Rita O'Hare
Encyclopedia
Rita O'Hare is the General Secretary of Sinn Féin and the current Sinn Féin
Representative to the United States (since 1998).
She was born Rita McCulloch and raised in Belfast
, Northern Ireland
, the daughter of a Catholic nationalist mother and a Protestant Socialist father. She has one surviving sibling, a brother, Alan McCulloch.
She was involved in the Civil Rights campaign and later became a republican. She was editor of the Irish republican newspaper An Phoblacht
("Republican News") (AP/RN) in the 1980s and early 1990s. She was also Director of Publicity for Sinn Féin, succeeding Danny Morrison in that position.
She was arrested in Northern Ireland
in 1972 for the attempted murder of British Army
Warrant Officer
Frazer Paton in Belfast in October 1971. She also faces malicious wounding and possession of firearms charges. Upon her release on bail she fled to Dublin in the Republic of Ireland
where she lives with her family. She cannot return to the UK due to an outstanding arrest warrant
. Sein Fein has presented her case to the British Government as one of the IRA 'on the runs' (OTRs) under consideration to be allowed to return to Northern Ireland.
She served a three year sentence in Limerick Prison for smuggling explosives to an IRA member and was released in 1979.
Upon her release, her extradition from the Republic of Ireland was blocked as the Irish High Court ruled in March 1978 that O'Hare should not be extradited to Northern Ireland, on the ground that the offences that she was alleged to have committed fell within the 'political offence' exemption.
Based in Dublin, she was temporarily banned from entering the United States
after she traveled to Florida
for a meeting (the terms of her special visa require that she first notify authorities before such travel). She is ineligible for a regular visa due to the outstanding warrant.
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...
Representative to the United States (since 1998).
She was born Rita McCulloch and raised in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, the daughter of a Catholic nationalist mother and a Protestant Socialist father. She has one surviving sibling, a brother, Alan McCulloch.
She was involved in the Civil Rights campaign and later became a republican. She was editor of the Irish republican newspaper An Phoblacht
An Phoblacht
An Phoblacht is the official newspaper of Sinn Féin in Ireland. It is published once a month, and according to its website sells an average of up to 15,000 copies every month and was the first Irish paper to provide an edition online and currently having in excess of 100,000 website hits per...
("Republican News") (AP/RN) in the 1980s and early 1990s. She was also Director of Publicity for Sinn Féin, succeeding Danny Morrison in that position.
She was arrested in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
in 1972 for the attempted murder of British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
Warrant Officer
Warrant Officer
A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...
Frazer Paton in Belfast in October 1971. She also faces malicious wounding and possession of firearms charges. Upon her release on bail she fled to Dublin in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
where she lives with her family. She cannot return to the UK due to an outstanding arrest warrant
Arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....
. Sein Fein has presented her case to the British Government as one of the IRA 'on the runs' (OTRs) under consideration to be allowed to return to Northern Ireland.
She served a three year sentence in Limerick Prison for smuggling explosives to an IRA member and was released in 1979.
Upon her release, her extradition from the Republic of Ireland was blocked as the Irish High Court ruled in March 1978 that O'Hare should not be extradited to Northern Ireland, on the ground that the offences that she was alleged to have committed fell within the 'political offence' exemption.
Based in Dublin, she was temporarily banned from entering the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after she traveled to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
for a meeting (the terms of her special visa require that she first notify authorities before such travel). She is ineligible for a regular visa due to the outstanding warrant.