Martin Meehan (Irish republican)

Martin Meehan
Meehan in Belfast (early 1990s)
Born	c.1945 Ardoyne, Belfast Northern Ireland, UK
Died	3 November 2007 (aged 61-62) Ardoyne
Nationality	Irish
Occupation	Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer Sinn Féin politician
Known for	Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer Sinn Féin politician
Political party	Sinn Féin
Military career
Allegiance	Ireland
Service/branch	Irish Republican Army (IRA) Provisional IRA
Years of service	1966-1994
Rank	Volunteer
Unit	Third Battalion Ardoyne, Belfast Brigade
Conflicts	The Troubles

Martin Meehan (1945 – 3 November 2007) was a Sinn Féin politician and former volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). Meehan was the first person to be convicted of membership of the Provisional IRA, and he spent eighteen years in prison during the Troubles.

Meehan was born in 1945 in the Ardoyne area of Belfast in Northern Ireland. His father had been imprisoned for republican activities in the 1940s, but one of his grandfathers was killed fighting for the British Army in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Meehan left school aged 15 and began working at Belfast's docks, and in 1966 he became a member of the Irish Republican Army.

He was sworn in by Billy McMillen, and described joining as "a big occasion, like joining the priesthood". In 1968 he was arrested for the first time, after he assaulted a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) during a civil rights march in Derry. During the August 1969 riots in Belfast he was one of a handful of IRA members who tried to defend Catholic areas from attacks by Ulster loyalists, and resigned as a result of the organisation's failure to adequately protect Catholic areas. Meehan was arrested on 22 August 1969 for riotous behaviour, and was badly beaten before being imprisoned. The beating was so severe Meehan was given the last rites, the first of four occasions on which he received last rites. He was released after spending two months in prison. After his release Billy McKee convinced Meehan to rejoin the IRA. Meehan sided with the Provisional IRA following its split with the Official IRA in January 1970, and by mid-1970 was a senior IRA leader in the Ardoyne area. On 27 June 1970 rioting broke out across Belfast following a parade by the Orange Order, and a gun battle started in the Ardoyne area. Meehan stated: