Sean McNeela and Tony D’Arcy

Posted by Jim on April 21, 2018

Sean McNeela and Tony D’Arcy died on hunger strike against the
criminalisation of republican prisoners at St Bricin’s Military
Hospital in Dublin, 78 years ago this week.
 

When Sean Russell became Chief of Staff of the IRA in 1938, he
immediately appointed Sean McNeela as OC (Officer in Command) England
and Tony Darcy as OC of the Western Command.

After a few months of tense activity preparing for the forthcoming
bombing campaign, Sean McNeela was arrested and sentenced to nine months
imprisonment. He returned to Ireland in 1939 and was appointed Director
of Publicity and started to produce a weekly internal newspaper called
War News. Sean was arrested three weeks later with members of the IRA’s
Radio Broadcast Staff and imprisoned in Mountjoy Jail. He was OC of the
prisoners from February 1940 and shared a cell with Tony Darcy, who had
been arrested at a GHQ meeting in 40 Parnell Square in Dublin. Darcy was
serving a three-month sentence for refusing to either account for his
movements or give his name and address when he was arrested.

A crisis developed in the prison when Nicky Doherty, of Julianstown,
County Meath, was sentenced to five years penal servitude. Instead of
being transferred to Arbour Hill (where other republican prisoners had
political status), he was lodged in the criminal section of Mountjoy.

Sean, as OC of republican prisoners, met the governor of the jail and
requested that Nicky be transferred to Arbour Hill on the grounds that
he was a political prisoner. The request was ignored.

Sean and his prison council met to consider the situation: it was
decided they would go on hunger strike until the demand was accepted.

Four men volunteered to go on hunger strike with McNeela and Darcy. They
were Tomas Mac Curtain, Cork (only son of the martyred Lord Mayor); Jack
Plunkett, Dublin (son of Count Plunkett and brother of Joseph Mary
Plunkett); Tommy Grogan, Drogheda, County Louth; and Michael Traynor,
Belfast (later Ard-Runai of Sinn Fein).

Seven days after the commencement of the hunger strike, Special Branch
officers came to take Sean to Collins Barracks for trial before the
Special Court. Sean refused to go. They told him they’d take him by
force. A hasty meeting of the prison council was held to decide on how
to resist.

Barricades were hastily erected in the D Wing of the jail. Beds, tables
and mattresses were piled on top of each other and general preparations
were made to resist the removal of Sean, their OC.

A large contingent of the Gardai arrived, together with the Special
Branch at full strength. The Gardai charged the barricades with batons;
the Special Branch men kept to the rear and looked on while the Gardai
were forced to retire by prisoners armed with chair legs.

The most effective weapon possessed by the prisoners was a quantity of
lime, liquefied by some Mayo men and flung in the faces of the charging
Gardai. It was reminiscent of the evictions of the Land League days.

Finally, the fire hydrants were brought into use and the force of the
water from the hoses broke down everything before them. The barricade
was toppled and the prisoners, drenched to the skin, could not resist
the pressure of the water; they were forced to take cover in the cells.

Tony Darcy and Sean McNeela got into a cell and closed the door. After a
few minutes it was burst open and in rushed about five Gardai. Tony,
standing under the window facing the door, raised his hand but was
silenced by a blow of a baton across the face that felled him senseless.
Sean was beaten across the cell. Blood teemed from his face and head.
These wounds on Sean and Tony never healed until they died.

Sean was taken away that evening and tried and sentenced by the Special
Court. He was charged with “conspiracy to usurp a function of
government” and sentenced to two years. He had been running a pirate
radio station when arrested.

On the eve of St Patrick’s Day, all six hunger strikers were removed to
St Bricin’s Military Hospital.

On the 54th night of the strike, Tony Darcy cried out, “Sean, I’m
dying”. Sean replied, “I’m coming, Tony”. The other prisoners appealed
to Sean not to get out of bed as he was very weak and they felt it would
kill him but Tony’s cry pierced Sean’s heart and he got up and staggered
across the room to his friend and comrade.

Later that night, Tony was taken out to a private ward. The IRA
Volunteer from Headford, County Galway, died the following night.

The day following Tony’s removal from the ward, Sean’s uncle, Mick
Kilroy, a Fianna Fail TD, came to see him.

Alas, he didn’t come to give a kinsman’s help, but attacked Sean for
“daring to embarrass de Valera” the “heaven-sent leader” by such action
and demanded that he give up his hunger strike at once. Sean ordered him
out of the room.

The next day, 19 April, Sean McNeela, IRA Volunteer from Ballycroy,
County Mayo, died.

The strike had been called off the day before by the IRA’s GHQ but word
had not got into the prison in time to save Sean.

‘McGuinness Principles’ campaign launched

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A new set of “principles” to commemorate former Six County Deputy First
Minister Martin McGuinness have been advanced by Sinn Fein with the
support of a prominent US politician.

They are drawn from unimplemented agreements in the peace process, and
were formally published at a ceremony at Molloy College on Long Island
last week.

