Roy H. W. Johnston (11 November 1929 – 13 December 2019) was an Irish theoretical physicist and republican political activist. He was a Marxist who as a member of the

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

in the 1960s argued for a ''National Liberation Strategy'' to unite the Catholic and Protestant working classes. He wrote extensively for such newspapers as ''

The United Irishman ''The United Irishman'' was an Irish nationalist newspaper co-founded by Arthur Griffith and William Rooney.Arthur Griffith ...

'' and ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

''.

Biography

His father was

Joseph Johnston Joseph Johnston may refer to: *Joseph Johnston (Irish politician) (1890–1972), Irish academic, farmer and politician *Allan Johnston (politician) (Joseph Allan Johnston, 1904–1974), Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons * Joseph ...

, a farmer, economist and historian, a fellow of

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

and a member of the

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

on several occasions between 1938 and 1954. Joe Johnston was a Home Rule supporter who hailed from a small farming Ulster-Scots

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

background in Tyrone. Roy Johnston was born in Dublin in 1929. He was educated at St Columba's College, Rathfarnham, and at

(TCD). At TCD he got a BA in experimental science and mathematics 1951, and did research in

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experim ...

, getting his PhD under supervision of Cormac Ó Ceallaigh in 1955. His PhD was called "A study of the unstable particles occurring in the cosmic radiation". He worked in

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...

as a systems analyst during the 60s and in the 1970s was head of the Applied Research Consultancy Group in Trinity College Dublin's statistics programme. He made an oral presentation to the

New Ireland Forum The New Ireland Forum was a forum in 1983–1984 at which Irish nationalist political parties discussed potential political developments that might alleviate the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The Forum was established by Garret FitzGerald, then T ...

in 1984. He also wrote a bi-monthly science column for the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

''.

Political activities

Johnston was affiliated with various progressive and left-wing organisations throughout his life. As a student in Trinity he was associated with a Marxist group, the ''Promethean Society'', which in 1948 was part of the formation of the Irish Workers’ League, eventually becoming the Communist Party of Ireland. He moved to England and joined the

Connolly Association The Connolly Association is an organisation based among Irish emigrants in Britain which supports the aims of Irish republicanism. It takes its name from James Connolly, a socialist republican, born in Edinburgh, Scotland and executed by the British ...

, also being part of the Communist Party of Great Britain, returned to Ireland in 1963, and, at the invitation of

Cathal Goulding Cathal Goulding ( ga, Cathal Ó Goillín; 2 January 1923 – 26 December 1998) was Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army and the Official IRA. Early life and career One of seven children born on East Arran Street in north Dublin to an ...

, involved himself with the Wolfe Tone Society in Dublin. He joined

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 ...

and the

where he became its Director of Education sitting on the Army Executive. He contributed many articles to its newspaper the ''

United Irishman ''The United Irishman'' was an Irish nationalist newspaper co-founded by Arthur Griffith and William Rooney.Arthur Griffith ...

''. He was a supporter of the republican movement's move to the left with Goulding and

Tomás Mac Giolla Tomás Mac Giolla (; born Thomas Gill; 25 January 1924 – 4 February 2010) was an Irish Workers' Party politician who served as Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1993 to 1994, Leader of the Workers' Party from 1962 to 1988 and President of Sinn Féin ...

, which subsequently led to a split with the Provisionals, remaining as a member of the

Official IRA The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA (OIRA; ) was an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a "workers' republic" encompassing all of Ireland. It emerged ...

after the split. However, he left in 1972 after the assassination of Northern Ireland Senator John Barnhill and joined the Communist Party of Ireland, from which he was expelled in 1977. He was subsequently a member of the Labour Party, serving on their International Affairs Committee, and was a member of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

at the time of his death.

Death

Johnston died on 13 December 2019, aged 90, at

St. Vincent's University Hospital St. Vincent's Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Ollscoile Naomh Uinseann) is a teaching hospital located at Elm Park, south of the city of Dublin, Ireland. It is at the junction of Merrion Road and Nutley Lane opposite the Merrion Centre, Dublin, Merrion ...

, Dublin.

Publications

*Roy H. W. Johnston, ''Century of Endeavour: A Biographical and Autobiographical View of the Twentieth Century in Ireland'' (Carlow: Tyndall Publications, in association with Lilliput Press, Dublin, 2006).
''Century of Endeavour - Senator James G Douglas''
short biography of James G. Douglas, 1999.
A study of the unstable particles occurring in the cosmic radiation
PhD Thesis

References

External links

Science, Technology and the Nation
- Some current, recent and earlier publications by Dr Roy H W Johnston - website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Roy 1929 births 2019 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish Marxists Irish people of Ulster-Scottish descent Irish physicists Irish Presbyterians Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members Irish republicans Official Irish Republican Army members People educated at St Columba's College, Dublin Protestant Irish nationalists Theoretical physicists