A Catholic clergyman whose funeral took place earlier this week was once a ruthless IRA gunman.
But in jail where he was serving a lengthy sentence, Mark Lenaghan rejected violence and dedicated his life to serving others and he eventually became a Deacon in the Catholic Church
Reverend Lenaghan (65) passed away peacefully on September 4 surrounded by his wife and family.
And on Monday, Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ of Down and Connor Diocese officiated at his funeral in St Malachy’s Church in Castlewellan.
Rev Lenaghan was later buried at St Mary’s Cemetery, Aughlisnafin, in the Co Down town.
But as a teenager growing up on Belfast’s Twinbrook estate, Mark joined the IRA and became a member of a so-called punishment squad, dishing out summary justice to anyone deemed to have broken republican law and order.
And he later graduated to an IRA active service unit which waged war on British soldiers and police officers on the streets of Belfast.
“There was exaltation as well as fear when you held the gun. A buzz. A hype,” he once told the Los Angeles Times.
“All I thought was: Get the job done. Do it right. Make sure it is done well,” Lenaghan said during an interview about his days as a republican gunman.
“There was no remorse. You couldn’t have done it if you had emotional hang-ups,” he said.
He added: “The gunman is a victim of his time. You have to be warped or distorted.”
Lenaghan said he became involved with the IRA after his family had been forced from their home by a Protestant gang and a school teacher had been killed by the British army.
During his 15 years as a member of the IRA, he never wavered about the use of violence.
“Then on February 15, 1982, we went to shoot two soldiers on the Falls Road,” Lenaghan recalled.
“Instead, we hit a civilian in the street by mistake. I was arrested with a rifle.”
Lenaghan and another man were stopped by soldiers as they tried to escape on a motorbike which crashed at Iveagh Street, off the Falls Road.
Minutes before, a number of shots had been fired at soldiers from a house which had been taken over by men who said they were from the IRA.
After Lenaghan – who was a passenger on the motorbike – was stopped, a rifle was found strapped to its metal frame. The driver escaped but Lenaghan was arrested at the scene.
None of the soldiers who had been the targets of the attack were injured. But a civilian who was walking up the road was hit on the leg by one of the bullets.
At his trial, Lenaghan was charged with attempting to murder soldiers and Judge Higgins said the ambush was well planned and involved at least five people.
The court heard how Lenaghan had waited at the rear of a house. He was aware the house had been taken over and a firearm was to be used to try to shoot the soldiers.
At Lenaghan’s trial, Judge Higgins said: “With that knowledge, he intended to assist the gunman in the removal of the firearm.
“I conclude that it was the intention of the gunman to at least cause serious bodily injury to a soldier. And the fact that the shots missed points to the lack of capability rather than lack of intention,” said the judge.
Lenaghan was convicted of attempting to wound the soldiers; wounding the injured civilian with intent to cause grievous bodily harm; malicious wounding and having possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
The court was told Lenaghan was in his final year at Queen’s University when he was arrested and while on remand he had obtained a languages degree.
It had been his intention to do a post-grad course and become a teacher, the court heard.
Sentencing Lenaghan to 12 years’ imprisonment, Judge Higgins told him he had been convicted of grave offences and had not offered any contrition or explanation for his actions. He was sent to the Maze Prison, which held 400 other IRA prisoners.
But after 15 years rooted in violence, Lenaghan met a Catholic priest who encouraged him to take an interest in the Marian Shrine at Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
And gradually he began to question his commitment and he turned his back on the IRA.
“I had no peace of mind. Aggression had been my constant stimulus. I began to question my motives and what I was doing in the IRA. I was a closet Christian, terrified of losing my image,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
But he soon made a decision to quit the IRA and he was released from prison after serving six years of his 12-year sentence.
“My decision brought me a lot of flak, anger, resentment and abuse,” he said.
After a while working with youth groups, at the age 30 he studied at Maynooth Religious College and began teaching religion at a school in Dublin.
And on a trip to Medjugorje he met a former British soldier who had served on the streets of Belfast.
“There was no animosity. We were both touched by a sense of peace,” he said.
In Castlewellan, where he had settled with his wife and three children, he served as a Deacon in St Malachy’s Church, where he was immensely popular member of the Catholic community.
Rev Lenaghan’s funeral on Monday was said to have been one of the busiest in the parish for many years.
“The funeral was beautiful. Rev Mark was a great man. He was so popular and he will be sadly missed,” said one of the mourners.