The campaign is modelled on the MacBride principles against employment
discrimination, and it is hoped the effort will re-engage
Irish-Americans who may have become disenchanted in recent years.

The organisers are calling for a Bill of Rights; full statutory equality
for the Irish language; and funding for legacy inquests as part of a
process of healing and reconciliation. They are also seeking a Six
County “self-determination” border poll.

The MacBride Principles, adopted widely in the US, committed companies
setting up in the north of Ireland to fair employment and working
conditions. Sean MacBride was a former Chief of Staff of the IRA who
founded or participated in many international organisations and was
awarded both the Nobel Peace Prize and the Lenin Peace Prize.

The leader of the US Democratic Party in the Senate, Charles Schumer,
has now endorsed the ‘McGuinness Principles’.

An event was also held in Manhattan to promote the campaign, with the
support of New York State Comptroller Tom Di Napoli and his aide Pat
Doherty, who played a major part in drafting the MacBride Principles.

After meeting with the two sons of the late Martin McGuinness, Mr
Schumer said: “The torch of Martin McGuinness is being carried forward
by his two sons, Fiachra and Emmett, who have courageously and correctly
called on all parties to the Good Friday Agreement, including the
British government, to uphold critical, yet unfulfilled elements of the
Agreement, so that full equality, mutual respect, lasting peace and a
shared prosperity can be fully realised in the North – and throughout
all of Ireland.”

Schumer said he had held discussions with the Laborers International
President Terry O’Sullivan, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the
Brehon Law Society.

“I have a long and proud history of supporting efforts to achieve peace,
justice, reconciliation and self-determination for all the people of
Ireland. From the Scots Irish influx in the 1700’s to the waves of
immigrants that shaped the physical landscape and very future of this
nation, the people of Ireland have a deep and enduring bond with America
and with the State of New York, and this meeting is a continuation of
that abiding relationship. I am hopeful and confident that all parties
working together can achieve these vital goals.”

Other US groups backing the campaign include the Friendly Sons of St.
Patrick, American Irish Historical Society, the James Connolly
Irish-American Labor Coalition, Irish National Caucus, International
Transport Workers Union, Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union, the
Institute of Irish Studies at Molloy College, and the Hudson Valley
Irish Centre.

In a related development, a cross-party group of US Congress members has
called on the British government to implement agreed legacy mechanisms
and release funds for coroners’ inquests.

Marty Glennon of the Nassau County Brehon Law Society, said the new
campaign is also stressing the urgent need for the appointment of a US
Special Envoy to the north of Ireland.

The Principles are:

(1) EQUALITY – THE ENACTMENT OF A BILL OF RIGHTS:

The terms of the Good Friday Agreement called for the adoption of a Bill
of Rights in the North of Ireland. Twenty years after the Good Friday
Agreement was ratified by more than 70% of the voters in the North of
Ireland and 94% of the people in the Republic there is still no Bill of
Rights.

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission was mandated to put forward
recommendations. In 2008, the Commission made proposals to the UK
government recommending the recognition of a broad range of social and
economic rights.

Successive British governments have failed to affirmatively act on these
recommendations. Now, with significant opposition from within the
British government to continuing to accept the jurisdiction of European
human rights conventions, and a determination to scrap the Human rights
Act, it becomes even more important that the rights of Ireland’s
citizens in the North be protected when it comes to critical human
rights issues.

2) RESPECT – FULL STATUTORY EQUALITY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE:

The Good Friday Agreement affirmed: “the importance of respect,
understanding, and tolerance in relation to linguistic diversity,
including in Northern Ireland, the Irish language, Ulster-Scots and the
languages of the various ethnic communities, all of which are part of
the cultural wealth of the island of Ireland… the British Government
will, in particular in relation to the Irish language, where appropriate
and where people so desire it: take resolute action to promote the
language; facilitate and encourage the use of the language in speech and
writing in public and private life where there is appropriate demand …”

Eight years later, under the terms of the St. Andrews Agreement of 2006,
the British Government committed to introducing an Act to give the Irish
language official status equal to that accorded the Scots Gaelic and
Welsh languages.

They failed to honor this obligation, and the Democratic Unionist Party
explicitly repudiated it. Subsequent DUP moves in government to defund
Irish language study was a major contributing factor to the resignation
of Martin McGuinness as Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister in 2017
when he cited that party’s lack of “respect” for the rights and cultural
traditions of the Irish nationalist community in the North.

(3) TRUTH – EQUAL JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF THE CONFLICT AND THEIR
FAMILIES:

Many victims of the conflict in the North and their families have waited
decades to learn the full truth about what happened to them and their
loved ones. Funding must be provided for proper inquests to move
forward. The full story of collusion and cover-ups must be told, and
those responsible for human rights abuses must be brought to justice.

