Biographies of Prominent People - 'G'

Gildernew, Michelle (b. 28 March 1970)
Politician; Sinn Féin (SF) MP 2001-present

Michelle Gildernew was born in Caledon, County Tyrone, and attended the local primary school St Joseph's and then later St Catherine's College, Armagh, and the University of Ulster at Coleraine. Gildernew's family was involved in one of the incidents which gave rise to the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland when in 1968 they were evicted from a local authority house in Caledon. After becoming a member of Sinn Féin (SF) she worked as head of the party’s London Office, and as its Press Officer. Gildernew was first elected as a public representative in June 1998 when returned for the constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the new Northern Ireland Assembly (1998-present). Then at the Westminster election in June 2001 Gildernew was nominated by SF to contest the seat of Fermanagh and South Tyrone and in a surprise result won by 53 votes. The narrow margin of her victory was later contested by the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in a legal challenge but this was unsuccessful and she was confirmed as the victor. In line with SF policy Gildernew has yet to take her seat in the House of Commons.

Book References:
Elliott, Sydney. and Flackes, W.D. (1999), Northern Ireland: A Political Directory 1968-1999. Belfast: Blackstaff Press.
Web Sources:
http://www.qub.ac.uk/cawp/UK%20bios/UK_bios_00s.htm#gildernew
http://www.ni-assembly.gov.uk/members/biogs/mgildernew.htm
http://www.politicallinks.co.uk/politics2/BIOG/MP_BIOGS/bio.asp?id=0252
http://www.stratagem-ni.org/
[Entry written by B.Lynn - 12 November 2002]

Gorman, John (Sir)
Politician; Chairman of the Northern Ireland Forum 1996-98
[Entry to be included at a later date]

Goulding, Cathal (b. 1922)
Chief of Staff of the IRA 1962-69; Chief of Staff of the Official IRA (OIRA) 1970-72

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