John Graham

Who was John Graham?

John S.S. Graham was an important Irish Republican Army activist in the 1940s.

He was one of a group of Protestants who joined the IRA, and for a time in the 1940s they formed a company of the IRA in Belfast. He rose to become Belfast Commander and Northern Director of Intelligence.

Graham was jailed during the IRA "Border Campaign" of 1956-62. While in prison, he learned Irish, and started one of the first Irish language newspapers in Belfast. In the late 1970s, a book was written about him, in which the author used a code name, John Gray, instead of John Graham.

He was a communicant of the Church of Ireland and opposed any romanisation of that church. As a member of the select vestry of St Mary's on the Crumlin Road in Belfast, Graham resisted the placing of an image of the Virgin Mary in the church.