(4) SELF-DETERMINATION – THERE MUST BE A REFERENDUM ON IRISH UNITY TO
AFFIRM IRISH SELF-DETERMINATION:

Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the British
government committed to formally “recognise that it is for the people of
Ireland alone, by agreement between the two parts respectively and
without external impediment to exercise their right of
self-determination on the basis of consent…”

Provisions were included for referenda on Irish unity, whose results
would be given effect by the governmental parties to the Agreement. The
Agreement went on to commit that the signatory parties (including the
British Government) should not “make any change in the status of
Northern Ireland save with the consent of a majority of its people.”

Despite the fact that Brexit clearly represents a “change in status” of
Northern Ireland, and despite the fact that the people of the North
voted by a large majority to reject Brexit and remain inside the
European Union, the British government is determined to impose this very
significant change (having potentially profound consequences for
Ireland), on the people of Ireland north and south, against their
democratically expressed wishes.

If the Good Friday Agreement commitments to self-determination are to
have any meaning, the British Government must allow the Irish people the
opportunity to determine their future.

GFA prisoners still facing discrimination

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Twenty years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, republicans
who were jailed for activities related to the conflict have said they
are still facing barriers to employment and travel.

Representatives for Coiste na n-Iarchimi, an organisation that works on
behalf of former political prisoners jailed during the conflict for
their involvement in the Provisional IRA’s armed struggle spoke this
past week to the committee on the implementation of the Good Friday
Agreement at the Dublin parliament.

They said former republican prisoners are even discriminated against
when it comes to accessing psychological treatment.

Former PoW Michael Culbert told committee members that very little has
changed for these former prisoners since they were freed under the terms
of the agreement.

The agreement contains a section that states the governments will
recognise the importance of measures to facilitate the reintegration of
prisoners into the community by providing support.

“Unfortunately for us, people are denied access to university
programmes, denied access to work to which they are well qualified, we
are denied freedom for travel for many, many countries,” he said.

“Most recently four people were deported from Mexico on orders from the
American government. That was according to the Mexican authorities. The
problem is we don’t know where this will end twenty years after the
peace agreement.”

His colleague Kevin Mulgrew said there has been some progress recently
on the travel issue, but it is slow and countries like Canada and the
United States are “a no-go”.

“The Australian embassy I suppose given their history have the best
attitude, we’ve had some success getting people in,” he told the
committee.

“I think we a bit flippantly said that if the criteria the Australians
were using now were used in the original times they wouldn’t have got
into Australia, you know. So they took that and they actually have been
very progressive with us since then.”

Mr Mulgrew said there are issues in particular in the north of Ireland
because of British legislation which denies certain rights for
ex-prisoners.

This impacts on their access to psychiatric assistance.

“A lot of people are traumatised. Under the legislation, professionals
cannot treat somebody in privacy, it’s almost unbelievable. If the
person hears something from a client or patient relevant to the conflict
and doesn’t report it even today the person who is the professional can
be charged with withholding information,” he explained.

Members of the committee expressed concern about the lack of progress,
with independent TD Maureen O’Sullivan describing it as “nearly
incredulous at times”.

‘BORDER FORCE’ LAUNCHED

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A new ‘Border Force’ recruitment drive is being seen as the latest sign
that the British government is planning to impose a hard border across
Ireland after Brexit, and the manner of its implementation is in line
with the extreme right-wing policies of the British government’s Home
Office.

Britain is due to leave the European Union on 29 March 2019. Hundreds of
jobs are now being advertised as part of a recruitment campaign for a
force which could become the advance guard for a remilitarisation of the
border area.

Those suspicions were reinforced when the jobs were advertised for
‘British passport holders only’ — an advertisement which is in itself
illegal in the north of Ireland.

The British government explained that this was “due to the sensitive
nature of the work” which “requires special allegiance to the Crown”.

Despite the begrudging withdrawal of the ‘British only’ policy later in
the week, fears that the Brexit border will become a unionist frontier
have been reinforced.

Sinn Fein’s Newry and Armagh representative Conor Murphy said the drive
showed the Tories see a hard border as the predetermined outcome of the
Brexit negotiations despite the fact they have already agreed to
avoid it.

He said: “There can be no Tory-DUP Brexit border across Ireland. This
is a deeply damaging, disruptive and dangerous position, rejected
overwhelmingly by the people of this island.”

British plans to avoid a hard border were rubbished by EU negotiators at
a meeting on Wednesday as unworkable. London was also warned of the need
for “full compliance” with rules on agricultural products, livestock and
other animals, if it wanted to prevent customs barriers.

British Prime Minister Theresa May and Home Office Minister Amber Rudd
had spent much of this week addressing the ‘Windrush’ scandal,
which erupted after it emerged some elderly Caribbean immigrants and
their children had been illegally deported or detained. Some had
received instructions to try to ‘mix in’ by putting on a local accent.

Stella Creasy, a British Labour MP, said there was the risk of “enormous
damage” to the peace process in Ireland if Brexit is mishandled.

“No trickery is going to get Theresa May or her government out of the
hole they have dug for themselves in ruling out continued membership of
the customs union and the single market,” she said.

Irish Radio Network

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