Joe O'Connell (Irish republican) security wing of Portlaoise Prison, Ireland, in early 1998. They were presented by Gerry Adams to the 1998 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis as 'our Nelson Mandelas', and were released together with Brendan Dowd and Liam Quinn in 1999 as part of the Belfast Agreement. Joe O'Connell (Irish republican) Martin Joseph O'Connell (born 1951), better known as Joe, is an Irish republican and a former volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). He is most noted for having been a member of the Balcombe Street gang. O'Connell was born in Kilkee, in rural County Clare, 'a stronghold of Gaelic-speaking inhabitants
Seán Mackin (Irish republican) "suspension of deportation," a different (and, ironically, faster) route to permanent residency and U.S. citizenship. The Mackins also have two sons, Seán Óg and Kieran, who are both United States citizens by birth. The entire family have since become United States citizens. In 2004, Mackin was detained by police while visiting Belfast, which was interpreted by many as an attempt to disrupt or discredit Mackin's work for FOSF. Seán Mackin (Irish republican) Seán Mackin is an Irish republican from Belfast, Northern Ireland and a fundraiser for the Friends of Sinn Féin (FOSF). Mackin, who had been a member of the