If he is right, and there is strong support for his view in the work of richard orawe, we need to pause and consider this ruthless approach to the management of the hunger strike and compare it to the attitude of brendan hughes who stopped the first hunger strike rather than lead an ira volunteer unwittingly to his death. Keefe draws the characters in this drama finely and colorfully. In a nutshell, the hughes interview accuses adams of being involved in all the major ira actions of his time, including the bloody friday bombings, and describes adams admittedly puzzling. He was a cousin of charles hughes, who was the oc of d company in the provisional ira belfast brigade during the falls. Anger at cynicism involved in latest antisinn fein book an phoblacht. A former ulster volunteer force bomber and confidante of its longtime leader gusty spence, ervine helped steer loyalisms gunmen towards peace, persuading the uvfs leaders to target ira and sinn fein activists and push them down the road to a ceasefire. An aspect of this that was appealing to me was just that it seemed like in the story of jean mcconville and dolours price and former ira lieutenant brendan hughes and gerry adams there was a. On saturday, 23 february 2008, some of brendans ashes were placed in the d companys garden of remembrance described in this article.
Jul, 2006 risking the lives of volunteers is not the ira way. The only extracts from interviews to have been made public so far are those of ira veteran brendan the dark hughes and progressive unionist party leader and former uvf man david ervine in ed moloneys book and tv film, both titled voices from the grave. Sinn fein president gerry adams writes about the moloneymcintyre book and his relationship with brendan hughes, the ira and the need for a truth recovery process. Brendan the dark hughes was a legend within the ira, rising to become the provisionals belfast commander and leading the first hunger strike for political status in the maze in 1980. May 01, 2014 brendan the dark hughes was a legend within the ira, rising to become the provisionals belfast commander and leading the first hunger strike for political status in the maze in 1980. Brendan hughes, the dark, northern irish militant born 1948, belfast, n. British war diary suggests possible mrf role in effort. Francis hughes 28 february 1956 12 may 1981 was a volunteer in the provisional irish republican army ira from bellaghy, county londonderry, northern ireland. Brendan hughes 16 october 1948 16 february 2008 1, also known as the dark, 2 was a leading irish republican and former officer commanding oc of the belfast brigade of the provisional irish republican army ira. Hughess posthumous words are drawn from boston colleges remarkable archive of taped interviews given by paramilitants for release after their deaths. Brendan hughes military wiki fandom powered by wikia. A page for sharing stories and the bits that dont make the paper.
Brendan hughes was approached to join the movement in 1969. An old friend of mine, brendan hughes, has been in the news this week. Nov 07, 20 brendan hughes was an honest and decent human being. Gerry adams ordered murder of jean mcconville, claims.
Hughess posthumous words are drawn from boston colleges remarkable archive of taped interviews. Meeting brendan hughes, the dark, 19482008 seaghan o murchu. After the book came out, sinn fein spoke of hughess depression towards the end of his life, and his heavy drinking. David ervine was the most substantial political figure to emerge from the world of loyalist paramilitaries. Gerry adams ordered murder of jean mcconville, claims ira. An account of the troubles is wrenching, and a warning the. Apr 18, 20 brendan hughes why he joined the ira protestant irish republican. Gerry adams ordered murder of jean mcconville, claims ira commander brendan hughes from beyond the grave most watched news videos paramedics doing tiktok coffin dance blasted as inappropriate. In the book, former ira commander brendan hughes claims the west belfast mp was linked to some of the worst atrocities of the troubles including the. May 02, 2019 brendan hughes, the ira voice in vftg, was featured in both book and film, speaking at length about the jean mcconville disappearance. The first and more gripping half of this fascinating, important book by ed moloney recreates hughess ira career. Hughes had agreed to give an oral history about his role in the troubles on the condition that the recordings would not be released until after his death his death occurred in 2008.
