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Title: |
Frank Stagg Family Papers |
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Repository: |
Western Reserve Historical Society
Phone: 216-721-5722 http://www.wrhs.org |
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Creator: |
Stagg, Frank, family |
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Dates: |
1866-2004 |
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Quantity: |
0.21 linear feet (1 container and 1 oversize folder) |
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Abstract: |
Frank Stagg was a member of the Irish Republican Army who was arrested and sentenced to ten years in Albany Prison on the Isle of Wight. He participated in several hunger strikes and died after a 62 day hunger strike in 1976. He was originally buried in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland, but IRA volunteers removed his remains and buried him in the IRA plot in Leigue Cemetery, County Mayo. The collection consists of articles, book chapters, family charts, a family record, excerpts, magazine articles, newspaper clippings, an obituary, photographs, a poster, and a transcript from the Irish government. In addition to material relating to Frank Stagg and the Irish Republican Army, the collection includes genealogical materials on the John and Thomas J. Vahey and the Patrick Jennings families, who were ancestors of Stagg. The seven photographs included in the collection are photocopies and include photographs of family and friends, and views of the IRA plot as Leigue Cemetery, 1975-1977. |
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Identification: |
MS 4924 |
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Location: |
closed stacks |
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Language: |
The records are in English |
Frank Stagg (1941-1976) was born into a republican family, in Hollymount, near Claremorris, County Mayo, Ireland. As a young adult, he immigrated to the United Kingdom, settling for a time in Luton, where he joined Sinn Fein in 1972. Shortly thereafter, he joined the I.R.A. (Irish Republican Army). Stagg was arrested in 1973, in Coventry, United Kingdom, for conspiring to commit arson, for which he received a ten year sentence. At his trial, he was described as a commanding officer in the Coventry IRA unit. He began to serve his sentence in Albany Prison on the Isle of Wight. He spent most of his time in solitary confinement, due to his insistence on being treated as a political prisoner. Parkhurst Prison was home at that time to a number of I.R.A. political prisoners, including the Belfast Ten, who were on hunger strike for political reasons. In 1974, Stagg joined this strike. They had three demands; no solitary confinement, the right to education with no forced prison work; and the setting of a reasonable date for a transfer to an Irish prison. After the first hunger striker died, Michael Gaughan, the remaining strikers ended their fast, based on the assurance that they would be transferred to a prison in Ireland. However, this never happened. At the end of 1975, Stagg went on another hunger strike, his fourth strike in two years. He died on February 12, 1976, after a 62 day fast. Stagg was adamant that he would receive a traditional republican funeral, and left this request to Derek Highstead, who ran Sinn Fein in the United Kingdom. The government of the Irish Free State, a coalition of Fine Gael and Labour, under Taoiseach (prime minister) Liam Cosgrave, hijacked the body, held a Requiem mass which was boycotted by most of the Stagg family and relatives. His body was interred at Ballina, County Mayo. To avoid any interference or removal of Stagg's body, the Special Branch poured six feet of concrete on top of the body. A brother of Stagg's purchased the plot next to where Frank was buried. Through this plot, on November 6, 1976, IRA volunteers removed Stagg's remains and buried him beside Michael Gaughan, in the Republican Plot in Leigue Cemetery, County Mayo.
The Frank Family Stagg Papers, 1866-2004 and undated, consist of articles, book chapters, family charts, a family record, excerpts, magazine articles, newspaper clippings, an obituary, photographs, a poster, and a transcript from the Irish government.
This collection is of value to researchers studying the history and mission of the Irish Republican Army. Individuals with a special interest in Irish hunger strikers during the 1970's with find this collection useful. Those interested in the fight for Irish freedom from British rule will find this collection to be of value. Researchers searching for Cleveland, Ohio, Irish with a connection to County Mayo and the Hunger Strikers of the 1970s will find this collection valuable.
None.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___] MS 4924 Frank Stagg Family Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of Sr. Mary Francis Harrington in 2004.
Processed by Regina Costello in 2004.