continues to serve as spokesman for the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition and, in February 2010, he helped formulate a joint submission to the Northern Ireland Assembly's Working Party on Parading Issues. Mac Cionnaith has been critical of the

Orange Institution The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...

and of 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 ...

(since replaced by the PSNI). Mac Cionnaith is also a prominent campaigner for an inquiry into the murder of solicitor Rosemary Nelson. Mac Cionnaith joined the socialist republican political party

, and was elected General Secretary of the organisation in May 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mac Cionnaith, Brendan 1950s births Members of Craigavon Borough Council Irish republicans Irish socialists Living people Activists from Northern Ireland People from County Armagh People from Portadown Sinn Féin politicians Irish republicans imprisoned on terrorism charges Provisional Irish Republican Army members Year of birth missing (living people)