- Eamonn McCann
Eamonn McCann (b. 1943
Derry ,Northern Ireland ) is an Irishjournalist ,author , andpolitical activist .Life
McCann was born and has lived most of his life in
Derry . He was educated atSt. Columb's College in the city.As a young man he was one of the original organizers of the
Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA). His political contemporaries includedBernadette Devlin , for whom he served as an election agent. McCann was highly critical of various other noted Catholic politicians in Derry, such asJohn Hume . He personally witnessed and participated in many of the key events of the early part ofthe Troubles , including theBattle of the Bogside in August 1969 and Bloody Sunday in January 1972.Later he worked as a journalist for the "
Sunday World " newspaper and contributed to the original "In Dublin" magazine among others. He currently writes for the "Belfast Telegraph " and has for many years written a column for theDublin -based "Hot Press" magazine. [ [http://www.hotpress.com/politics/mccann/ McCann Column] in "Hot Press".] He is a frequent commentator on theBBC ,RTE and other media.A Trotskyist and outspoken atheist, he is a prominent member of the Socialist Workers Party in Ireland, and in recent
Northern Ireland elections has stood as a candidate for theSocialist Environmental Alliance . [ [http://socialistenvironmentalalliance.org/cgi-bin/sea/index.pl Socialist Environmental Alliance Website] .] He is also Chair of his local branch of theNUJ , and vice-chairman of Derry Trades Council.As a political activist, McCann has lent his support and considerable oratorial skills to many causes, including campaigns in support of abortion rights, immigrants and
gay marriage . His journalistic work reflects his profound hostility toreligion .McCann was the partner of
Mary Holland , the late journalist for "The Observer ", and "The Irish Times ". He has a daughter from that relationship, Kitty, who is now a journalist for "The Irish Times", and a son, Luke, who is also a journalist. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2004/jun/09/guardianobituaries.northernireland Mary Holland Obituary] in the "Guardian", 9 June 2004; [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/mary-holland-730549.html Mary Holland Obituary] in the "Independent", 10 June 2004.] Fellow SWP member and academicGoretti Horgan has been his partner since the mid 1980s and they have an adult daughter, Matty.In the 2002 film "Bloody Sunday", McCann's character is played by the Irish actor Gerard Crossan. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280491/ IMDB entry] for "Bloody Sunday".]
In March 2008, McCann spoke with National Public Radio in the U.S. about the solidarity between the Catholic civil rights movement in Northern Ireland and the African American Civil Rights movement. [Solidarity in the Sixties [http://drewtewksbury.com/2008/03/23/n-ireland-and-the-us-a-shared-civil-rights-struggle/] National Public Radio, News and Notes - Interview by Drew Tewksbury]
McCann was tried in Belfast in May/June 2008 for his actions as one of the
Raytheon 9 . All defendants were acquitted except for McCann, who was found guilty of the theft of 2 computer discs. For this he received a 12 month conditional discharge. [ [http://www.derryjournal.com/journal/Raytheon-6-cleared.4176443.jp "Raytheon 6 cleared"] , "Derry Journal", 11 June 2008 (accessed 2008-06-12)]McCann is also a supporter of
Derry City F.C. [Mahon, Eddie (1998). "Derry City", Guildhall Press, p. 83.]Books
His books include:
* "War And An Irish Town" (1973), an account of his upbringing in Derry and the beginnings of thecivil rights movement in the region
* "War and Peace in Northern Ireland" - a critique of the political situation in Northern Ireland, notable for its criticism of both nationalism and unionism
* "Dear God - The Price Of Religion In Ireland", a radical debunking ofChristianity He has also edited two books on Bloody Sunday:
* "Bloody Sunday: What Really Happened" (1992)
* "The Bloody Sunday Inquiry: The Families Speak Out" (2005).ee also
*
List of Northern Irish writers References
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