Saor Éire (; meaning 'Free Ireland'), also known as the Saor Éire Action Group, was an armed

Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...

organisation composed of

Trotskyists Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a re ...

and ex- IRA members. It took its name from a similar organisation of the 1930s.Liz Walsh: The Final Beat, Gardaí Killed in the Line of Duty (Gill and Macmillan, Dublin. 2001).

History

It was formed in 1967 by ex IRA members who left in protest in the early sixties over lack of military action. its leaders included Peter Graham, Frank Keane (Former Commandant of the Dublin Brigade of the IRA), Liam Walsh, Joe Dillon and Martin Casey and Maureen Keegan of the Young Socialists. It recruited members of the Marxist

Irish Workers Group :''See Irish Workers' Group (1976) for the Irish Workers' Group which was a member of the League for a Fifth International.'' The Irish Workers' Group (IWG) was a Marxist political party in Ireland. It originated as the Irish Workers Union, whic ...

. The group drew ideological inspiration from

Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quot ...

, and Socialist Irish Republicans from the 1930s such as Michael Price

Deaglán de Bréadún Deaglán de Bréadún, Irish journalist and author. Education De Bréadún was educated at Synge Street CBS and University College, Dublin. Work An award-winning journalist who worked for many years with The Irish Times where he held a range ...

of the

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

writes that the group "probably never numbered more than a few dozen activists". Between 1967 and 1970, Saor Éire carried out a number of

bank robberies Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank-ow ...

, the proceeds being used to purchase arms. The group provided arms, training and funding to

nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

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. North ...

after the outbreak of

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

in 1969.

Timeline

*27 February 1967: In Drumcondra the group carried out an armed robbery. *In August 1967: Saor Éire member Frank Keane attempted to burn down the

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian ...

party HQ. *19 April 1968: Joe Dillon and three others robbed the Royal Bank of Ireland in Drumcondra where £3,186 was stolen. *20 June 1968: A

Hibernian bank Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Irish ...

in Newbridge, Kildare was robbed, £3,174 was taken. *March 1969: A robbery in Newry netted £22,000, the biggest single haul from a robbery in the country at the time. *February 1970: the group took over the village of Rathdrum in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered ...

, stopping traffic and cutting phone lines, and robbed the local bank. *3 April 1970: In the course of a bank robbery 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 ...

, a police officer, Garda Richard Fallon, was shot and killed. He was the first member of the Irish security forces to die in the Troubles. Allegations of government connections with Saor Éire were made in the Dáil (legislature) immediately afterwards and over the following years. Three men, Sean Morrissey, Patrick Francis Keane and Joseph Dillon were tried for the murder and were acquitted. Over thirty years after his death, the family of Garda Fallon accused the government of assisting members of Saor Éire in escaping after the murder. Previously secret government files made available in 2006 confirmed the sighting of Pádraig "Jock" Haughey, brother of the former

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the offi ...

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

, in the company of Martin Casey in London buying arms during the period before the Arms Trial. The government has refused to hold a public inquiry into the matter and possible State collusion with members of the organisation. *July 1970: the offices of Dalton Supplies in

were bombed, there were no casualties or injuries. The group sent a statement to the newspapers saying it was bombed to force the company to accept the proposals of the

Labour Court A labor court (or labour court or industrial tribunal) is a governmental judiciary body which rules on labor or employment-related matters and disputes. In a number of countries, labor cases are often taken to separate national labor high courts. O ...

on behalf of the workers. *13 October 1970: Liam Walsh died in a premature bomb explosion on a railway embankment in Dublin while Martin Casey was critically injured *25 October 1971: Peter Graham assassinated in Dublin in what was referred to at the time as an internecine dispute about a large sum of money. His killers were never found. Among the mourners at his funeral, along with leading republicans and left-wingers, were

Tariq Ali Tariq Ali (; born 21 October 1943) is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the ''New Left Review'' and ''Sin Permiso'', and cont ...

of the

International Marxist Group :''See also the International Marxist Group (Germany). The International Marxist Group (IMG) was a Trotskyist group in Britain between 1968 and 1982. It was the British Section of the Fourth International. It had around 1,000 members and suppor ...

and

Charlie Bird Charles Bird (born 9 September 1949)In his semi-autobiography ''This Is Charlie Bird'', he states he has two birth certificates, one saying he was born 4 September 1949, the other 9 September 1949. He chooses to celebrate his birthday on 9 Sept ...

, previously a member of the Young Socialists and later a

news correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

for

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

television. A photograph of the funeral shows Ali and Bird giving a clenched fist salute at the grave. *10 June 1975: Larry White, a leading Saor Éire activist from Cork was shot several times on Mount Eden Road. He died of his injuries a short time later. The

Official IRA The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA (OIRA; ) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a "socialist state, workers' republic" en ...

are widely believed to have been responsible for the killing with a number of members claiming that White had aided the INLA in shooting and injuring Sean Garland in

Ballymun Ballymun () is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the Northside, the green-field development of which began in the 1960s to accommodate a housing crisis in inner city areas of Dublin. While the newly built housing was ...

in March of that year. In 1976 a number of members of the Official republican movement were convicted of the murder of Larry White, among them Bernard LynchFamily of murdered republican calls for removal of Minister's assistant
by Paul Cullen, The Irish Times – Saturday, 25 June 2011 (the husband of Labour party TD Kathleen Lynch). The case was later quashed on the basis that evidence given at the original trial was no longer admissible. Saor Éire was officially disbanded in 1975, although it remains a Proscribed Organisation in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

under the

Terrorism Act 2000 The Terrorism Act 2000 (c.11) is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland (Em ...

References

External links

The Blanket – A Little Known Republican Military Group: Saor Eire

video showing an interview with a member of Saor Eire

Peter Graham Funeral, 30 October 1971
''Dublin Opinion Blog''. Retrieved 2010-02-02. {{DEFAULTSORT:Saor Eire (1967-1975) 1967 establishments in Ireland 1975 disestablishments History of the Republic of Ireland Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) Irish republican militant groups Organisations designated as terrorist by the United Kingdom Proscribed paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland Trotskyist organisations in Ireland