Clann na hÉireann

Clann na hÉireann was a support organisation for Sinn Féin based in Great Britain during the 1960s and 1970s

Consisting mainly of Irish emigrants, the Clann (as it was referred to by sympathisers) was set up in 1964, when Seán Ó Cionnaith became Clann organizer. Clann organized political meetings and protest marches and collected funds to support Sinn Féin's activities in Ireland. It was busiest in Birmingham and Glasgow, while their HQ was in Fulham. It supported the IRA, while the IRA recruited from the Clann's membership and maintained its own structure in Britain.

Clann established contact with Irish organisations in Britain and also with left-wing organisations such as the Connolly Association and the Communist Party of Great Britain. However, it kept a certain distance from these groups, as when it disassociated itself from leftists who became involved in a clash outside the Irish Embassy in London in April 1965.

Attempts were made in the mid-1960s to amalgamate Clann na hÉireann with the Connolly Association (which in turn shared some members with the Communist Party of Great Britain). However, despite the efforts of the Dublin leadership, this proposal was not accepted at the relevant Clann na hÉireann Ard Fheis.

After the split in the republican movement at the onset of the Troubles in 1969-1970, the leadership of Clann na hÉireann sided with Official Sinn Féin and the Official IRA.

The Clann published a monthly newspaper called Rosc Catha (Irish for "battle-cry"), starting in October 1972.

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