Eamonn Deane: Death of one of Derry’s longest serving community workers
Eamonn Deane recognised ‘integrity and purpose’ within each given community
Eamonn Deane will be remembered as one of Derry’s longest serving and most influential community workers.
Eamonn died on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, peacefully, surrounded by his loving family, at Altnagelvin Hospital.
He was the beloved husband of Sally, loving father of Gerard (Maíreád), Fionnuala (Michael), Aoife (John) and Brendan (Rachel), devoted grandfather of Cormac, Eiméar, Anna, Róan, Sally, Jo, Connor and Clodagh, dear son of the late Frank and Winnie, cherished brother of Una, Deirdre and the late Eilis, Liam, Seamus and Gerard, and will be sadly missed by his cousins, friends and the wider family circle.
Eamonn will be reposing at his home 63, Marlborough Street on Thursday, August 27, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm and Friday from 12:00 noon to 9:00pm. His funeral will leave his home on Saturday, August 29 at 1:00 p.m. to the City Cemetery for interment at 1:30pm.
Eamonn was central to the founding of the Bogside Community Association (BCA) in 1972 along with, then, Fr Denis Bradley, Paddy Doherty and Raymond Rogan.
In a unique historical event, overseen by a representative of the United Nations, the local population voted 12 community representatives into office to officially run the BCA during the ‘Free Derry’ era. It managed community services, rubbish collection, local affairs, and protected the area during that time.
Mr Deane played a major role managing the association’s community initiatives, surveying residents on local issues, and laying the groundwork for future community-led peace projects such as Derry’s Holywell Trust - a dedicated peacebuilding and community development charity, which he founded in 1988.
During Operation Motorman (July 31, 1972), the BCA shifted from a civic governance body to a critical voice for resident safety and political mediation.
It condemned the “military occupation” and strongly protested the “aggressive influx” of British soldiers. It famously charged that the British government was essentially "interning" residents in their own neighbourhoods”, publicly demanding to know "the duration of our sentence" as tanks and checkpoints restricted local movement.
The BCA navigated the policing vacuum, challenging the heavy-handed military presence in the Bogside and advocating for an alternative “sympathy-and-understanding-based community policing service rather than state punishment”.
The association also endeavoured to preserve local culture. When the conflict forced the cancellation of Feis Dhoire Cholmcille between 1972 and 1974, the BCA's Cultural Festival Committee stepped up. Organisers including Mr Rogan and Mr Doherty absorbed the programme into the Bogside Community Festival, keeping the city's cultural heritage alive during intense military containment.
Eamonn Deane was absolutely steeped in the idea that there was an integrity and purpose within each given community
Originally a teacher in St. Columba’s Boys Primary School Long Tower Teacher (1964-1967); Boyle School Alberta Canada (1967-1968); and St. Columba’s Boys Primary School Long Tower Teacher (1968-1973), Eamonn moved to full-time grassroots community work in 1973.
He was a Community Worker with the Bogside Community Association (1973-1977) and the North West Centre for Learning and Development (1977-1980); a lecturer at Ulster University (1980-1981); and a youth leader at NWFIHE Youthways (1981-1988).
In 2006, he was formally recognised by the Community Relations Council which awarded him the Good Relations accolade for making a “monumental contribution to a shared future in the North-West”.
In 2024, Eamonn and his wife Sally were recognised as ‘Quiet Peacebuilders’ by the John and Pat Hume Foundation and the International Fund For Ireland.
The award citation read: “Sally and Eamonn Deane have been supporting each other to build peace in this community for over five decades.
“Together they have formed a formidable team committed to improving the lives of people locally.”
In his long career, Eamonn was a Founding Trustee of Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust (NIVT) now Community Foundation for Northern Ireland (1979-2003); Board Member Western Health and Social Services Board (1979-1982); Council Member Community Relations Council (1998-2004); Founder Member and Chairman of Northlands Centre (1976-2001); Founder Member and Chairman of The Junction (1999-2004); Founder Member of Towards Understanding and Healing (2004); Member of Local Strategy Partnership for Derry City Council area (1999-2004); Member of Cross Border Management Committee (2000-2004); Member of Ministerial Technical Support Group (Republic of Ireland) (1996-2001); Chair of Bogside / Fountain 2.11 Interface Project (2002-2004); Chair of Holos Project (1998-2004); Chair of Yes! Publications 1986-2004); and Editor of Fingerpost Community Magazine (1986-2004)
Eamonn was also involved in the City Walls Heritage Project - a major initiative backed by a £446,000 grant to open up the historic Walls of Derry. The project used themes like "identity and ownership" to research untold community histories, aiming to turn a historic flashpoint into an inclusive asset.
His other spheres of influence included the DiverseCity Programme - a three-year consultation and workshop series structured to help different communities safely process past events together, and the Eden Project Foyle, where he was appointed chairman of the Foyle River Gardens charity.
Alongside other community leaders like Maureen Hetherington and the late Eamonn Baker, he helped spearhead the Towards Understanding and Healing (TUH) project.
He was also involved in Safe Encounters, an initiative which pioneered ethically "dealing with the past". It allowed victims and survivors of the Troubles to share their stories in safe, structured environments across the North.
Crucially, Eamonn acted as a trusted confidant and formal mentor to generations of community relations officers and local leaders in Derry City.
Paying tribute to Eamonn, former SDLP leader and Foyle MP Mark Durkan said: “[Eamonn Deane] was absolutely steeped in the idea that there was an integrity and purpose within each given community, whether that was at a neighbourhood level or whether that was on a wider civic level, or indeed more wider regionally or nationally.
“It was that sense of community and connectedness,” added Mr Durkan. “He was someone who was very proud in his service to the community but he was also someone who wasn’t over precious about his own ideas or his own thinking.
“His idea was that there was space for everybody else's interests and concerns. He didn’t like things being done onto people. He liked things being done by people and with people.
“That was very much the ethic he brought to his own work in the community and it was what he helped to inspire and assure others about.
“When you look at Eamonn’s contribution, it was actually to recruit and encourage positive contributions from so many other people, including people who maybe would have started on what appeared to be a very different page from where Eamonn was and where Eamonn was working.
“He was someone who was a great advocate in terms of causes and interests, but not in a negative or an antagonistic way. He could be very respectful of other ideas and other thoughts. He was someone who, when he engaged in dialogue, he was totally committed to a conversation, in a sense that, whatever were the issues or concerns or ideas of others needed to be properly explored. You had a duty to explain yourself but everybody else had a duty to explore, in the sense that we would all be better for understanding each other more and we might actually agree on something quite powerful,” said Mr Durkan.
Adding his tribute, SDLP Foyle MP Colum Eastwood said: “Eamonn Deane was a pillar of the community in Derry for decades. In the dark days of the Troubles, he worked on the ground in the Bogside to bring people together, offer people a path away from conflict and show that there was a better way.
Eamonn leaves a lasting legacy in Derry
“Through his work with the North West Centre for Learning and Development, Eamonn provided education, opportunities and training for countless young people across our city. He contributed to the public good through numerous organisations over the years, culminating in the founding and leadership of the Holywell Trust, where he worked to help different communities understand each other and find common ground.
“Eamonn leaves a lasting legacy in Derry, not only through the Holywell Trust but through the many people he supported and encouraged throughout his life. His contribution to building a shared city that everyone could call home will not be forgotten.
“Our thoughts are with his wife Sally, his children Gerard, Fionnuala, Aoife and Brendan, and all of his family and friends at this very sad time.”
Eamonn Deane: Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.