Gerard_Steenson

Gerard Steenson

Gerard Steenson

Irish Republican politician (1957–1987)

Gerard Steenson (c. 1957 – 14 March 1987) was an Irish republican paramilitary combatant, and leader of the Irish People's Liberation Organization during The Troubles.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Early life and career

A Catholic, the son of Frank Steenson, he was born in 1957 and raised in heavily republican West Belfast. Nicknamed "Doctor Death" by the media[1][2] and by the Royal Ulster Constabulary for the multiple assassinations he purportedly accomplished according to The New York Times[3] However Fortnight alleges that he got his nickname after he dressed up in a white coat to attack British soldiers guarding a patient at the Royal Victoria Hospital.[4]

Steenson was widely associated with internecine violence between Irish republican groups. He joined the Official IRA's C Company in 1972 at the age of 14. Two years later, he left to join the INLA upon that paramilitary group's formation, consequent to their split from the Official IRA. He became head of the INLA in Belfast.[5]

Steenson first came to notoriety in 1975 for killing Billy McMillen, the Official IRA's Belfast leader, during the feud between the INLA and the Official IRA when he was just 16 years of age.[citation needed] Jim Cusack, a journalist describes him as the "assassin-in-chief" of Hugh Torney.[6]

In 1985, he was convicted of 67 terrorist offences (including six murders) after his former friend Harry Kirkpatrick testified against him.[7][3][8] Kirkpatrick and Steenson were rarely seen apart in public and were given the nicknames "Pinkie and Perky".[9]

Creating the IPLO

In 1986, Steenson, Jimmy Brown, Martin "Rook" O'Prey and others formed the Irish People's Liberation Organisation (IPLO) with the express intention of wiping out the INLA and IRSP which they viewed as becoming "corrupt" and an obstacle to "the fight for socialism" and "Irish freedom". He argued in letters, written while he was in prison in the early 1980s, that the INLA had become militarily "inefficient" and "undisciplined", which had led, as he wrote, to its involvement in criminality and sectarian attacks.

He was involved in the Rosnaree Hotel shooting

Reputation

He was viewed highly in the movement with Brown calling him a "committed and highly efficient military activist and a dedicated revolutionary". However he was described by Lord Justice Carswell as "a most dangerous and sinister terrorist. A ruthless and highly dedicated, resourceful and indefatigable planner of criminal exploits who did not hesitate to take a leading role in assassinations and other crimes". Henry McDonald and Jack Holland write "Both his friends and enemies spoke in a tone of awestruck at his paramilitary abilities".[10] Ken Wharton refers to him as a "notorious psychopath".[11] Sean O'Callaghan describes Steenson as someone who "never took to orders".[12]

Terry George wrote of him that he "was extremely clever and even wittier than Billy McMillan. He had an angelic face and women adored him. He was also ruthless, cunning and fearless.".[13]

Death

In 1987, Steenson and fellow IPLO volunteer, Tony "Boot" McCarthy, were ambushed and killed, presumably by an INLA active unit, while travelling in a car along Springhill Avenue, in Ballymurphy, Belfast after a night of drinking.[14][15] An INLA spokesperson said Steenson was killed for being "actively involved in continuous and concerted efforts to undermine the authority of the ... movement.'[16] Jimmy Brown gave the graveside oration.[17] Two revenge killings of INLA members followed before the end of the feud.[18]

In 1992, the Provisional IRA, through a series of assassinations and other actions, forced the disbandment of the IPLO.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    McDonald, Henry (23 October 1999). "Terrorists recruit teenage soldiers". The Observer. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016., The Observer, 24 October 1999.
  2. [2]
    McKittrick, David (12 October 2009). "Army of mavericks lays down its arms". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018.
  3. [3]
    Clines, Francis X. (29 March 1987). "A dozen die as Ulster's rebels feud". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  4. [4]
    Clarke, Liam (1987). "INLA: Back from the Political Grave?". Fortnight (251): 8–9. JSTOR 25551178.
  5. [5]
    Owen, Arwel Ellis (30 November 1994). The Anglo-Irish Agreement: The first three years. ISBN 9780708312742. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  6. [6]
    Cusack, Jim (12 August 2007). "INLA man feigned friendship but ordered my death". Sunday Independent. Dublin. ISSN 0039-5218. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018 – via www.pressreader.com.
  7. [7]
    "Diary of Events". Fortnight (232): 18. 1986. JSTOR 25550716.
  8. [8]
    McKittrick, David (12 October 2009). "Army of mavericks lays down its arms". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  9. [9]
    Wharton, Ken (19 July 2013). Wasted Years, Wasted Lives Volume 1: The British Army in Northern Ireland 1975-77. ISBN 9781909384552. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  10. [10]
    McDonald, Henry; Holland, Jack (29 June 2016). I.N.L.A - Deadly Divisions. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  11. [11]
    Wharton, Ken (19 October 2016). Another Bloody Chapter in an Endless Civil War. Volume 1: Northern Ireland and the Troubles, 1984-87. ISBN 9781912174270. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  12. [12]
    Morrison, John F (19 December 2013). The Origins and Rise of Dissident Irish Republicanism: The Role and Impact of Organizational Splits. ISBN 9781623566777. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  13. [13]
    "Terry George". irishamerica.com. October–November 2005. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  14. [14]
    "Paramilitary Feuds in Northern Ireland - List of people killed". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). University of Ulster. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014.
  15. [15]
    Cusack, Jim (5 September 1996). "Another grim landmark in a bloody history". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  16. [16]
    "'Dr. Death' of IRA splinter group is slain". Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  17. [17]
    "An Irishman's Diary". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  18. [18]
    McDonald, Henry & Jack Holland. INLA - Deadly Divisions, Torc (1994); ISBN 189814205X, ISBN 978-1898142058
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