Civil rights radical who moved to Sinn Féin

Niall Vallely, who has died aged 72, was a significant figure in the early years of the Civil Rights movement. He was one of the most militant and uncompromising leaders of the revolutionary socialist organisation People's Democracy and a fierce opponent both of the unionist regime in Stormont and of the "Green Tories" of the old Nationalist Party.

He was present at Burntollet bridge near Derry in January 1969 when loyalists attacked a civil rights march as the police stood by.

Vallely led the Armagh branch of People’s Democracy, the organisation’s most active. It regularly picketed meetings of the unionist-controlled city council. Housing conditions in Armagh were appalling in the late 1960s, with one street suffering regular typhoid outbreaks in summer. Some councillors were landlords and opposed building social housing to protect their rental income.

Vallely was imprisoned twice, once in connection with action in support of strikers during the Irish Cement strike of 1970. He narrowly avoided being caught in the internment swoop on August 9th, 1969. Minutes before soldiers arrived he was tipped off that arrests were under way and fled.

People’s Democracy subsequently suffered division and decline, and Vallely moved to Newry and joined Sinn Féin. He was active at a local level. In more recent years, he helped write speeches for prominent party members. He also used his persuasive powers to argue for policies, such as support for the police, about which many republicans were sceptical.

Building links

Vallely was also involved in building links with the Protestant and loyalist communities. His wit was a significant advantage: he could take the edge out of a situation with a joke that all could laugh at.

He was born in 1942, the second of five children to John Vallely, a primary teacher and native of Armagh and his wife Mary (née Eaton), also a teacher and native of Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo. The family was steeped in all things Irish. John Vallely was manager of the Armagh Gaelic football team. Mary Vallely was an Irish speaker and musician.

He was educated at Blundell’s Grange Primary School, the Christian Brothers grammar school in Armagh and Queen’s University, Belfast, where he graduated in Celtic studies and economics. After a stint in the Civil Service, he entered teaching, and taught in Banbridge till retirement.

Politics was only part of his life. He was an excellent bodhrán player and a fine singer of traditional song with a love for the Gaelic poets of south Armagh.

He is survived by his daughter, Eimear, sons Niall and Ruairí, sisters Lorraine and Máire and brothers Brian and Dara. He was predeceased by his wife, Una.