Brendan hughes was a legend in the republican movement. At his trial, he was sentenced to a total of 83 years imprisonment. Marian price denies claim she was third member of ira unit. Dorchester native breaks new ground in latest book on ira. Brendan hughes, commander of d company, who would become an ira legend for his exploits in prison and on the street, turned two ira men who were double agents for the british army into triple agents for the ira, enabling his unit to target and kill a covert british operative as well as. Brendan hughes why he joined the ira protestant irish republican. The feud between the two wings of the ira had been developing ever since the republic movement split on 11 january 1970. Irish republican army and the ira soldiers and leaders dolours price, brendan hughes and gerry adams. The 83minute film includes testimony from brendan hughes and other ira veterans who worked with adams during the height of the troubles. His extracts were taken from boston college interviews.
The other main characters in this book are the very senior ira figure brendan the dark hughes, dolours price and gerry adams whose presence seems to loom over much of. Brendan hughes was an honest and decent human being. Northern irelands painful past is far from over america. Aug 07, 2019 the famous events of brendan hughes life as an irish republican activist, hunger striker, and ira commander in belfast and within the ira prison command structure, are well documented online and in the book voices from the grave, based on an oral history project. The first section deals with brendan hughes, an ira man, and his experiences in northern ireland during the troubles. Brendan hughes october 1948 16 february 2008, also known as the dark, and darkie was a leading irish republican and former officer. In 20, recorded tapes of former provisional ira member brendan hughes were released. Sep 07, 2012 the 83minute film includes testimony from brendan hughes and other ira veterans who worked with adams during the height of the troubles. He is best known as the leader of the 1980 irish hunger strike. Hughes, containing interviews, transcripts and articles he had written over the years from the blanket.
Hughes was born into a republican catholic family from the lower falls road area of belfast, northern ireland. This book gives the inside story of the conflict from the point of view of two senior figures, one from each side. But as patrick radden keefe implicitly reminds us in his new book, say nothing. Members of the official irish republican army oira engaged in a gun battle with members of the provisional ira pira. Both are now dead but gave the lengthy interviews to researchers from boston college over a period of several years. Brendan hughes d coy area in the lower falls was the most active ira area in the city at the time and common sense suggests that the british army would have deployed the available panoply of overt and covert forces against it on a fulltime basis. The price of peace in northern ireland foreign affairs. The ira and its members often had a romantic and heroic place in the media, people who were willing to go. If he is right, and there is strong support for his view in the work of richard orawe, we need to pause and consider this ruthless approach to the management of the hunger strike and compare it to the attitude of brendan hughes who stopped the first hunger strike rather than. Brendan hughes october 1948 16 february 2008, also known as the dark, and darkie was a leading irish republican and former officer commanding oc of the belfast brigade of the provisional irish republican army ira.
Brendan hughes 16 october 1948 16 february 2008, also known as the dark, was a leading irish republican and former officer commanding oc of the belfast brigade of the provisional irish republican army ira. Very few members of the ira have such a dramatic record of activism as the man known as the dark. In october 2001 brendan hughes came to a lecture i gave on the ira at queens university, belfast. The 83minute film includes testimony from brendan hughes and other ira veterans who worked with adams during the. The title of the book comes from a seamus heaney poem, whatever you say, say nothing, in which he calls. Senior members of the republican movement have visited the family of brendan hughes to discover details of a book that the ira commander wanted released after his death. The research was conducted under the guidance of the book s author ed moloney, a veteran. Risking the lives of volunteers is not the ira way. They have written books and countless articles attacking me, and in its time the ira leadership, for taking political initiatives and charting a path out of conflict to peace. Mar 29, 2010 in the book, former ira commander brendan hughes claims the west belfast mp was linked to some of the worst atrocities of the troubles including the brutal killing of the widowed west belfast woman.
