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Séamus
Mac Suain (1928 - 2020)
 Republicans in
Wexford and indeed throughout Ireland were deeply saddened to learn
of the death of Séamus Mac Suain on December 15. Séamus was born in
Liverpool in 1928 to Wexford parents. His father was sailing out of
that city but returned to Wexford with his family shortly after Séamus was born to join the Irish Lights. The eldest of six he was
reared by his grandparents. He was married to Stella and they had
three children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In 1949 he
was in London at the time of the Ireland Act. This, together with
his learning the facts of Seán McCaughey’s death and the influence
of the United Irishman, an organisation associated with Sinn Féin.
Seán Stephenson (Seán Mac Stíofáin) was the secretary. They held
commemorations and sold the United Irishman, Wolfe Tone Annuals and
Easter Lilies. Anxious for more militant action he contacted Gearóid
Ó Broin whose name appeared on an Óglaigh recruitment leaflet. A man
whom Séamus thought was Willie McGuinness called on him and asked
him to recruit. One of his recruits was Seán Mac Stíofáin. He
received the declaration from Tony Magan.
In the meantime
Séamus and others had set up the first Sinn Féin cumann in London,
the Dunne/Sullivan Cumann. Seán McDermott (Derry) joined and they
brought out a monthly paper An Fiannach. As a focus for their
political activity they decided on a campaign to have Roger
Casement’s remains returned to Ireland. In furtherance of that
object the cumann was named after him. The United Irishman movement
converted to being the United Irishman cumann of Sinn Féin. Early in
1953 Séamus returned to Ireland to join the Irish Lights. While
stationed at the Bailey, Howth, Co Dublin, Séamus got to know
Micheál Ó Donnabháin (Pasha), Joe Clarke (who introduced him to
fellow Wexfordman Jack Dunne), Brian O’Higgins and others in Dublin.
The Irish Lights pay
was too low for a married supernumary so he had to resign. After
unsuccessfully searching Wexford high and low for a job he had to
return to London. There he found that, as a result of a dispute,
neither of the two Cumainn any longer existed. Séamus looked up Seán
Mac Stiofáin and together with a few others from both Cumainn they
founded the Wolfe Tone Cumann. The activities included selling the
United Irishman, Resurgent Ulster (Jimmy Steele’s paper to which
Séamus contributed an Exiles Column and a poem or two on Seán
McCaughey), Wolfe Tone Annuals and the Welsh Republican. The day
after the Armagh raid they held a Wolfe Tone commemoration at
Trafalgar Square. Tom Doyle and Éamonn Mac Thomáis spoke and Séamus
chaired. As they marched through the streets the placards were all
about Armagh. The commemoration, held in heavy rain, was sparsely
attended but the next one, held after Felstead was a great success.
Dozens applied to join the Movement.
In the summer of 1954
Séamus returned to a job in Wexford where he was amazed to find that
the Republican Movement (apart from the Easter Commemoration
Committee and the National Graves Association) did not exist. During
that year’s Rás Tailteann Séamus contacted Joe McCrystle. Soon
afterwards Seosamh Mac Liathain called on him with a letter from
Cathal Ó Murchú, Adjutant-General, appointing him OC. Among the
first recruits were Liam McGarry, Frank Armstrong and Larry
Donnelly. Liam and Séamus attended the convention in Dublin on
November 4, 1954 when the policy of non-military resistance to Free
State forces was passed. Séamus received great help from
ex-internees Nicky Boggan, George Molloy, Yony Bolger, Tom Cullimore,
Peter Donnelly and some others.
Following a strike at
work Séamus lost his job and failing to get another after three
months, he set off once more for London. Naturally as a Volunteer
Séamus considered it his duty to begin to organise. Among those who
joined were Brendan Magill, M McCarthy (Cahersiveen), Dick Gray
(Cork), Paddy Mulcahy (Limerick) and Danny Ryan. When he found
himself out of work once more he headed for Bristol where a good
friend had promised him a better job than he had in London. Soon he
formed a cumann which was named after Barnes and McCormack. Séamus
returned home shortly after the Edentubber explosion in 1957. That
dark, cold November evening when the remains of Paddy Parle and
George Keegan arrived in Enniscorthy was one of the saddest days of
his life. In February 1958 Séamus’s house was raided and he was
arrested and taken to the barracks. He answered all questions with
“nothing to say” and refused to sign anything. Though he was
threatened with internment he was released unconditionally as was
Fred Duggan. They were the only two men arrested that time. Fred was
later lifted in Castledermot and interned. Soon afterwards Séamus
was back in Bristol where he first met Tom O’Sullivan. He finally
returned home in 1963. He became chairman of the Paddy Parle cumann
and in 1967 stood, along with Jack Dunne, for Wexford Corporation in
the local elections. Jack won a seat following Séamus’s elimination.
Seven years later, a
reluctant candidate, he stood again with Jack Dunne and Philip
Kelly, this time they all failed to take a seat though Philip won a
seat in later elections. Following the split in 1969 Séamus
organised Wexford for the Republican Movement. Among his contacts
were Mick Conroy, an ex-internee then in his eighties and Diarmuid Ó
Suilleabháin, both of Gorey and Mick Treacy, Enniscorthy. His home
was raided several times before he was eventually arrested in
January 1974 along with Joe O’Connell of Clare and six others. Joe
got six months for possession of a miss-hit .22 bullet, Pat O’Neill
two years, Kevin Colfer was acquitted of the charge of a small
amount of weedkiller. The rest were not charged. Séamus was arrested
over an unfortunate shooting incident in New Ross in November 1975
along with Jimmy Kavanagh and two others. He received 12 years penal
servitude. In Portlaoise jail he joined the Sinn Féin cumann and
improved his Irish. Bhí grá mór aige don Ghaeilge agus chaith sé
seal ina mhuinteoir don bhun rang sa phríosúin.
In 1977 he went on
hunger strike with Dáithí Ó Conaill, Brendan O’Donerty (Kerry), Mick
Brody (Clare), Phil O’Donnell (Derry), Joe Ennis (Cavan) and 14
others. He was unconditionally released on December 22, 1984 out of
the blue as he was resigned to serve the few weeks remaining.
Accompanied by the OC Gerry Rooney and the Adjutant Arnie O’Connell
he went to see the Deputy-Governor of the prison. Gerry asked on his
behalf if there were any strings attached. There were none and there
was nothing signed. He was in jail with Brendan Magill, Michael
Hegarty, Tom O’Sullivan, Joe Malone, Seán Ó Sé, Gerry MacCarthy,
John McElhinney, Matt Leen and Peadar Neary. At his welcome home
Séamus Twomey presented him with a bronze replica of the Cú Chulainn
statue. The Cumann also made him an honorary life member. Following
the 1986 split Séamus once again remain true to Republcian
principles and became chairman of the Pádraig Ó Pearaill cumann in
Wexford town, a position he only relinquished in December 1997. He
was also active with the National Graves Association. He served for
several years on the Ard Chomhairle of Sinn Féin Poblachtach. His
interests were reading, walking, following the Wexford hurlers and
playing chess. He used to play with Dáithí Ó Conaill in Portlaoise
Jail. He worked on a screenplay on the life and death of Erskine
Childers but did not expect it ever to be screened. |
