Hugh Aodh Doherty is a Scottish-born Irish republican, who was a former volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), known for his role in the Balcombe Street Siege, in London in December 1975.[1]
Hugh Aodh Doherty | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1950 (age 73–74) Gorbals District, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Occupation | Artist |
| Known for | Balcombe Street Siege |
| Criminal status | Released[1]under terms of the Belfast Agreement |
| Parent(s) | Dan Doherty, Madge Doherty |
| Criminal charge | 11 x Murder + 7 charges |
| Penalty | 11 terms of life imprisonment (30 years judicial recommendation)[1] |
| Details | |
| Date | 6 to 12 December 1975 |
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
| State(s) | London |
| Location(s) | |
Criminal background
Doherty is known for his role in the Balcombe Street Siege of December 1975, at the resolution of which he was sentenced to eleven terms of life imprisonment for offences including murder, with a judicial recommendation he serve at least 30 years.[2][3][4]
Doherty and fellow members of his active service unit had targeted tourist attractions, soldiers, police officers, politicians and other establishment figures as part of the IRA's armed campaign against Northern Ireland being a part of the United Kingdom.[5][6]
The Balcombe Street gang, who were named after the London street on which they were arrested after a six-day siege that was broadcast live on television and watched by millions, were responsible for a 14-month campaign of bombings and shootings across the south-east of England.[7]
Trial
At his trial at the Old Bailey in 1977 Doherty received eleven life sentences and seven other sentences ranging eighteen to twenty-one years imprisonment.[8] In 1987, Jeremy Corbyn handed a petition to then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher which demanded better visiting conditions for Doherty and his fellow IRA prisoner Nat Vella, along with "the immediate transfer of Irish political prisoners to prisons near their homes".[7] In May 1998 he was transferred from England to Portlaoise Prison in County Laois in Ireland.[9]
Doherty following his transfer made an appearance at the 1998 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis at which the party accepted the Belfast Agreement, under these terms Doherty was released from prison, on 9th April 1999.[2][1]
Personal details
Doherty was born in the Gorbals Region in Glasgow, Scotland in 1950,[10] He has been painting since 1982, primarily he started with landscapes and seascapes and now works as a professional artist in Ireland.[11] He is the brother of Sinn Féin MP and MLA Pat Doherty.[12]