Gerard Patrick Martin McCaughey (24 February 1967 – 9 October 1990) was a

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

councillor and

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

in the East Tyrone Brigade of the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...

(IRA) from Aughnagar,

Galbally, County Tyrone Galbally (Placenames NI
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. McCaughey was killed by undercover

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

soldiers in

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...

on October 1990 along with fellow IRA volunteer,

Dessie Grew Desmond "Dessie" Grew (14 September 1953 – 9 October 1990) was a volunteer in the East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). Grew was killed by undercover Special Air Service soldiers in County Armagh in 1990 along wi ...

.Transcript from "BRITS" Holding the line
BBC Documentary

Background

McCaughey was the oldest son of Owen and Bridget McCaughey. He was a boyhood friend of several of the " Loughgall Martyrs" including Declan Arthurs, Seamus Donnelly, Tony Gormley and Eugene Kelly, with whom he would travel to local discos and football matches when they were growing up. McCaughey was a talented Gaelic football player who played for local side

Galbally Pearses Galbally Pearses' is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the village of Galbally in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The club is named after the 1916 Easter Rising martyr, Patrick Pearse. History The "Irish Rapperees" of Galbally wer ...

and was also selected for the Tyrone minor Gaelic team.

Elected representative

McCaughey was elected as a

councillor for

Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council ( ga, Comhairle Buirge Dhún Geanainn agus Thír Eoghain Theas, Ulster Scots: ''Rathgannon an Sooth Owenslanngh Cooncil'') was a local council in Northern Ireland from 1973 until 2015. It was originall ...

and at that time he was the youngest elected representative on the island of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Two months prior to his shooting, McCaughey was disqualified from holding his office on the council as he had failed to appear for a monthly council meeting. After his death the Royal Ulster Constabulary revealed the explanation behind his disappearance. McCaughey had been shot and wounded in a shoot-out with undercover British Army security forces near Cappagh, County Tyrone. McCaughey was then taken south across the Irish border into the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

where he was given hospital treatment and therefore unable to attend the meetings.

Ulster Unionist The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movem ...

MP and fellow Dungannon councillor Ken Maginnis alleged that McCaughey had conspired to kill him whilst both sat as councillors.

Ambush at Loughgall

Martin McCaughey was shot dead along with

in an operation by undercover British soldiers. A secret undercover intelligence unit named

14 Intelligence Company The Special Reconnaissance Unit, also known as the 14 Field Security and Intelligence Company (internally "The Det") was a part of the British Army Intelligence Corps involved in plainclothes operations in Northern Ireland from the 1970s onwa ...

, also known as the DET, were monitoring three AK47s at a farm building in a rural part of County Armagh and were aware that the pair were due to remove the guns. As they were approaching an agricultural shed which was being used to grow mushrooms and also thought to have been an IRA arms dump, as many as 200 shots are believed to have been fired at the two men. British Army reports of the shooting stated that the two men left the shed holding two rifles. Republican sources state the men were unarmed. McCaughey was buried at Galbally Cemetery in October 1990.

Events following McCaughey's death

The family of McCaughey claimed that he and Grew were ambushed after a stakeout by the SAS. In January 2002, Justice Weatherup, a Northern Ireland High Court Judge ordered that official military documents relating to the shooting should be disclosed. However,

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ') is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...

Chief Constable

Hugh Orde Sir Hugh Stephen Roden Orde, (born 27 August 1958) is a retired British police officer who was the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, representing the 44 police forces of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Between 2002 a ...

had the ruling overturned on appeal in January 2005. Fellow Sinn Féin representative,

Francie Molloy Francie Molloy ( ga, Proinsias Ó Maolmhuaidh; born 16 December 1950) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been the abstentionist Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Ulster since 2013. He was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) ...

, replaced McCaughey on Dungannon Council after a by-election was held following McCaughey's death. There is an ongoing court case relating to the McCaughey's death. In January 2007, the lawyers representing McCaughey and another volunteer, Pearse Jordan, applied to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

to challenge the details of how the inquests into their deaths will proceed. McCaughey's father, Owen, sought to compel Chief Constable

to produce key documents including intelligence reports relevant to the shooting and the report of the RUC's investigating officer. In 2010, a commemorative portrait of McCaughey was unveiled in the mayor's parlour at Dungannon council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCaughey, Martin 1967 births 1990 deaths Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland Irish republicans People from County Tyrone People killed by security forces during The Troubles (Northern Ireland) People killed in United Kingdom intelligence operations Provisional Irish Republican Army members Sinn Féin politicians Sinn Féin councillors in Northern Ireland Members of Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council

Background

Elected representative

Ambush at Loughgall

Events following McCaughey's death

See also

References