John Kelly (5 April 1936 – 6 September 2007) was an

Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

politician in Northern Ireland. He joined the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

in the 1950s, and was a founder member and a leader of the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

in the early 1970s.

Personal life

John Kelly was born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, in 1936. Later in life he moved to

Maghera Maghera ( ; ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,235 in the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. Formerly in the Barony (Ireland), barony of Loughinsholin within the historic County ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

, where he lived until his death in 2007. He and his wife had a daughter. He was a dedicated member of local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

club Watty Graham's Glen and a keen supporter of

Gaelic games Gaelic games () are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the s ...

and the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

IRA member

Kelly joined the IRA in the early 1950s when he was 18 and took part in the Border Campaign of 1956–62, but was arrested in December 1956 and was imprisoned until 1963. He was a member of the

Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA; ) was an organisation that campaigned for civil rights for Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in Belfast on 9 April 1967,Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. A leader of the newly formed Provisional IRA in 1969, he was involved in the formation of "citizens' defence groups" to protect

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

areas of Belfast from

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

rioters who were largely unhampered by the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

Prison record

He was jailed on three occasions for IRA related activity spending a total of fifteen years in prison in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. His first term was for his activity in the 1956 IRA border campaign, He also served a six-month term in 1973 in the Republic of Ireland for being a member of the IRA. Commenting later on the

Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed ...

, he said: "''Yes, it was a terrible period. But you can't turn the clock back. The Irish government did not create the Provisional IRA. What happened was as inevitable as the changing seasons.''"''Irish Times'', 7 September 2007, p. 10

Arms Trial

The citizens' defence groups sought help from the government in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1969, then led by

Jack Lynch John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979. He was Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, ...

. Several ministers responded and arranged a fund of £100,000 but the planned arms shipment failed. Kelly later said: "''These discussions were all about guns. The whole thing was government-sponsored, government-backed and government-related.''" The planning included travel to Britain, Europe, and on to the US where he met the founders of

Noraid NORAID, officially the Irish Northern Aid Committee, is an Irish American membership organization founded after the start of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1969. The organization states its mission is to aid in the creation of a United Irel ...

. Kelly was one of the co-defendants in the subsequent Dublin " Arms Trial" with ministers

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...

and

Neil Blaney Neil Terence Columba Blaney (1 October 1922 – 8 November 1995) was an Irish politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1948 as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) representing Donegal East. A high-profile member of the party, Blane ...

, accused of conspiring to import arms illegally into the Republic of Ireland. The trial eventually collapsed from a lack of evidence, as the relevant government files were kept secret, but the Irish government sacked several ministers as a result.

Councillor and MLA 1997–2003

Kelly went into electoral politics, serving on

Magherafelt District Council Magherafelt District Council was a district council in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. It was merged with Cookstown District Council and Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council on 1 April 2015 under local government reorganisation i ...

from 1997. He was elected in the 1998 election to 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 ...

as a

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 ...

member for Mid Ulster. Kelly was deselected before the 2003 election, and criticised the decision by the Sinn Féin leadership to support policing reforms. In January 2006 he co-wrote a letter with

Brendan Hughes Brendan Hughes (June 1948 – 16 February 2008) was a leading Irish republican and former Officer Commanding (OC) of the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). His reputation with the republican cause would lead to nic ...

which cast doubt on the claims that dissident republicans had threatened Sinn Féin leaders and claimed that the real threats were being made by the Sinn Féin leadership against those who sought a debate on policing. He left Sinn Féin which he considered too controlled from the centre, opposing the leadership: "''deceit and the philosophy of creative ambiguity''", and retired from politics. Kelly died from cancer on 6 September 2007 after a long illness. Many tributes have been paid to him including a minute's silence before the

Derry Senior Football Championship The Derry Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by the top sixteen Derry GAA clubs. The winners receive the John McLaughlin Cup and qualify to represent Derry in the Ulster Senior Club Football Champio ...

quarter final between An Lúb and

Dungiven Dungiven () is a small town, townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is near the main A6 road (Northern Ireland), A6 Belfast to Derry road, which bypasses the town. It lies where the river ...

on 8 September 2007, at the home of his local club, Watty Graham Park, Glen. A Na Piarsaigh Belfast GAC jersey was draped over his coffin before he was interred .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, John 1936 births 2007 deaths Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members Members of Magherafelt District Council Northern Ireland MLAs 1998–2003 Northern Ireland politicians convicted of crimes Politicians from Belfast Provisional Irish Republican Army members Republicans imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict Sinn Féin MLAs Sinn Féin councillors in Northern Ireland Sinn Féin parliamentary candidates