Joe McCann
Joe McCann | |
---|---|
Born | Joseph McCann 2 November 1947 Gunshot wounds |
Nationality | Irish |
Military career | |
Allegiance | Irish Republic |
Service/ | Irish Republican Army Official Irish Republican Army |
Years of service | 1965–1972 |
Rank | Commander |
Battles/wars | The Troubles |
Joe McCann (2 November 1947 – 15 April 1972) was an Irish republican paramilitary. A member of the Irish Republican Army and later the Official Irish Republican Army, he was active in politics from the early 1960s and participated in the early years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. He was shot dead during a confrontation with RUC Special Branch members and British paratroopers in 1972.
Early life
He was born in the
In 1964 he was involved in a riot on Divis Street in Belfast in opposition to the threat from
McCann was active in the IRA's involvement in the civil rights activism, protesting against the development of the
Personal life
McCann married Anne McKnight who hailed from a strong republican family in the Markets area in Belfast. Anne's older brother, Bobby, was part of the 1956–62 border campaign and was arrested and jailed, as well as later being interned. Anne's brother Seán sided with the Provisionals after the 1969 split, and went on to represent South Belfast for Sinn Féin.[citation needed]
IRA activities
McCann was appointed commander of the Official IRA Third Belfast Battalion. By 1970, violence in Northern Ireland had escalated to the point where British soldiers were deployed there in large numbers. From 3–5 July 1970, McCann was involved in gun battles during the Falls Curfew between the Official IRA and up to 3,000 British soldiers in the Lower Falls area that left four civilians dead from gunshot wounds, another killed after being hit by an armoured car and 60 injured.[1] On 22 May 1971, the first British soldier reported to be killed by the Official IRA, Robert Bankier of the Royal Green Jackets was killed by a unit led by McCann. McCann's unit opened fire on a passing British mobile patrol near Cromac Square, hitting the patrol from both sides. He was the fourth British soldier to die on active service, and the seventh overall since the conflict began.[2][3]
In another incident, McCann led a unit which captured three
On 9 August 1971, his unit took over the Inglis bakery in the Markets area, following the introduction of
In early February 1972, he was reported to be involved in the attempted assassination of
Death
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2021) |
McCann was killed on 15 April 1972 in Joy Street in The Markets by soldiers from the Parachute Regiment.[8] He had returned to Belfast shortly before being killed and was at the top of the RUC Special Branch wanted list. He was told by the Official IRA Belfast command to return for his own safety to Dublin. However he ignored their requests and remained in Belfast.[citation needed]
The RUC Special Branch was aware of his presence in Belfast and were on the look out for him. On the morning of his death, he was spotted by an RUC officer who reported his whereabouts to the Parachute Regiment, who were carrying out a road block at the junction of May and Joy Streets in the Markets area at the time. McCann was approached by an RUC officer who informed him that he was under arrest. McCann was unarmed and tried to run to evade arrest when fired on by the soldiers.[9][10] He was shot dead in Joy Street just before the junction with Hamilton Street.[11]
McCann was hit 3 times according to the pathology report, the fatal shot hitting him in the buttock and passing up through his internal organs. In the court case of the two surviving soldiers evidence was provided that soldier 'B' fired 4 shots, soldiers 'A' and 'C' fired one shot each. No ballistics tests took place so none of the bullets that hit McCann could be attributed to any particular individual soldier.[citation needed]
Ten cartridge cases were counted by a local shop owner, Mrs Connolly, outside her shop alone, these had come from one soldier who was kneeling directly outside her shop. Bullet holes were also visible in the walls of nearby houses in both Joy and Hamilton streets.[12]
McCann was among the most militant of the OIRA's Belfast volunteers and far more enthusiastic about "armed struggle" in Northern Ireland than the OIRA leadership. His killing was closely followed by the organisation calling a ceasefire. It was rumoured that McCann was unarmed when he was killed because the OIRA leadership had confiscated his personal weapon, a .38 pistol.[citation needed]
Some former OIRA members [who?] alleged that McCann's killing was set up by their Dublin leadership.[12]
Five days of rioting followed his death. Turf Lodge, where McCann lived, was a no-go area and was openly patrolled by an OIRA land rover with the words "Official IRA – Mobile Patrol" emblazoned on the side. The OIRA shot five British soldiers, killing three, in revenge for McCann's killing, in different incidents the following day in Belfast, Derry and Newry.[12]
Funeral and tributes
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2018) |
McCann's funeral on 18 April 1972 was attended by thousands of mourners. have shown the colour of their so called peace initiatives. They have re-declared war on the people...We have given notice, by action that no words can now efface, that those who are responsible for the terrorism that is Britain's age old reaction to Irish demands will be the victim of that terrorism, paying richly in their own red blood for their crimes and the crimes of their imperial masters.
