Pádraig McKearney

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Pádraig Oliver McKearney (18 December 1954 – 8 May 1987) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) paramilitary. He was killed during a British Army ambush at Loughgall, County Armagh in May 1987, aged 32. He had 15 years of service as an IRA Volunteer when he was shot dead at Loughgall, making him one of the most experienced IRA Volunteers ever killed by British forces.[1]

Background

Pádraig McKearney was raised in

Irish republican family. Both his grandfathers had fought in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence, his maternal grandfather in south County Roscommon and his paternal grandfather in east County Tyrone.[2] He was educated at local Catholic schools in Collegeland and Moy, and later went to St Patrick's Academy, Dungannon
.

IRA career

He joined the

sten gun along with another IRA member Gerard O'Callaghan.[4] That same year an older brother, Tommy McKearney, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of an off-duty Ulster Defence Regiment soldier who worked as a postman in 1977,[5] nearly died on hunger strike after refusing food for 53 days. Another brother, Kevin, and an uncle, Jack McKearney, were both murdered by Loyalist paramilitaries in revenge attacks upon the family.[6]

On 25 September 1983 McKearney took part in the Maze Prison escape along with 37 other prisoners. At the beginning of 1984 he rejoined IRA activity in his native East Tyrone with the Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade. He advocated the commencement of the "third phase" of the armed struggle, the 'strategic defensive', in which the Royal Ulster Constabulary, Ulster Defence Regiment and British Army would be denied all support in selected areas following repeated attacks on their bases.1 In 1985 Patrick Kelly became commander of the Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade and it was under his leadership that this strategy was pursued. Remote Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) bases were attacked and destroyed, and building contractors who tried to repair them were targeted and sometimes murdered, as occurred with the attack on the Ballygawley police station in December 1985, which killed two policemen, and The Birches police station in August 1986.[7]

Death

McKearney was shot dead by the Special Air Service on 8 May 1987 during an IRA attack that he was taking part in upon Loughgall police station, which also claimed the lives of seven other IRA members.[8] His body was buried at his hometown of Moy.

Footnotes

Provisional IRA campaign 1969-1997
.)

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-1575000770
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-14-101041-0
    .
  3. ^ Malcolm Sutton. "An Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland". CAIN.
  4. ^ The SAS in Northern Ireland
  5. ISBN 0-7475-3818-2
    .
  6. ^ Deaths of Kevin and Jack McKearney, bbc.co.uk; accessed 7 November 2015.
  7. ISBN 978-0-14-101041-0
    .
  8. ^ Malcolm Sutton. "An Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland (1987)". CAIN.

Sources

  • Ed Moloney, Secret History of the IRA
  • Derek Dunne, Out of the Maze
  • Peter Taylor, Provos The IRA and Sinn Féin

External links

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