Seán McCaughey
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| Paramilitary organisation | Irish Republican Army (1922-1969) |
| Date of birth | 1913 |
| Place of birth | Aughnacloy, Co Tyrone |
| Hungerstrike started | 19 April, 1946 |
| Died | 11 May, 1946 |
| Days on strike | 23 |
Seán McCaughey (Irish: Seán Mac Eachaidh) (born c. 1913–11 May 1946) was an Irish Republican Army leader in the 1930s and 1940s, and hunger striker.
From Aughnacloy, Co Tyrone native, McCaughey was Adjutant-General of the IRA and Officer Commanding (O/C) of its Northern Command. In September 1941 he was found guilty by a Dublin court of having detained and assaulted Stephen Hayes, IRA Chief of Staff and sentenced to death by firing squad. His sentence was commuted to life.
Jailed Portlaoise Prison, McCaughey refused to wear prison clothes and spent nearly five years naked except for a blanket. He commenced a hunger strike on 19 April 1946. After 16 days, he stopped taking water and died on 11 May, the 23rd day of his protest.
He was buried in the Republican Plot at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast.
He was the last person to die on hunger strike in the Republic of Ireland.
[edit] External links
- "McCaughey's Doom", Time Magazine, 29 September 1941.
