Gearóid Ó hEára
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Sinn Féin politician and a prior Lord Mayor of Derry, Gearóid Ó hEára was born in 1953 and christened simply Gerard O'Hara in the Creggan neighborhood of Derry City.
Educated by the Irish Christian Brothers, he joined the PIRA following the sectarian conflagrations of the late 1960s and 1970s.
He attended an inquiry into Bloody Sunday; and it was uncovered that, in January 1972, he was 18 years old and Derry Fianna Eireann (Junior IRA) leader: "Mr. ÓhEára [sic] said the leadership of the Fianna was collective and he was part of an inner circle. He was nominal leader of this inner circle because he was the person chosen to deal with the IRA liaison officer who was their contact with the IRA. He had no title and was not an officer commanding as such. He said he had not mentioned his involvement with the Fianna in his original statement because he was on the march as a member of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA), not the Fianna. He refused to name the IRA Liaison Officer but said he would approach him to see if he would give evidence."
Close to a decade ago, before the end of the IRA campaign in 1997, he was somehow able to obtain a visa to travel to the United States where he attended a pre-reconciliation ceremony at the Jesuit-run Fordham University, in The Bronx, New York, which was attended by both Unionist and Nationalist politicians, although the local attendees and clergy were almost exclusively Catholic and pro-Nationalist. However, there was reportedly little ill will and the ceremony was wholly peaceful.
Ó hEára was quoted by the local Irish weekly, The Irish Echo, as saying that his party supported a democratic, pluralistic, accountable and secular Ireland. Upon becoming Lord Mayor of Derry, he gave the following speech (see [1]). He even supports a leading gay-rights organisation in Northern Ireland, the Rainbow Project, funding for which, when he was questioned, replied: I didn't realise the Rainbow Project was that strapped. He seemed and continues to seem convincingly progressive and pluralistic in outlook (his Deputy Lord Mayor was the DUP Alderman, Joe Miller).
He is married to Deirdre, and their children are being educated in Irish language-medium schools, where the first language taught is Irish, and English is the school's second language.
According to the Arts Council for Northern Ireland website, his resume is the following:
- ...an Irish Language specialist from Derry where he works for An Gaelaras, an Irish Language organisation.
- The activities of this body include economic development, courses, vocational education, youth, multi-media and artistic development.
- He has had many years experience as a city councillor and served on the Arts Review Group and Cultural Sub-Committee.
- Mr. Ó hEára is a member of Foras na Gaeilge and a former member of Foyle Tourism.
