Seán Keenan

For those of a similar name, see Sean Keenan (disambiguation).

Seán Keenan
Seán Ó Cianáin
Born1914[1]
Derry, Ireland
Died3 March 1993(1993-03-03) (aged 78–79)
Derry, Northern Ireland
OrganizationDerry Citizens Defence Association
Known forFormer chairperson of Derry Citizens Defence Association and Honorary Vice-President of Republican Sinn Féin
Political party
SpouseNancy Ward (d. 1970)
Children
  • Colm (d. 1972)
  • Seán (d. 2006)
Military career
Paramilitary
Rank
UnitDerry Brigade
Battles / warsThe Troubles
Sean Keenan memorial, Bogside, Derry

Seán Keenan (1914[1] – 3 March 1993)[3] was an Irish republican from Derry, Northern Ireland. His father Seamus Keenan was a Quartermaster in the Irish Republican Army (IRA).[4][5]

Keenan was interned without trial on three occasions: 1940–1945, 1957–1961, and 9 August 1971 – 27 April 1972.[3][6][7] He spent a total of 15 years in jail despite never being convicted of an offence.[3][5] Keenan was first arrested in 1935 for carrying an Irish flag.[5] He was interned for the duration of World War II in several prisons including the hulk prison ship HMS Al Rawdah.[8] He was again interned during the IRAs Border campaign and again during the period of violence known as The Troubles. While interned on HMS Maidstone, Keenan was the Commanding Officer of the Provisional IRA prisoners there.[2] In March 1972, a month before his final release, he was paroled for the funeral of his son Colm, a Provisional IRA officer who had been shot by the British Army.[7][5]

In January 1969, following the Dublin leadership of the IRA rejecting Seán Mac Stíofáin's proposal to set up an auxiliary IRA unit in Derry to protect the Catholic areas of the city, Keenan and others established a local IRA unit.[9] Keenan was chairman of the Derry Citizens Defence Association between July and October 1969 and played a prominent role in the events surrounding the creation and defence of Free Derry, including the Battle of the Bogside.

During the 1970 split within Sinn Féin and the IRA, Keenan sided with the Provisional faction; and later sided with Republican Sinn Féin during the 1986 split.[10] In the late 1980s, he was made honorary Vice-President for life of the party until his death.[5]

His wife Nancy Ward, who died in October 1970, was a member of Cumann na mBan who was interned in Armagh Gaol in the early 1940s.[5][10]

He is commemorated annually by Republican Sinn Féin in the month of March at the Seán Keenan Memorial (Celtic Cross) on Fahan Street in the Bogside area of Derry City.[10][11][12]

His son, also named Sean, was a Sinn Féin councillor.[13] He died after a long battle with cancer in August 2006.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Sean Keenan Memorial". CAIN - Conflict Archive on the Internet. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b Reinisch, Dieter (11 January 2021). "When Armagh County Court ruled internment unlawful". Irish Legal News. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "30th anniversary of Derry republican Seán Keenan marked". Derry Now. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  4. ^ Thorne, Kathleen (2019). Echoes of Their Footsteps Volume Three. Oregon: Generation Organization. p. 556. ISBN 978-0-692-04283-0.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Sean Keenan to be remembered at Derry Commemoration". Derry Daily. 2 March 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  6. ^ "Legality of detention challenged in London", The Irish Times, 14 September 1971, p. 9
  7. ^ a b "Whitelaw frees 22 more internees", The Irish Times, 28 April 1972, p. 5
  8. ^ Thorne, p. 556
  9. ^ Ó Dochartaigh, Niall (2018). "Civil Rights: October 1968–July 1969". From Civil Rights to Armalites: Derry and the Birth of the Irish Troubles (2nd ed.). Palgrave. pp. 36–41. doi:10.1057/9780230006041. ISBN 9781403944313.
  10. ^ a b c "Death of veteran Derry republican Sean Keenan to be marked this weekend". Derry Now. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  11. ^ Thorne, p. 356
  12. ^ "30th anniversary of Derry republican Seán Keenan's death marked". Derry Now. 6 March 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  13. ^ a b McManus, Roisin (4 August 2006). "Sean Keenan: Final farewell". saoirse32.blogsome.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2024.