Raymond McCartney (born 29 November 1954) is an Irish former

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, and a former

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

r and volunteer of the

Provisional Irish Republican Army 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 ...

(IRA).

IRA membership

McCartney took part in the civil rights march in Derry on 30 January 1972, an event widely known as Bloody Sunday. One of his cousins, James Wray, was one of 14 men shot and killed by the

1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment The 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment (1 PARA), is a special forces battalion of the British Army's Parachute Regiment. Along with various other regiments and corps from across the British Armed Forces, it is part of Special Forces Support G ...

on that march. As a result of this incident McCartney joined 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 ...

several months later. In 1974

Martin McGuinness James Martin Pacelli McGuinness (; 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman for Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during The Troubles. He was the deputy First Minist ...

, who commanded the IRA in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

, instructed McCartney to beat up an INLA man, Patsy O'Hara, who McGuinness called a "scumbag" and a "hood". On 12 January 1979 at

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

McCartney and another man, Eamonn MacDermott, were convicted of the murder of Detective Constable Patrick McNulty of the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...

, who was shot several times outside a garage in Derry on 27 January 1977. McCartney was also convicted of IRA membership and the murder of businessman Jeffery Agate in February 1977, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The murder convictions were overturned in 2007.

Imprisonment

McCartney was involved in the

blanket A blanket is a swath of soft textile, cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold most of the user's body and thick enough to keep the body warm by trapping radiant body heat that otherwise would be lost through Thermal conduction, condu ...

and dirty protests, then took part in the 1980 hunger strike, along with fellow IRA members Brendan Hughes, Tommy McKearney, Tom McFeely, Sean McKenna, Leo Green, and

Irish National Liberation Army The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA, ) is an Irish republicanism, Irish republican Socialism, socialist paramilitary group formed on 8 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as "the Troubles". The group seeks to remove ...

member John Nixon. McCartney spent 53 days on hunger strike, from 27 October to 18 December. From 1989–91 he was

Officer Commanding The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually giv ...

of the IRA prisoners in the H Blocks, and was released in 1994.

Freedom and reversal of convictions

Since his release he has been active with ex-prisoners' groups '' Tar Abhaile'' and '' Coiste na n-Íarchimí'', and was the first member of

to have their own voice heard on television after the lifting of the British broadcasting ban in 1994. McCartney was arrested on 4 April 2002 following a breach of security at Belfast's police headquarters, but released without charge the next day. Later that year, on 5 September, McCartney was the first former IRA member to appear before the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, and encouraged anyone with information, including paramilitaries, to come forward. He was an MLA for Foyle from 15 July 2004 until 3 February 2020. On 15 February 2007 McCartney and MacDermott had their murder convictions quashed by the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

, following an investigation by the

Criminal Cases Review Commission The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is the statutory body responsible for investigating alleged miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It was established by Section 8 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 and be ...

in 2002. The

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (; ), also referred to as Northern Ireland Secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office. The offi ...

declined to compensate McCartney and MacDermott on the grounds that they had not proven themselves innocent. The decision was appealed to the

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC) is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the United Kingdom and all criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some limited criminal cases ...

which, in May 2011, found in favour of the applicants, opening the way for a substantial compensation claim from both for their prison terms of 15 and 17 years.''Irish Times'' report of Supreme Court case
irishtimes.com; retrieved 13 May 2011.

References

External links

Profile: Raymond McCartney
, sinnfein.ie; accessed 14 May 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:McCartney, Raymond 1954 births Irish hunger strikers Irish republicans Living people Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007 Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Overturned convictions in the United Kingdom People wrongfully convicted of murder Politicians from Derry (city) Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Northern Ireland Provisional Irish Republican Army members Sinn Féin MLAs