Billy McKee

Billy McKee (November 12 1921 - June 11 2019) was an Irish republican, Roman Catholic and founding member of the Provisional IRA.

McKee grew up in Belfast, and joined the Irish Republican Army in 1933. He participated in the group's 1942 - 1944 armed campaign, known as the Northern Campaign, for which he was jailed until 1946. In 1956, he joined another IRA campaign against the existence of Northern Ireland called the Northern Campaign, but was once again captured and interned until 1962. After his release, McKee became the commanding officer of the IRA's Belfast Brigade but was forced to resign after obeying an order from the Royal Ulster Constabulary to take down an Irish flag during a march. Over time, he drifted away from the IRA due to their increasing movement towards socialism.

On August 14, 1969, McKee and several other IRA members entered a meeting of the Belfast Brigade to overturn McKee's replacement Billy McMillen as leader of the Belfast Brigade. After failing, they announced that they would stop obeying the IRA and formed a splinter group, the Provisional IRA. As leader of the PIRA's Belfast Brigade, McKee faced rivalry from the Official IRA, but quickly gained the upper hand against them.

In 1970, McKee discovered that a group of Ulster loyalists were planning to attack the Republican stronghold of Short Strand. In response, he and several of his men drove to St. Matthew's Church in Short Strand where there was a five-hour gun battle during which McKee was wounded and four Loyalists were killed.

1971 saw McKee's arrest and conviction after British soldiers found him with an illegal handgun. The next year, he went on a hunger strike to force British politicians to award IRA prisoners Special Category Status. He was released in 1974, when the PIRA called a ceasefire. McKee was involved in peace talks with Protestants, during which he claimed to want to end the violence. Despite this, he was also at the same time authorised multiple sectarian attacks,as well as attacks against members of the Official IRA, for which he was voted off the IRA Army Council by a faction led by Gerry Adams.

McKee died in 2019, aged 97.