Dessie Ellis
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Desmond Ellis (born 23 September 1953) is an Irish
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
politician who has been a
Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...
(TD) for the Dublin North-West constituency since the 2011 general election. During the 1970s and 1980s Ellis was a member of the
Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
until his arrest in Ireland in 1981. Ellis subsequently fled Ireland before being recaptured in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and returned to Irish authorities. In 1983 Ellis was found guilty of possessing materials used to make explosive devices for the IRA and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by an Irish court. In 1990 Ellis was the first person extradited from the Republic of Ireland to the United Kingdom under the 1987 Extradition Act, on charges of terrorism on charges related to the 1982 Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings as well as the 1983 Harrods bombing, however Ellis was acquitted of these charges in 1991. Ellis moved into constitutional politics in 1999 when he was elected to
Dublin City Council Dublin City Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...
, a position he held until he was elected to his current position as a TD.


Early life

Ellis was born in
Finglas Finglas (; ) is a northwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies close to Junction 5 of the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 motorway, and the N2 road (Ireland), N2 road. Nearby suburbs include Glasnevin and Ballymun; Du ...
in 1953. He is from an
Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...
family, and both of his grandfathers fought in the
Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...
in 1916. He later owned a television repair business.


Extradition and prison term

He is a former
Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
prisoner. He was arrested in 1981, when explosives and bomb making equipment were found under his bed. He was charged with possession of explosives. He jumped bail, but was arrested in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
in February 1982 and extradited to the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
, where in April 1983, he was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in Portlaoise Prison. He was convicted of possessing multiple power-timer units for IRA bombs, including those suspected of being used in the Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings. In 1983, Ellis' fingerprints were found on a huge cache of IRA explosives found in a forest outside the
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
town of
Pangbourne Pangbourne is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in the West Berkshire unitary area of the county of Berkshire, England. Pangbourne has shops, churches, schools and a village hall. Outside its nucleated village, grouped developed are ...
. The cache was linked to the
Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...
and Hyde Park bombings. On 14 November 1990, after thirty-five days on hunger-strike, Ellis became the first person extradited from the Republic of Ireland to the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
under the 1987 Extradition Act. He went on hunger strike to protest efforts to send him to Britain, but was extradited in the sixth week of his fast. Ellis's hunger strike drew considerable domestic and international attention, and at one point
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Charles Haughey intervened, asking Ellis' parents to ask him to give it up, but they refused. Ellis was acquitted at his trial in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in October 1991.


