Brendan McKenna
Encyclopedia
Brendan McKenna is an Irish politician and a prominent residents' group leader. He is the General Secretary of éirígí
Éirígí
-External links:*...

, a socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...

 republican party, and was previously an adviser to Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

 members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...

. He came to prominence in the 1990s as the spokesman for the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition (also known as the Garvaghy Road Residents' Association). In the early 1980s, McKenna was jailed for six years for his involvement in blowing up the British Legion
The Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion , sometimes referred to as simply The Legion, is the United Kingdom's leading charity providing financial, social and emotional support to those who have served or who are currently serving in the British Armed Forces, and their dependants.-History:The British Legion was...

 hall in Portadown
Portadown
Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...

.

Garvaghy stand-off

From 1997, McKenna had been the spokesman for the Garvaghy Road residents in the Drumcree conflict
Drumcree conflict
The Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is an ongoing dispute over a yearly parade in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The dispute is between the Orange Order and local residents. The residents are currently represented by the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition ; before 1995 they were...

, which centres on the desire of the Orange Order
Orange Institution
The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...

 to walk
Orange walk
Orange walks are a series of parades held annually by members of the Orange Order during the summer in Northern Ireland, to a lesser extent in Scotland, and occasionally in England, the Republic of Ireland, and throughout the Commonwealth...

 a traditional route through an area which had become predominantly Roman Catholic. In 1997 he was elected to Craigavon Borough Council
Craigavon Borough Council
Craigavon Borough Council is a local council in counties Armagh, Down and Antrim, in Northern Ireland. The headquarters of the council is in Craigavon, on the shores of Lough Neagh, a new town built between Lurgan and Portadown. The council area includes the large towns of Lurgan and Portadown, as...

 for the Portadown area and sat on the council until 2001

Prior to 2002, McKenna had received death threats and a live bullet had been sent to him.

Resignation

On the 10th of April 2007, McKenna resigned from Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

 — the suspicion being that the resignation was due to the party's support of the Police Service of Northern Ireland
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....

 along with his unsuccessful attempt to secure the nomination for the Northern Ireland Assembly elections. Nevertheless, McCionnaigh continues to serve as spokesman for the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition and, in February 2010, he helped formulate a joint submission to the Northern Ireland Assembly's Working Party on Parading Issues.

McKenna has been critical of the Orange Institution
Orange Institution
The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...

 and of the Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...

 (since replaced by the Police Service of Northern Ireland
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....

). McKenna is also a prominent campaigner for an inquiry into the murder of solicitor Rosemary Nelson
Rosemary Nelson
Rosemary Nelson was a prominent Northern Irish human rights lawyer who was killed by a loyalist paramilitary group in 1999...

.

McKenna joined the socialist republican political party éirígí
Éirígí
-External links:*...

, and was elected General Secretary of the organisation in May 2009.
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