Thomas "Ta" Power | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Power January 1954 (1954-01) Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Died | (1987-01-20)20 January 1987 (aged 33) Rosnaree Hotel,Drogheda, Ireland |
| Cause of death | Gunshot duringambush by theIPLO |
| Political party | Irish Republican Socialist Party |
| Nickname | Ta |
| Military service | |
| Paramilitaries | Irish National Liberation Army(1975–1987) Official Irish Republican Army(early 1970s–1975) |
Thomas Power (January 1954 – 20 January 1987) was anIrish republican socialist, also known asTa Power, who was a leading member of theIrish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) andIrish National Liberation Army (INLA). According to theIrish Republican Socialist Movement (IRSM) biography page on Power, he was from Friendly Street[1] in the Markets area of south Belfast, where he had become an activist.[2] He had originally joined theOfficial IRA but transferred allegiance to the INLA in 1975 while a prisoner inLong Kesh,[3] along with 20 other men.[2]
Power was arrested on the word of thesupergrassHarry Kirkpatrick.[4]
Power spent the longest period onremand—nearly four and a half years—of any republican prisoner.[4] During this time he developed his political analysis of the IRSP/INLA situation, which he believed needed "fresh blood".[5]
Power, the ex-INLAchief of staffHugh Torney told the authorsHenry McDonald andJack Holland, wanted to build a consensus within the INLA againstGerard Steenson, although he was willing to accept back the rest of theIPLO.[3]
Power had been out of prison a month when,[6] aged 33, he was shot and killed on 20 January 1987 while drinking tea[7] in Rosnaree Hotel on the Dublin Road, outsideDrogheda[8] inCounty Louth, Ireland, along with INLA leaderJohn "Jap" O'Reilly.[9] They were there to negotiate a truce with the IPLO. Also with them wasPeter Stuart andHugh Torney, who was injured. TheIrish People's Liberation Organisation, which was largely composed of former INLA members, claimed responsibility.[10] It is possible that Steenson was one of the killers—who both wore false beards[9]— although Torney believed otherwise.[11] O'Reilly died at the scene, Power in the ambulance later.[9]
Power was aMarxist theorist and historian within the IRSM, who advocated dramatic changes in its strategy and structure. This is the current policy blueprint for the IRSM. These ideas can be read in the 'Ta Power Document'[12] and include the principles of 'collective leadership', 'politics in command' and other concepts Power believed would steer the IRSM away from a military-led strategy.[13] The document is highly critical of the then IRSP/INLA political philosophy.[5] He particularly criticised what he saw as a "macho culture" within his movement. He wrote:[5]
We get no analysis, we get no strategy outside the basic [military] confrontation—it eventually becomes an end in itself simply due to the fact that they don’t know any other strategy.[14]
These ideas were adopted by the INLA just before Power's death and were finally implemented within the movement as a whole under the direction ofGino Gallagher.[13] Power, says the writerAndrew Sanders, was a "revered" figure in the INLA.[15]
Jack Holland andHenry McDonald posited that "[S]ubordinating military struggle to carefully thought-out political strategy had been Ta Power's dream for a long time. In the 1980sSinn Féin and theIRA made that a reality with theirballot box and armalite policy. The provos learnt well from the lessons and mistakes of the IRSP/INLA".[16]
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