Seán Gabriel McManus (born 1944 in
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
) is an American human rights, justice, peace campaigner and
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 ...
priest.
Birth and family
McManus was born in the parish of
Kinawley
Kinawley or Kinawly () is a small village, townland (of 187 acres) and civil parish straddling County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland and County Cavan, Republic of Ireland. The village and townland are both in the civil parish of Kinawley (founded b ...
,
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. He is a brother of
Frank McManus, former
Unity MP, and Patrick McManus, a member of the
IRA who was killed in an explosion in 1958 during the IRA's
"Border Campaign".
Activism
In 1971, McManus was a
Redemptorist
The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scal ...
Father in
Perth, Scotland
Perth (; ) is a centrally located Cities of Scotland, Scottish city, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and is the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population of about ...
. In August 1971, he was arrested in
Enniskillen
Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...
,
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, after a demonstration, because he intervened to stop the police beating up a young boy. The police stopped beating the boy and arrested him instead. In the following court proceedings, he was sentenced to a fine of
£20 and proclaimed:
''"I refused to recognize the Court because it has no legitimate authority. But that is only the “tip of the iceberg. I do not, I never have and I never will recognize the colonial State of British Occupied Ireland. This State exists because of a morally and politically criminal action. It was illegally imposed by force, and it is illegally sustained by force, against the will of the Irish people. Therefore, its institutions, its laws, and its legal and political expressions are invalid.”''
However, he subsequently supported the
Good Friday Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...
, which states:
''"that while a substantial section of the people in Northern Ireland share the legitimate wish of a majority of the people of the island of Ireland for a united Ireland, the present wish of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland, freely exercised and legitimate, is to maintain the Union and, accordingly, that Northern Ireland’s status as part of the United Kingdom reflects and relies upon that wish; and that it would be wrong to make any change in the status of Northern Ireland save with the consent of a majority of its people"''
In 1972, McManus was sent to serve as a priest in the United States. In 1974, he founded the
Irish National Caucus (INC), a group formed to
lobby
Lobby may refer to:
* Lobby (room), an entranceway or foyer in a building
* Lobbying, the action or the group used to influence a viewpoint to politicians
* Lobby (food), a thick stew made in Leigh, Greater Manchester and North Staffordshire, like ...
the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
on behalf of the cause of justice and peace in Northern Ireland. McManus formed the organization around principles promulgated by the
1971 Synod of Bishops in their document "
Justice in the World" which states: "Action on behalf of justice ...
sa constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel ... and
constitutive of dimensionof the Church's mission for the redemption of the human race and
orits liberation from every oppressive situation."
The INC has developed a solid reputation within Congress, with
Ben Gilman, former Chairman of the
House International Relations Committee
The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs ...
, stating, "No one has done more than Father McManus to keep the U.S. Congress on track regarding justice and peace in Ireland. Indeed, I believe historians will record that no one since John Devoy (1842 – 1928) has done more to organize American pressure for justice in Ireland. The only difference being that Father McManus – in keeping with his priestly calling – is committed to nonviolence."
In 2011, McManus was chosen to serve on the
World Peace Prize Awarding Council, The South Korea-based Council consists of twelve international and interfaith members. and in 2013, was selected to be their chief judge.
The MacBride Principles
The MacBride Principles – a corporate code of conduct for American companies doing business in Northern Ireland – was launched by the Irish National Caucus on November 4, 1984. The MacBride Principles both symbolized and effectuated the Caucus’ major campaign to stop the U.S. dollars subsidizing anti-Catholic discrimination in Northern Ireland. The Principles became law in 18 U.S. states and numerous towns and cities. In October 1998, the MacBride Principles were passed by both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives and signed into the U.S. law. Chairman Gilman took to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to welcome this singular achievement, saying: "I want to make a special note regarding Father Sean McManus. No one has fought harder against discrimination in Northern Ireland. Father Sean single-handedly brought the MacBride fair employment principles to ... enactment."
References
Further reading
*
External links
Irish National Caucus
{{DEFAULTSORT:McManus, Sean
Living people
Christian clergy from County Fermanagh
American Roman Catholic priests
British emigrants to the United States
Redemptorists
1944 births