Date Posted:Thu, Jun 14 2012, 8:44:34 PDT Author:IRSCNA Subject: Paul McCann: Fallen Comrade of the IRSM
Fallen Comrade of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement
Paul McCann
Staff Officer - Irish National Liberation Army
Killed in Action on 15 June 1984
Paul "Bonanza" McCann, age 20, was killed in questionable
circumstances during an early morning raid on a flat in the Lenadoon
area of West Belfast by the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
One RUC constable was killed and two others were injured during the
raid. The RUC initially claimed that McCann opened fire on them and
they returned fire, but subsequently claimed they had fired no shots.
Three men (including Christopher "Crip" McWilliams and future INLA
chief of staff Gino Gallagher) and a woman who were with McCann were
arrested at the scene.
The route of his funeral procession was blocked by security forces
after four masked men lined up behind his coffin. The procession was
allowed to progress only when organisers agreed it would continue
without the honour guard.
His funeral was large, and prominent members of other republican
organisations, including Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams, were in attendance.
During the eulogy, McCann was described as "one of the finest
soldiers to ever fight for national liberation and socialism."
A memorial to McCann and other comrades was unveiled in the Lower
Falls area of West Belfast on 10 April 2003.
He died as he lived: a Republican Socialist. Remember him with honour
and pride.