6 August 2009 Edition
Fógraí bháis: Mary O'Sullivan
MARY O’SULLIVAN was born in Barrow, Ardfert, in 1948. She was one of five children, with three sisters and one brother. Her parents, Bill O’Sullivan and Sarah Flaherty, originally came from the Curraheen/Derrymore area. Bill was an active republican in the late 1930s and early 1940s and he campaigned for IRA Volunteer Maurice O’Neill who was sentenced to death and subsequently executed in 1942. He also actively campaigned against the execution of Tralee man Charlie Kerins in 1944.
When the Civil Rights movement’s campaign for very basic human and civil rights was met with brutal violence by the sectarian state it came as no surprise that Mary would actively support the nationalist communities who were under siege. In the aftermath of the Battle of the Bogside in Derry and the brutal pogroms in Belfast in 1969, the IRA re-emerged and reorganised to protect those communities who were under threat from unionist death squads and the sectarian RUC. Mary joined Cumann na mBán and her support for the republican struggle never waned for the remainder of her life.
Her brother, Danny, was imprisoned in Portlaoise Prison for IRA activities from 1975 to 1981. He was one of 20 prisoners who went on hunger strike in 1977 to protest against the inhumane conditions that existed in the prison at that time. Mary travelled the length and breath of the 26 Counties to highlight the protest and, thankfully, after 47 days, the hunger strike ended without any prisoner dying.
H-BLOCKS
Mary was also heavily involved in the H-Blocks campaign in 1981 and was totally committed to the demands of the republican prisoners for humane conditions.
In later years Mary was to the forefront in building Sinn Féin in north Kerry and played a leading role in the success of the party’s candidates in the 1999 local elections. When Sinn Féin succeeded in winning a Dáil seat in 2002, Mary walked, leafleted and canvassed every street in Tralee and was ever-present in that marathon and historic campaign. Indeed, in every election contested by Sinn Féin or H-Blocks candidates since 1970, Mary played a pivotal role.
When Mary took ill in June, little did her family, friends and colleagues realise that she would pass so quickly. Her lifelong partner, Joe Power, was probably the only one to know.
Mary’s passing has left a huge void in the lives of everyone who had the privilege of knowing her. She is sadly missed, but she leaves us with so many wonderful memories and her life of caring for and supporting those most in need is a legacy anyone would be proud of.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a ainm.
When the Civil Rights movement’s campaign for very basic human and civil rights was met with brutal violence by the sectarian state it came as no surprise that Mary would actively support the nationalist communities who were under siege. In the aftermath of the Battle of the Bogside in Derry and the brutal pogroms in Belfast in 1969, the IRA re-emerged and reorganised to protect those communities who were under threat from unionist death squads and the sectarian RUC. Mary joined Cumann na mBán and her support for the republican struggle never waned for the remainder of her life.
Her brother, Danny, was imprisoned in Portlaoise Prison for IRA activities from 1975 to 1981. He was one of 20 prisoners who went on hunger strike in 1977 to protest against the inhumane conditions that existed in the prison at that time. Mary travelled the length and breath of the 26 Counties to highlight the protest and, thankfully, after 47 days, the hunger strike ended without any prisoner dying.
H-BLOCKS
Mary was also heavily involved in the H-Blocks campaign in 1981 and was totally committed to the demands of the republican prisoners for humane conditions.
In later years Mary was to the forefront in building Sinn Féin in north Kerry and played a leading role in the success of the party’s candidates in the 1999 local elections. When Sinn Féin succeeded in winning a Dáil seat in 2002, Mary walked, leafleted and canvassed every street in Tralee and was ever-present in that marathon and historic campaign. Indeed, in every election contested by Sinn Féin or H-Blocks candidates since 1970, Mary played a pivotal role.
When Mary took ill in June, little did her family, friends and colleagues realise that she would pass so quickly. Her lifelong partner, Joe Power, was probably the only one to know.
Mary’s passing has left a huge void in the lives of everyone who had the privilege of knowing her. She is sadly missed, but she leaves us with so many wonderful memories and her life of caring for and supporting those most in need is a legacy anyone would be proud of.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a ainm.