Tommy McKearney (born 1952) is a former Irishvolunteer in theProvisional Irish Republican Army who took part in the1980 hunger strike.[1][2]
McKearney was born inLurgan in the north-east ofCounty Armagh,[3] but he was raised inThe Moy, a village in the south-east ofCounty Tyrone, just across theRiver Blackwater fromCounty Armagh. He was born into a family with a long tradition ofIrish republicanism. Both his grandfathers had fought in theIrish Republican Army in theIrish War of Independence, his maternal grandfather Tom Murray being anAdjutant General in the North Roscommon Brigade.[1][4]
McKearney lost three of his brothers during theNorthern Ireland Troubles. Sean was killed by his own bomb in 1974,Pádraig was killed by theSpecial Air Service (SAS) in theLoughgall Ambush on 8 May 1987, and Kevin, a non-paramilitary, was murdered by theUlster Volunteer Force (UVF) in 1992 while working in the family's butcher shop.[5] His sister, Margaret, was the subject of an unsuccessfulextradition attempt in 1975, whenScotland Yard described her as "possibly the most dangerous woman terrorist in Britain."[6]
On 9 August 1971, the dayinternment was introduced, McKearney received hisA-level results.[7] He had hoped to study atQueen's University Belfast and become a teacher but his results were not good enough to secure entry.[7] He describes the introduction of internment as"the straw that broke the camel's back" and decided to join theProvisional IRA, becoming a member of theEast Tyrone Brigade.[8][9] He became the brigade'sOC during the mid-seventies.[8] On 19 October 1977 he was arrested and charged with the murder of Stanley Adams, a postman and part-timeUlster Defence Regiment (UDR)lance corporal (L/Cpl) of the8th Battalion. He was interrogated for seven days under thePrevention of Terrorism Act, and says he was ill-treated while in custody. He later received a life sentence with a recommended minimum term of twenty years for the murder of L/Cpl Adams, after a statement which he never signed was accepted by the court on the word of aRoyal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Inspector.[10]
McKearney was involved in theblanket anddirty protests, and took part in the1980 hunger strike along with other IRA members.[11] Prior to commencing the hunger strike, McKearney told his mother and father:
I'll put all my cards on the table. I'm going on hunger strike. If and when I die, I want to be brought back to Roscommon and be buried alongside my Granda (grandfather) . . . Don't let people try to influence you, your only friends will be the Republican Movement. If I die, never let the family be ashamed. If I die, I'll die in the knowledge that my life was for the cause and for the other boys here. If at my funeral the press say, "See how the IRA let your son die", just say, "My son died as an Irish soldier, not a British criminal".[12]
He spent 53 days on hunger strike, from 27 October to 18 December and, according to a doctor had only a few hours left to live when the strike was called off.[13]
In 1986, alongside 25 republican prisoners inHM Prison Maze, McKearney split from the Provisional IRA and formed a new organisation called theLeague of Communist Republicans. McKearney was the main theoretician behind the group, which took on aMarxist-Leninist outlook and analysis of Northern Ireland. McKearney called on the Provisional IRA to either return to a "ground war" against the British state or cease fighting altogether, rather than its strategy at that time of seldom but spectacular attacks. The members of the League believed that the "spectacular" attacks were too often botched, and too often resulted in the deaths of IRA members.[14] The league rejectedelectoralism and instead called for mass struggle against the British. However, it also made clear this mass struggle must be led by aVanguard party.[14]
The League would fold in 1991 following thecollapse of the Soviet Union.[14]
McKearney was released from prison in 1993, having served 16 years of his sentence.[5] In 2003 he appeared in theBBC documentaryLife After Life.[15] He is now afreelance journalist, edits the publicationFourthwrite, and is an organiser for theIndependent Workers Union of Ireland.[16]
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