Éamonn O'Doherty (Irish republican)
Éamonn O'Doherty | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1939 |
| Died | 27 October 1999 (aged 59–60) Carrick on Suir, Ireland |
| Unit | Irish Republican Army |
Éamonn O'Doherty (
chief of staff of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). During the 1986 split, he supported Republican Sinn Féin
.
Biography
O'Doherty joined the
Border Campaign
.
In 1970, he went to Northern Ireland and was attached to the South Fermanagh Battalion of the Provisional IRA and later became Officer Commanding (OC) of the IRA in the Fermanagh/Monaghan/Armagh area.
In 1973, he was promoted to the IRA General Headquarters Staff (GHQ) and after the arrest of
Séamus Twomey later that year, he was appointed chief of staff. He remained in this position until his own arrest and imprisonment in Portlaoise Prison
in 1974.
After his release, he resumed his work with the IRA GHQ and after a year he was sent on a mission to the USA, where he was arrested and detained for one year. He subsequently undertook a number of missions in various parts of the world on behalf of the IRA.
In 1985, he wrote a book entitled The IRA at War.
In the 1986 split in the
republican movement, O'Doherty sided with Republican Sinn Féin and refused to recognise the legitimacy of Dáil Éireann in Leinster House. O'Doherty felt that the decision to recognise the Republic of Ireland was a "greater treachery even than Collins
and company".
He died, aged 60, in Carrick-on-Suir.
References
- Obituary, An Phoblacht, November 11, 1999.
Books
- O'Doherty, Eamonn, The IRA at War: 1916 to the Present. An Illustrated History, Cork: Mercier, 1985, ISBN 0-85342-753-4