Political career

Ellis was first elected to
Dublin City Council Dublin City Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...
in 1999, for the
Finglas Finglas (; ) is a northwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies close to Junction 5 of the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 motorway, and the N2 road (Ireland), N2 road. Nearby suburbs include Glasnevin and Ballymun; Du ...
local electoral area. He unsuccessfully contested the 2002 general election in the Dublin North-West constituency, and received 4,781 first preference votes (18.3%). He was again unsuccessful at the 2007 general election in the same constituency, receiving 4,873 votes (15.7%). At the 2011 general election, he was elected to the 31st Dáil with 7,115 (21.7%) of the first-preference votes. In October 2014, following claims made by Mairia Cahill that she had been raped as a 17-year-old by members of the Provisional IRA, Ellis stated that "If an allegation was made against a volunteer it would have to be investigated nternally..To be honest they were not qualified to deal with something like sexual abuse". Based on this, Philip Ryan of the Irish Independent accused Ellis of admitting that the PIRA ran "
Kangaroo court Kangaroo court is an informal pejorative term for a court that ignores recognized standards of law or justice, carries little or no official standing in the territory within which it resides, and is typically convened ad hoc. A kangaroo court ma ...
s". In 2015, Ellis refused to comment on if Sinn Féin leader
Gerry Adams Gerard Adams (; born 6 October 1948) is a retired Irish Republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. From 1983 to 19 ...
should distance himself from Thomas 'Slab' Murphy, an Irish republican found guilty of tax fraud and an allegedly a former PIRA
Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...
. At the 2016 general election Ellis was again elected with 7,571 (20.5%) of the first preference votes. In September 2016, a bill was put forward, which if passed would have criminalised hare coursing. Sinn Féin supports the legalisation of hare coursing and decided to apply the party whip. As Ellis opposes it he declined to vote. He defied party instructions by not informing party
whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...
Aengus O'Snodaigh that he would not be taking part in the vote so he could be excused. He was subsequently given a written warning. In December 2016, during a session of the Dáil, Ellis and his fellow Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris were accused by Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell of having information in relation to the Shooting of Brian Stack, the chief prison officer at Portlaoise Prison, in 1983. Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams had just delivered an address to the Dáil in relation to Stack when Farrell rose and used Dáil privilege to state Gerry Adams had listed Ellis and Ferris as amongst people who may have information about the Stack death in an e-mail to the Garda Commission in February 2014, and asked that the two should also address the Dáil on the matter. Ellis immediately responded by stating "I refute icany allegations. For the information, the man in question claims to be a solicitor, I was actually in jail for the period. In Portlaoise, and before that in America, so you should check your facts. You're a disgrace". Ferris followed Ellis, and stated "On the record of this house; In 2013 I met with gardaí at their request regarding the death of Brian Stack, I co-operated fully with them and I have nothing to answer for, and it's a disgrace what you have come in here naming. You should be ashamed of yourself". In December 2016 Ellis stated he had received death threats following the exchange in the Dáil. In February 2018 Ellis was censured by Sinn Féin after he stated publicly that fellow party member and councillor for Ballymun Noeleen Reilly was "not fit to represent Sinn Féin" and that she had waged a social media campaign against him. For her part, Reilly was suspended by the party for six months. At the 2020 general election Ellis was again elected with 14,375 first preference votes (44.4%). He was a poll topper in the 2020 general election along with many Sinn Féin TDs in the 2020 election. He was criticised for joining his supporters singing Come Out, Ye Black and Tans at the count, but he dismissed the suggestion it was inappropriate. At the 2024 general election, Ellis was re-elected to the Dáil.


Political views

Ellis is in favour of the abolition of the local property tax. Ellis supported the repealing of the 8th Amendment, which forbade abortion in the Republic of Ireland. Ellis believes refugees should have the right to work in Ireland and believes the system of direct provision should come to an end.


2012 allegation of connection to "50 murders"

In 2012 the
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...
, citing released internal documents held by the British government that were previously sealed for 30 years, alleged that by 1982 British authorities believed Ellis to be linked to "50 murders" as part of his time in the Provisional IRA. The allegation specifically cited a telegraph from the British embassy in Washington to American counterparts in which they claimed that Ellis was linked by "forensic evidence to some 50 murders” across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Independent claimed another document stated that Ellis was a "leading member" of the Provisional IRA. Sinn Féin denounced the allegations as an "Indo Smear" and released a statement declaring "This is not the first time such unsubstantiated allegations have been made and Dessie Ellis rejects them as he has repeatedly done. Following a prolonged hunger strike in the 1990s to protest his extradition to Britain, Dessie successfully beat these trumped-up charges in court. Dessie Ellis has made no secret of his involvement in the republican struggle over many decades, including within the ranks of the IRA. Dessie has also been an important persuader for the Peace Process for many years." Ellis did not make any personal statement on the allegations and referred journalists to Sinn Féin's official statement.


Personal life

Ellis is proficient in
karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...
, holding a black belt, and teaches martial arts to young people. He is married to Anne Ellis ( Dunne) with grown up children.


References


External links

* *
Dessie Ellis' page on the Sinn Féin website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Dessie 1953 births Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology Irish republicans Living people Members of Dublin City Council Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil People extradited from Ireland People extradited to the United Kingdom Politicians from Dublin (city) Provisional Irish Republican Army members Republicans imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict Sinn Féin TDs (post-1923) Irish hunger strikers Sinn Féin local councillors in the Republic of Ireland Members of the 34th Dáil