Malachy McGurran - A Dedicated Revolutionist
Date:1978
Publication: Intercontinental Press
Issue:23rd October, 1978
Author:Gerry Foley
View: View Document
Discuss:Comments on this document
Subjects: Malachy McGurran

Please note:  The Irish Left Archive is provided as a non-commercial historical resource, open to all, and has reproduced this document as an accessible digital reference. Copyright remains with its original authors. If used on other sites, we would appreciate a link back and reference to The Irish Left Archive, in addition to the original creators. For re-publication, commercial, or other uses, please contact the original owners. If documents provided to The Irish Left Archive have been created for or added to other online archives, please inform us so sources can be credited.

Commentary From The Cedar Lounge Revolution

21st November 2016

Thanks to NollaigO for forwarding this, an obituary of Official Sinn Féin leader Malachy McGurran written by Gerry Foley and published in Intercontinental Press on October 23 1977. This is a further addition to the library of texts written by Foley on Republicans and Socialists in Ireland during the 1970s.

McGurran who died tragically at the very young age of 40, was a leading figure in OSF in the North. Foley, who clearly retained considerable personal affection and admiration for McGurran despite significant differences politically offers an overview from a Trotskyist position of the development of OSF.

Interestingly Foley contextualises McGurran’s death with that of Billy McMillan and Séamus Costello, all of which had taken place within the previous three years. He suggests that McGurran had sought to ‘promote closer relations between the ‘Official’ republican movement and the Fourth International. He also argues that McGurran ‘obviously wanted to make it clear he was an anti-Stalinist’.

The obituary is entitled ‘Malachy McGurran – a Dedicated Revolutionist’ and at four pages long is a fascinating addition to the archive.

More from Intercontinental Press

Intercontinental Press in the archive


Comments

No Comments yet.

Add a Comment

Formatting Help

Comments can be formatted in Markdown format . Use the toolbar to apply the correct syntax to your comment. The basic formats are:

**Bold text**
Bold text

_Italic text_
Italic text

[A link](http://www.example.com)
A link

You can join this discussion on The Cedar Lounge Revolution

  • By: Joe Mon, 21 Nov 2016 20:46:53

    Christ almighty. The author uses this so-called obituary as an excuse to give a lecture. Where the officials went wrong and how ‘the Irish revolution’ should be made – advice from an all-knowing Trotskyist from the U.S.of A.

    Reply on the CLR

  • By: oconnorlysaght Mon, 21 Nov 2016 22:49:54

    You could learn something from him, Joe.

    Reply on the CLR

  • By: Joe Tue, 22 Nov 2016 09:13:58

    In reply to oconnorlysaght.

    I could yeah. Like the revolutionary meaning of some song he calls Sliabh na Ban.

    Reply on the CLR