Fionnbarra O’Dochartaigh was ‘utterly relentless’ in helping other people

Fionnbarra O’Dochartaigh will be remembered as a man who went to “extraordinary lengths so that people could have a better life.”
Mourners at Fionnbarra O’Dochartaigh’s funeral included veteran civil rights campaigner, Eamonn McCann.Mourners at Fionnbarra O’Dochartaigh’s funeral included veteran civil rights campaigner, Eamonn McCann.
Mourners at Fionnbarra O’Dochartaigh’s funeral included veteran civil rights campaigner, Eamonn McCann.

Speaking at the civil rights veteran’s Requiem Mass at St Eugene’s Cathedral on Wednesday morning, Rev. Patrick Lagan described him as someone who was “utterly relentless” in pursuing what he believed was right and good for this community.

Rev. Lagan said Mr O’Dochartaigh had done so much throughtout his life - “from housing to employment, to the many meetings he held, to the humble and simple conversation with friend and stranger” - to help build a better society.

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Father Lagan said Mr O’Dochartaigh would forever be associated with the civil rights movement of the late 1960s and remained a “promoter of rights throughout his long life”.

Former SDLP leader and Foyle MP Mark Durkan was among the mourners.Former SDLP leader and Foyle MP Mark Durkan was among the mourners.
Former SDLP leader and Foyle MP Mark Durkan was among the mourners.

“He was a man who held steadfastly to the principles for which he ceaselessly campaigned,” he added.

“He was born into and brought up in a home where the young Fionbarra often listened to and accompanied his father to trade union meetings. He was a gifted child who loved politics and history. He was an excellent orator. Whilst studying in Manchester, he was described as a small man with a big voice. Later he attended Cork University where he studied law.

“With a photographic memory, he was often able to recall quotes, chapters, anything at all, to simply retell and share. When you met Fionbarra, you didn’t just meet a campaigner, you met a man, passionately and enthusiastically striving to build a more just and peaceful society.”

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A member of the Derry Housing Action Committee, Mr O’Dochartaigh was a prominent figure in the housing protests which preceded the emergence of the civil rights movement in the city in the late 1960s.

Members of Mr O’Dochartaigh’s family follow his hearse as it arrives at St Eugene’s Cathedral for Requiem Mass.Members of Mr O’Dochartaigh’s family follow his hearse as it arrives at St Eugene’s Cathedral for Requiem Mass.
Members of Mr O’Dochartaigh’s family follow his hearse as it arrives at St Eugene’s Cathedral for Requiem Mass.

He was one of the organisers of the civil rights march on Duke Street in Derry on October 5, 1968, which was attacked by the RUC.

He was the author of several books, including ‘Ulster’s White Negroes: From Civil Rights to Insurrection’ and, in 2018, was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the civil rights 1968 commemoration committee.

Mr. O’Dochartaigh was laid to rest in the City Cemetery.

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