Flannery / Cumann na Saoirse 1988 · p.130

FD.350 (Rev. 5-8.81)
ALLINFCRMATIONCONTAINED
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Date:
Voiix
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Edition:
3/12/86
Character:
or
Classification:
Submitting Office:
Indexing:
Flannery
in Noraid Rift
The setting up of An Cumann Saoirse/Irish Freedom Committee in the United States with
the support of Michael Flannery. is an important event. Flannery is not only the founder of
·Noraid, he is also the."Grand Old Man" of'militantIrish-Republicanism in this country.
Patrick Farrelly reports on the background to the development:
THE LATEST rift in Noraid
has its roots in the historic
Sinn Fein convention held in·
November 1986 that decided to
drop the party's abstensionist.
attitude to Leinster House, the
parliament in Dublin.
pS1-bb1 -1
Noraid was set up by Flan-
nery and others to collect
funds in the U.s. to help.the.
1- 199-
dependants of IRA prisoners
in Ireland. The Irish..and
British. governments claim
that Noraid's real role.is to
raise funds for the IRA.
Irish Northern Aid was set
up after a split in the.Sinn
Fein/IRA movement in
Ireland at the start of thepre-
sent Troubles in 1970. The
movement split for a.number:
of.reasons: With Loyalist at-
tacks on the Catholic ghettoes
in Belfast many of its northern:
supporters felt that the IRA
194/5-1S04
leadership was incapable or
unwilling to defend its people.
At the same time the leader
SEARCHEO.
INDEXED
ship wanted Sinn Fein to take
SERIALIZED.
seats in the Dublin and'Belfast
APR 1 1988
parliaments.At conventions in.
1969 and 1970 the IRA and Sinn
Michael Flannery, the man at the center of a rift in Noraid.
Fein split and the Officials and
Provisionals camie about.
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