Brief Biography:

Cathal Goulding was to inherit a strong Republican tradition from his family and joined the Irish Republican Army (IRA) at an early age. During the Second World War Goulding was interned by the Irish government but later in the post-war period was to be actively involved in reviving the organisation. He received a jail sentence (1945-46) following his arrest in Dublin for IRA involvement. After an arms raid in England on 25 July 1953 he was sentenced to eight years in jail (served 1953-58). He therefore played no active part in the beginning of the IRA's (border) campaign against Northern Ireland (1956-62) although he was the Quarter Master General (QMG) during the final years of the campaign. In September 1962 he became Chief of Staff of the IRA. During the 1960s Goulding was to emerge as one of the leading advocates in the Republican movement calling for a major change in its strategy from a strictly military approach to one that laid greater emphasis on political action based on Marxism. When this eventually led to a split amongst Republicans, in the wake of the growing unrest in Northern Ireland, he became associated with Official Sinn Féin (OSF) and the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA). He then served as Chief of Staff of the OIRA (1970-72) and was in charge of it in 1972 when the OIRA declared a ceasefire. He remained with the Official movement when it evolved into the Workers' Party (WP).

Book References:

Bell, J. Bowyer. (1979), The Secret Army: The IRA 1916-1979. New Brunswick: Transaction.
Coogan, Tim. Pat. (1993), The IRA. London: Harper Collins.
Elliott, Sydney. and Flackes, W.D. (1999), Northern Ireland: A Political Directory 1968-1999. Belfast: Blackstaff Press.
McRedmond, Louis. (ed.) (1998), Modern Irish Lives: Dictionary of 20th-century Biography. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.

Web Sources:

[Entry written by B.Lynn - 30 March 2003]