Despite this hardline rhetoric, however, Goulding called a ceasefire just six weeks later, on 29 May 1972. One of the more surprising tributes to McCann came from
In 1997, a plaque was unveiled at the spot on Joy Street in the Markets where McCann was killed. Members of the various republican factions, the Workers' Party (ex-Official IRA), Sinn Féin (political wing of the Provisional IRA) and the Irish Republican Socialist Party (a splinter, along with the Irish National Liberation Army from the Official republican movement in 1974) were all in attendance.[citation needed]
Inquiry and trial
In 2010, the Historical Enquiries Team investigation into the killing of Joe McCann found it was unjustified.[17]
In December 2016, two former British soldiers, known as Soldier A and Soldier C, were arrested and charged with murder.[18] The trial commenced in Belfast April 2021.[9] In May 2021, the trial collapsed and the two soldiers were acquitted.[17][6] The judge found that the soldiers' statements given in 1972 to the Royal Military Police, on which the prosecution was based, were inadmissible because the statements were provided without the soldiers being under caution.[17][6] The family are set to apply to the Attorney General to request an inquest.[19][17]
References
- ^ Patrick Bishop, Eamon Mallie, The Provisional IRA (1988), p159
- ^ Jack Holland & Henry McDonald, INLA – Deadly Divisions, 1994, p. 10
- ^ Sutton, Malcolm. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-84488-120-8.
- ^ Jack Holland, Henry McDonald, Deadly Divisions, p10
- ^ a b c "Trial of ex-soldiers over 1972 killing of Official IRA member collapses". the Guardian. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-84488-120-8.
- ^ English, Richard (2003), Armed Struggle: the History of the IRA, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pg 175, ISBN 0-19-516605-1
- ^ a b "Joe McCann: Policeman gives evidence at Official IRA man murder trial". BBC News. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ "Joe McCann: Murder trial of two former soldiers accused of killing IRA commander in 1972 collapses". Sky News. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ Young, Connla (15 April 2022). "Official IRA man Joe McCann to be remembered on 50th anniversary". Irish News.
- ^ a b c Holland, McDonald, Deadly Divisions, pg. 11.
- Irish Echo.
- ^ Holland, McDonald, p. 14
- ^ Bishop, Mallie, p238-239
- ISBN 978-1-84488-120-8.
- ^ a b c d "Joe McCann: Trial of two soldiers collapses". BBC News. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ "Two ex-British soldiers to face murder trial over IRA man's killing". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ "Two former soldiers accused of murder of IRA leader acquitted". The Independent. 4 May 2021. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
Sources
- Patrick Bishop, Eamonn Mallie, The Provisional IRA
- Jack Holland, Henry McDonald, INLA, Deadly Divisions
- http://www.irelandsown.net/JoeMcCann.htm
- The Lost Revolution The Story of The Official I.R.A. and The Workers Party. Hanley and Miller. Penguin 2009.
External links
- Official Joe McCann Website
- Memorial to McCann in Belfast, cain.ulst.ac.uk
- McCann's death, time.com; accessed 25 October 2015.