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10 January, 2008

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Photo: Owen and Bridget McCaughey

Owen McCaughey

The death ocurred on Monday, 7 January, of veteran republican Owen McCaughey, a native of Cappagh, County Tyrone. He was 91 years of age.
Owen is survived by his wife Bridget, son Peter and daughter Sally. Owen’s other son, IRA Volunteer Martin McCaughey, was shot dead by the SAS alongside fellow IRA Volunteer Dessie Grew in October 1990.
Born in 1917, Owen McCaughey’s grand-uncle was the leader of the IRB in Clonavaddy and his family was steeped in republicanism. The son of Peter and Sarah, he was one of six children brought up in Clonavaddy.
Owen married Bridget Nugent in 1947. During the recent years of conflict, the McCaughey family endured countless raids on their farm and home, checkpoints at the foot of the lane leading to their house, and British Army helicopter intrusions.
Many younger people who frequented Owen McCaughey’s home over the years gave their lives for Irish freedom. Many of them came from the Galbally/Cappagh area, including their own son, Martin, and Bridget’s nephew, Malcolm Nugent.
Owen was hugely proud of Martin and of Peter and Sally, his other children. Owen and Bridget were also blessed with grandchildren in recent years.
In 2004, Owen was the Ulster nominee at the Le Chéile event in Dublin where he was honoured for his life-long contribution to the republican struggle. In a tribute to Owen, published in An Phoblacht at the time, Sinn Féin MLA Barry McElduff, who described Owen as being a man who was very close to nature and the land, wrote:
“Owen McCaughey has a rich turn of phrase which undoubtedly comes from the idiom of the Irish language. A highly intelligent man, he belongs both to the old Ireland and the new.
“Trust is of utmost importance in Owen’s world as this quiet but philosophical republican leader goes about his daily business. Having encountered his quiet-spoken but steely commitment, founded in a politics embedded in family and locality, you come away with a renewed belief in the achievement of the Irish Republic.”
Speaking to An Phoblacht this week, another Sinn Féin MLA, Francie Molloy, paid tribute to Owen McCaughey and recalled several incidents for which he was remembered.
One of these involved Owen’s discovery and removal of a British Army spy camera a few years before the IRA cessation in the townland of Aughnagar, where he lived. Molloy said Owen would also be remembered for his calming influence during a shooting at Boyle’s pub in Cappagh when IRA Volunteer John Quinn was shot dead.
“During the mayhem of the incident Owen simply stood up and said the Rosary – urging people to remain calm. He was an inspirational figure in Tyrone for people young and old.”

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