Journalist, currently at the irish news in belfast. Mar 29, 2010 gerry adams ordered murder of jean mcconville, claims ira commander brendan hughes from beyond the grave most watched news videos paramedics doing tiktok coffin dance blasted as inappropriate. Oct 17, 2019 brendan hughes said he had organised bloody friday, the day in 1972 on which the ira detonated more than 19 car bombs in belfast in the space of an hour. I applaud radden keefes persistence over four years of study, research, and interviews to give us a compelling story of jean mcconville and her family, as well as other major players of the timegerry adams, delours price, brendan hughes. Marian prices older sister dolours, who died in 20, and brendan hughes, who died in 2008, both previously gave interviews to boston college project director ed moloney, copies of which were. Jan 26, 2014 brendan hughes, a former ira commander, said he once considered gerry adams, the sinn fein leader, as a brother the wall photo shows them in prison together.
Voices from the grave documentary boston college subpoena. Patrick radden keefe, author of say nothing, a book examining the murder of widowed mother of 10 jean. The dark lived and died as a man of honour, a soldier of ireland, and a workingclass. Brendan hughes project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Hughes was captured in 1973 but escaped six months later. Sinn fein fears book by exira commander brendan hughes. Their move to overturn abstentionism would have to pass twice over, first at the ira convention and then at the sinn fein ard fheis a month later in october 1986. Secrets from belfast the chronicle of higher education. On saturday, 23 february 2008, some of brendan s ashes were placed in the d companys garden of remembrance described in this article. Hughes was the most wanted man in northern ireland until his arrest following a shootout with the special air service sas in which an sas soldier was killed. In particular, they wanted tapes in which former ira soldiers brendan hughes and delours price allegedly described the mcconville abduction, murder, and coverup in granular detail. An operator, a gunrunner and mastermind of some of the most savage ira violence of the troubles, he was a friend and close ally of gerry adams and was by his side during the most brutal years of the conflict. The traditional ira volley of shots for its fallen volunteers was fired over the ashes of ira volunteer brendan hughes. While the legal wrangling involving bc was his entree into the case, keefe found himself hooked by the characters people like hughes, price, and ira commander.
In extensive interviews given to researchers from boston college, brendan hughes and david ervine spoke with astonishing. The other main characters in this book are the very senior ira figure brendan the dark hughes, dolours price and gerry adams whose presence seems to loom over much of the work. The other main characters in this book are the very senior ira figure brendan the dark hughes, dolours price. Brendan hughes, a former ira commander, said he once considered gerry adams, the sinn fein leader, as a brother the wall photo shows them in prison together. Today brendan hughes is a man who gets by on income support and feels bitter about what happened in the period after the hunger strikes. Brendan hughes, like the rest of us, had his faults. Brendan hughes, commander of d company, who would become an ira legend for his exploits in prison and on the street, turned two ira men who were double agents for the british army into triple agents for the ira, enabling his unit to target and kill a covert british operative as well as clean house within the organization. Brendan hughes, the ira voice in vftg, was featured in both book and film, speaking at length about the jean mcconville disappearance. Completely unputdownable, this moves beyond a dry history of the troubles by focusing in the first two sections on the activities, actions and convictions of four people involved in the provisional ira though adams continues to deny his own involvement. New book claims to reveal the killers of jean mcconville.
The book is told from two very different perspectives and i felt that the accounts of the two men involved here brendan. Brendan hughes said he had organised bloody friday, the day in 1972 on which the ira detonated more than 19 car bombs in belfast in the space of. Dec 23, 2019 how then could republican militarists like dolours price, the daughter of a staunch republican family and cause celebre of the movement during the 1970s, and onetime belfast ira commander brendan hughes reconcile the acts of violence they committedto others and to their own bodies as hunger strikerswith a political compromise from which. Anger at cynicism involved in latest antisinn fein book an. All accounts of brendan hughes life attest to his workingclass socialist. The famous events of brendan hughes life as an irish republican activist, hunger striker, and ira commander in belfast and within the ira prison command structure, are well documented online and in the book voices from the grave, based on an oral history project. Ira volunteer brendan hughes and loyalist paramilitary david ervine. Brendan the dark hughes was a legend within the ira, rising to become the provisionals belfast commander and leading the first hunger strike for political status in. Brendan hughes, onetime commander of the belfast brigade of the provisional ira and hunger strike leader, is a boisterous, devil.
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