A memorial plaque has been unveiled in memory of a Derry man who was the first IRA volunteer to die in the city almost 100 years ago.
Dan McGandy went missing on January 20, 1919.
His body was found a month later on February 28.
The 19-year-old, who worked as a postman, was a member of the Ten Foot Pikers, the IRA’s active service unit in Derry at the time.
In the wake of his death, a theory emerged that McGandy had been thrown into the River Foyle after being intercepted by British troops, who then placed his coat, bag and weapon on the quay to make it appear he had committed suicide.
He was given a full military funeral and is recorded as the first Derry IRA volunteer to die while on active service during the War of Independence.
McGandy, who lived at Barnewall Place off Spencer Road in the Waterside, has now been remembered in a plaque unveiled by Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Annie’s Bar at the Top of the Hill on Thursday.
Karen Mullan, from Hillcrest House Community Centre in Gobnascale, said that the idea for the plaque came about after researching the history of the area as part of the 1916 Easter Rising centenary commemorations, which resulted in Dan McGandy’s story coming to light.
“As part of the 100th anniversary of the Rising, we’ve been looking at hosting a number of events to mark the centenary,” she said.
“We started doing a bit of research, and we discovered the story Dan McGandy, his involvement in the War of Independence and the aftermath of the Rising here in the city.
“There’s a very, very interesting story there that many people didn’t know about, so we started to delve a wee bit more.
“There’s a lot of hidden history in this area, men from the area who may have fought in the Somme, the Rising and the War of Independence, and Dan McGandy is a key figure in this, and we hope the plaque will encourage more people to look into his story.”
She added: “Dan was the first recorded IRA volunteer to die in the city, he died so young, so we felt we should in some way commemorate the sacrifice that he gave and ensure that he’ll not be forgotten.”
Karen added that there are many parts of Dan McGandy’s story that are still to be told.
“There’s still so much we would love to know about Dan, we couldn’t get our hands on a photograph of him, so if there’s anybody out there with more information we would love to hear from them,” she continued.
Mr McGuinness said that the 19-year-old’s contribution to the republican struggle was as important as the likes of Roger Casement, and all other volunteers who had lost their lives in the struggle for Irish independence.
“This gives the opportunity to mark the contribution of Dan McGandy made to Irish republicanism in this city,” he said.
“He was a member of the IRA, the unit known as the Ten Foot Pikers.
“Dan was a very active volunteer, he was also working for the Post Office at the time and in his capacity as a post an obviously he was able to contribute to the local IRA unit in terms of his ability to move about the town, gather information and move equipment from one area to another.
“It is very, very appropriate that we take this opportunity to unveil this plaque so people can understand the history of where he came from and his important role in Irish Republicanism as far back as 1919.
“Whenever Dan was here, Derry was a nationalist city, Derry was never really a republican city until our generation, and we’re very proud of the massive contribution our volunteers have made over the course of something like 25 years of struggle.
“Almost 40 IRA volunteers lost their lives in this city, and that’s something we hold very dear to us as Irish Republicans, because our job is to continue to build on the work that has been done, because we are the spokespeople for the nationalist republican people of the north, and that was vindicated in the May elections.”
Kathleen Hutton, proprietor of Annie’s Bar, said that she was delighted to be involved in the project given that it focussed on the untold history of the area.
“It’s very interesting story, particularly how his brother-in-law died at the Somme, and I think it shows the past and how we’ve evolved over many years, and that we now need to move forward together,” she said.
Photo shows Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness who unveiled a plaque in memory of local IRA volunteer Daniel (Dan) McGandy with (on left) Geraldine O'Donnell, Cllr Christopher Jackson, and Karen Mullan, Hillcrest Trust. (Photo - Tom Heaney, nwpresspics)
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