Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
A former South Armagh IRA member, O'Hare was considered one of the most notorious gunmen of the Troubles, even confessing to being involved in at least 26 murders.
O'Hare was arrested after his car drove through an Irish Defence Forces check point in Urlingford, County Kilkenny. O'Hare was shot eight times during the arrest which was effected after a fire-fight, and the driver of the car, Martin Bryan, was killed. An Irish Army soldier was wounded in the affray.
At his trial at the Special Criminal Court, O'Hare was convicted of false imprisonment, wounding with intent and possession of firearms, and received a 40-year sentence. After receiving his sentence, he made a speech in which he called for support for the Irish Revolutionary Brigade and called for republicans to turn their guns on the Irish judiciary, Prison service, Defence Forces and Gardaí. He concluded by declaring,"May all my deeds reverberate until bloody war is waged against the British and their southern allies”.
He was sent to the maximum security Portlaoise Prison, where he was isolated by former Provisional IRA and INLA associates who accused him of bringing republicanism into disrepute. In December 1987, the INLA's political wing, the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP), issued a statement disassociating themselves from the kidnapping and stating that O'Hare "is not a member of the INLA" In the early 1990s, he undertook a vow of silence and did not speak for six years. He also staged a dirty protest and re-joined the INLA wing of the prison in 1998, following the Good Friday Agreement. By 2001 he had become commander of the INLA inmates held there.
A former South Armagh IRA member, O'Hare was considered one of the most notorious gunmen of the Troubles, even confessing to being involved in at least 26 murders.
O'Hare was arrested after his car drove through an Irish Defence Forces check point in Urlingford, County Kilkenny. O'Hare was shot eight times during the arrest which was effected after a fire-fight, and the driver of the car, Martin Bryan, was killed. An Irish Army soldier was wounded in the affray.
At his trial at the Special Criminal Court, O'Hare was convicted of false imprisonment, wounding with intent and possession of firearms, and received a 40-year sentence. After receiving his sentence, he made a speech in which he called for support for the Irish Revolutionary Brigade and called for republicans to turn their guns on the Irish judiciary, Prison service, Defence Forces and Gardaí. He concluded by declaring,"May all my deeds reverberate until bloody war is waged against the British and their southern allies”.
He was sent to the maximum security Portlaoise Prison, where he was isolated by former Provisional IRA and INLA associates who accused him of bringing republicanism into disrepute. In December 1987, the INLA's political wing, the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP), issued a statement disassociating themselves from the kidnapping and stating that O'Hare "is not a member of the INLA" In the early 1990s, he undertook a vow of silence and did not speak for six years. He also staged a dirty protest and re-joined the INLA wing of the prison in 1998, following the Good Friday Agreement. By 2001 he had become commander of the INLA inmates held there.
