Hugh Feeney
Hugh Feeney(born 1951) is a formervolunteerin theProvisional Irish Republican Army(IRA) who, together withDolours PriceandMarian Price,organised thecar bombingsof theOld BaileyandGreat Scotland Yardon 8 March 1973. He and ten members of his 11-manactive service unit(ASU) were apprehended attempting to board a flight to Ireland shortly after the bombs were discovered.
Arrest, conviction, and imprisonment[edit]
Feeney was convicted on 14 November 1973[1]and sentenced tolife imprisonmentfor each of the four bombing charges against him, which were to run concurrently.
The other members of his group were sentenced to life imprisonment as well as an additional twenty years. Feeney and other members of the group were incarcerated inBrixton Prison,and participated in a 205-dayhunger strike[2]with the goal of being transferred closer to their homes inNorthern Ireland.[3]Feeney and the other hunger strikers were force-fed by prison authorities for 167 days[4]of their strike.[5]
In May 1974, Feeney was one of a group of four prisoners whose transfer out of Brixton was demanded anonymously in exchange for the return of $19.2 million in stolen art.[6]On 4 June 1974, the IRA kidnappedJohn Hely-Hutchinson, 7th Earl of Donoughmoreand his wife in an unsuccessful attempt to exchange them for the release of Feeney, the Prices, andGerry Kelly.[4]The prisoners ended their hunger strike on 7 June 1974.[3]Feeney was transferred toLong Keshprison soon after the hunger strike ended.[7]
During this period he andBrendan Hugheswrote IRAcommuniquésand articles forRepublican Newsunder the pen name "Brownie", although most material published under this pseudonym was written byGerry Adams.[8]After Adams's release, Feeney began writing under the pseudonym "Salon".[7]
Release and Deportation[edit]
Feeney was released from custody in 1986.[9]On 20 May 1991, he was arrested inNew York Cityanddeportedthe next day for having illegally entered theUnited States.
Feeney was arrested at the offices ofThe Irish People,anIrish republicannewspaper published byMartin Galvinin New York City. The arrest was controversial because it involved anFBIagent posing as a journalism student in order to gain access to the paper's editorial offices,[10]which was a violation of FBI policy at the time.[11]
References[edit]
- ^"IRA gang convicted of London bombings".On This Day.British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 14 November 1973.Retrieved4 October2011.
- ^O'Malley, Michael (5 March 1995). "Sinn Féin Builds Image as Force for Peace".The Plain Dealer.
- ^ab"Irish Call Off Fast in British Jails".New York Times:7. 8 June 1974.
- ^abJoyce, Joe (10 June 2010). "Hostages teach IRA kidnappers all about racing".The Irish Times.
- ^Moriarty, Gerry (16 May 2011). "Old Bailey bomber charged over dissident threats to police".The Irish Times.
- ^"Irish Prisoners' Transfer Demanded for Stolen Art".New York Times:1. 4 May 1974.
- ^abMoloney, Ed (1 June 2010).Voices from the Grave: Two Men's War in Ireland.PublicAffairs. p. 199ff.ISBN978-1-58648-932-8.Retrieved27 September2011.
- ^Moloney, Ed(November 2003).A Secret History of the IRA.W. W. Norton & Company. p.170.ISBN978-0-393-32502-7.Retrieved27 September2011.
- ^Tendler, Stuart (2 August 1991). "Three in IRA bomb raids lose jail plea - 1973 car bombing campaign".The Times.
- ^Wolper, Allan (31 August 1991)."Pseudo journalist".Editor & Publisher.(registration required)
- ^Wolper, Allan (21 September 1991)."FBI criticized for posing as journalism student: Catholic college, archdiocese are upset".Editor & Publisher.(registration required)
Further reading[edit]
- Clutterbuck, Richard.Kidnap and Ransom.Boston: Faber & Faber, 1978.
 | This biographical article related to crime is astub.You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
  | ThisIrishbiographical article is astub.You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |