Fergal O'Hanlon
| Fergal O'Hanlon | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 February 1936 Monaghan, County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland |
| Died | 1 January 1957 (age 20) Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland |
| Allegiance | Irish Republican Army |
| Years of service | 1956 - 1957 |
| Rank | Volunteer |
| Battles/wars | Border Campaign |
Feargal O'Hanlon (Irish: Feargal Ó hAnnluain (b. 2 February 1936, Ballybay, County Monaghan, Ireland – d. 1 January 1957, Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland) was a member/volunteer in the Pearse Column of the Irish Republican Army.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Background
A keen Irish language activist from a staunchly republican family, Feargal O'Hanlon was a draughtsman employed by Monaghan County Council, and was a Gaelic footballer.[2][3]
[edit] Brookeborough raid
Aged 20, he was killed along with Seán South while taking part in an attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (R.U.C.) barracks in Brookeborough, County Fermanagh during the Border Campaign. Several other IRA members were wounded in the botched attack. The IRA fled the scene in a dump truck. They abandoned it near the border. They left South and O'Hanlon, both then unconscious, in a cow byre, and crossed into the Republic of Ireland on foot for help for their comrades. The wounded IRA men were treated as "car crash victims" by sympathetic staff in the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin.[4][5] In the ballad of THE PATRIOT GAME, Fergal O'Hanlon of Co. Monaghan is recalling how he came to join the I.R.A. at the age of 14 years. "Oh my name is O'Hanlon, I've just gone 16, my home is in Monaghan, thats where I was weaned" it later goes on to say "its nearly 2 years since I've wandered away, with the local battalion of the bold IRA, I'de read of our heros and wanted the same so I took up my part in the patriot game. And now as I lie here my body all holes, I think of those traitors who bargained with souls, and I wish that my rifle had given the same to those quislings who sold out the Patriots Game"
[edit] Reaction
O'Hanlon's mother remained firmly committed to the IRA and was hurt by the suggestion that there was an alternative to IRA activity or that her son was anything other than an Irish hero.[6]
A marble monument now stands at the spot where South and O'Hanlon lost their lives. An annual lecture has been held in memory of O’Hanlon since 1982, and approximately 500 people attended a 50th commemoration of the men's deaths in January 2007 in Limerick.[7][8]
Dominic Behan's ballad, The Patriot Game tells the story of Fergal O'Hanlon.
His brother Eighneachán Ó hAnnluain was elected a Sinn Féin abstentionist TD in the 1957 general election to Dáil Éireann. His sister Pádraigín Uí Mhurchadha is a Sinn Féin Councillor on Monaghan Urban Council.
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Fergal O'Hanlon's gravestone.
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Monument erected in memory of Fergal O'Hanlon.
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Monument in Moane's Cross, Fermanagh to South and O'Hanlon.
[edit] References
- ^ Hoganstand.com - GAA Football & Hurling
- ^ Bishop, Patrick & Mallie, Eamonn (1987). The Provisional IRA. Corgi Books. p. 42. ISBN 0-552-13337-X.
- ^ Ella O'Dwyer. "A sister remembers". An Phoblacht. http://www.anphoblacht.com/news/detail/17282. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
- ^ Sinn Fein news
- ^ Valerie Robinson. "IRA men's deaths that caught whole country's imagination". Irish News. http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/irish_news/arts2007/jan1_1957_Sean_South_death.php. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
- ^ Coogan, Tim (2000). The I.R.A.. Harper Collins. p. 313. ISBN 0-00-653155-5.
- ^ Sabhat/O'Hanlon 50th anniversary: Capacity crowd attends Memorial Lecture
- ^ Seán Sabhat Commemoration: Positive response from Paisley would move situation forward
