Gearóid Ó hEára

Who is Gearóid Ó hEára?

Gearóid Ó hEára is a Sinn Féin politician and a former Mayor of Derry,

Educated by the Irish Christian Brothers, Ó hEára joined the Provisional Irish Republican Army following the sectarian conflagrations of the late 1960s and 1970s.

During the inquiry into Bloody Sunday Ó hEára stated that in January 1972, when he was 18 years of age, he was a member of the Derry branch of Fianna Éireann, During the inquiry it was reported that "Mr. ÓhEára [sic] said the leadership of the Fianna was collective and he was part of an inner circle. He was nominal leader of this inner circle because he was the person chosen to deal with the IRA liaison officer who was their contact with the IRA. He had no title and was not an officer commanding as such. He said he had not mentioned his involvement with the Fianna in his original statement because he was on the march as a member of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, not the Fianna. He refused to name the IRA Liaison Officer but said he would approach him to see if he would give evidence."

Almost ten years prior to the IRA ceasefire of 1997, Ó hEára obtained a visa to travel to the United States where he attended a pre-reconciliation ceremony at the Jesuit-run Fordham University, in The Bronx, New York, which was attended by both Unionist and Nationalist politicians.