Owen Carron

Owen Carron
Member of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone
In office 20 August 1981 – 9 June 1983
Preceded by	Bobby Sands
Succeeded by	Ken Maginnis
Majority	2,230 (49.1%)
Personal details
Born	9 February 1953(1953-02-09) Erne Hospital, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Anti H-Block Sinn Féin
Website	Bobby Sands Trust

Owen Gerard Carron (born February 1953) is an Irish republican activist and who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 1981 to 1983.

Carron is the nephew of former Nationalist Party politician John Carron.^[1]

Election agent for Bobby Sands

Carron was Bobby Sands' election agent for the April 1981 Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election. Sands, a Republican prisoner on hunger strike, won the election, but died soon after. Changes in election law with the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1981 made it impossible to nominate another prisoner, so Carron stood as the "Anti H-Block/Proxy Political Prisoner".

Election as MP

Carron was elected in the August by-election with an increased majority but with fewer votes becoming the youngest MP at the time. In line with most other Irish republicans elected to the British Parliament, he did not take his seat. During his time in the political arena, he became known for always appearing in a suit and necktie, unusual among Republican activists at the time.

Carron never made a secret of his support for Sinn Féin, and by 1982 he was regarded as a Sinn Féin MP. Confirmation came when he was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in October 1982 as a Sinn Féin candidate. In the 1983 UK general election, Carron stood again, this time officially as a Sinn Féin candidate, but lost the seat to Ken Maginnis of the Ulster Unionist Party. The loss was attributed to the Social Democratic and Labour Party's (SDLP) decision to run a candidate which split the nationalist vote.

Arrests in the United States and later life

Carron along with Danny Morrison was arrested on 21 January 1982 whilst attempting to enter the United States illegally from Canada by car. He was deported and later both men were convicted on a charge of making false and fictitious statements to American immigration officials.^[2]

In 1986, an AK47 rifle was found in a car in which Carron was travelling. He was charged, but granted bail to contest the Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election, 1986. He lost the election, skipped bail and moved to County Leitrim in the Republic of Ireland.^[3] He was arrested in 1988 in the Republic and held in custody for two and a half years while unsuccessful extradition procedures initiated by the UK took place. It was found by the Irish Supreme Court that possession of an automatic rifle constituted a 'political offence' thus prohibiting his extradition under Irish law. Following his release, he worked as a builder before returning to teaching in 1995, and later became the principal of the Ballinamore National School.^[4]

In 2002, Carron's name was reported as having been submitted to the British Government by Sinn Féin on a list of IRA members to be granted amnesties.^[5]

He was director of elections for Sinn Féin candidate, Councillor Martin Kenny, in the Roscommon-South Leitrim constituency during the 2007 Irish General Election. ^[6]

References

1. ^ Liam Clarke, Broadening the Battlefield
2. ^ "2 Irish Activists Convicted by Jury". New York Times. 9 November 1983. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F05EFD61439F93AA35752C1A965948260. Retrieved 2007-03-03. 
3. ^ Andy McSmith (10 November 2005). "Bill offers amnesty to IRA fugitives". The Independent. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article326034.ece. Retrieved 2007-03-03. 
4. ^ "Owen Carron: it’s time for me to come home". Impartial Reporter. 17 August 2000. http://www.impartialreporter.com/archive/2000-08-17/news/story843.html. Retrieved 2007-05-27. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ Henry McDonald (20 January 2002). "Fury as IRA fugitives win amnesty". The Observer. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/nireland/story/0,,636441,00.html. Retrieved 2007-03-03. 
6. ^ http://www.anphoblacht.com/news/detail/18559

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Bobby Sands	Member of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone 1981–1983	Succeeded by Ken Maginnis
Preceded by Stephen Dorrell	Baby of the House August 1981–1983	Succeeded by Charles Kennedy

Persondata
Name	Carron, Owen
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	9 February 1953
Place of birth	Erne Hospital, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
Date of death
Place of death