Dominic McGlinchey

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Dominic McGlinchey (1954 – 10 February 1994) was an Irish republican paramilitary with the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).

Contents

[edit] Background

McGlinchey was born in a large Bellaghy family (he had 10 siblings) with a strong Irish Republican background.[1] He was dubbed "Mad Dog" by the press, but he disliked the name.

[edit] Family

In the midst of his paramilitary career, he married Mary McNeill, from County Antrim on 5 July 1975. The couple had three children: Declan, Dominic, and Máire (who died as an infant from meningitis). Mary herself later became a volunteer in the INLA.[2] Dominic Jr also became a Republican activist.[3][4] In October 2006 Declan McGlinchey was remanded in custody at Derry Magistrates Court on explosives charges. The charges are connected to the discovery of a bomb in Bellaghy in July.[5]

[edit] Paramilitary activities

In August 1971, at the age of 17, he was interned without charge for ten months in the prison camps of Ballykelly and Long Kesh. After his release, he was imprisoned again in 1973 on arms charges.[6]

After his next release, he joined a South Derry Independent Republican Unit along with Ian Milne and future Provisional IRA hunger strikers Francis Hughes and Thomas McElwee (some members of the independent unit would later join the IRA). Their activities led the Royal Ulster Constabulary to take the unusual step of issuing wanted posters.[7]

[edit] IRA

McGlinchey was arrested by the Gardaí in 1977 and charged with hijacking a police vehicle, threatening a police officer with a gun, and resisting arrest. In 1982, while serving time in Portlaoise Prison, he clashed with the Provisional Irish Republican Army leadership and was expelled for “indiscipline”.[6]

[edit] INLA

McGlinchey joined the INLA in 1982 as Operations Officer for South Derry and became Chief of Staff within six months. His impact was immediate, as he put an end to dissent within the organisation and built it up throughout the country.[6] After the British Intelligence Agencies decided that he had masterminded the Droppin Well bombing in Ballykelly, County Londonderry, it has been alleged that he was targeted for assassination by The 'Det' (part of the SAS).[8] However the alleged attempt to kill him on 12 December 1982 failed with Roddie Carroll and Seamus Grew being killed instead. (Their deaths were subsequently investigated by Sir John Stalker as part of his investigation into the Shoot-to-kill policy in Northern Ireland.)

In March 1984 McGlinchey was wounded in a shoot-out with the Gardaí and arrested.[9] He was extradited to Northern Ireland and sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of murder. This conviction was overturned in October 1985 by the Belfast Appeals Court on the grounds of insufficient evidence, and McGlinchey was returned to the Republic of Ireland where he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment on firearms charges.[10]

His wife Mary was killed in Dundalk on 31 January 1987 by fellow members of the INLA. McGlinchey was unable to attend her funeral as he was still imprisoned in the Republic of Ireland.[6] After being released from prison in March 1993, he investigated claims that Irish criminals were involved in money laundering with the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). He survived an assassination attempt made by UVF member Billy Wright in June 1993.[6]

Gravestone erected to Dominic McGlinchey.
Gravestone erected to Dominic McGlinchey.

[edit] Death

On 10 February 1994, McGlinchey was making a call from a phone box in Drogheda when two men got out of a vehicle and proceeded to shoot him fourteen times. No-one has ever been charged with his murder and it is not known which group, whether Loyalist, Republican, state security service or criminal carried out the assassination.[11] After his death INLA activity decreased and its organisational capability was nearly eliminated.

[edit] Song

McGlinchey is the subject of the song "Paddy Public Enemy Number One" written by Shane MacGowan of The Pogues.[12] It charts McGlinchey's life from his teens through to his eventual killing in a phonebox.[13]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Coogan, Tim Pat, IRA, The
  2. ^ McGlinchey, Dominic. MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base. Retrieved on 2006-10-11.
  3. ^ Tony Macauley (28 August 2006). What the papers say. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
  4. ^ Dissident groups out to challenge SF. Belfast Today (30 August 2006). Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
  5. ^ Ex-INLA man's son on bomb charges. BBC News (27 October 2006). Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
  6. ^ a b c d e A brutal killing that is unlikely to be resolved. The Argus (1 February 2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
  7. ^ House of Commons Hansard Debates for 26 Apr 2006 (pt 28). Hansard (26 April 2006). Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
  8. ^ Taylor, Peter (2002). BRITS: The War Against the IRA. Bloomsbury, pp. 243-247. ISBN 0-7475-5806-X. 
  9. ^ 1981-84: Hunger strikes and the Brighton bomb. BBC News (18 March 1999). Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
  10. ^ 1985-87: The Anglo-Irish Agreement. BBC News (18 March 1999). Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
  11. ^ http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/chron/1994.html University of Ulster's CAIN Project
  12. ^ Shane MacGowan: He Will Not Go Gently, shanemacgowan.com
  13. ^ Enemy No1, Lyrics from ShaneMacGowan.com