Michael Flannery
Introduction
Michael Flannery was an Irish republican who fought in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. He supported the Provisional IRA during The Troubles and was a founder of NORAID.
Irish revolutionary period
Flannery was born in North Tipperary in 1902. In 1916 he joined the Irish Volunteers, although he did not take part in the Easter Rising.
During The Troubles
In 1970 he travelled around America and set up 62 chapters of NORAID. In 1971 he said: "The more coffins sent back to Britain, the sooner this will be all over", referring to British soldiers.
In 1982 he was indicted, with four others, for arms smuggling, but all defendants were acquitted. He opposed the Northern Ireland peace process, believing that Sinn Féin and the Provisionals had "sold out"
He died in 1994, aged 92.