Billy McKee (; 12 November 1921 – 11 June 2019) was an Irish republican and a founding member and leader of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. Early life McKee was born in Belfast on 12 November 1921, and joined the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 1939. During the Second World War, the IRA carried out a number of armed actions in Northern Ireland known as the Northern Campaign. McKee was arrested and imprisoned in Crumlin Road Gaol until 1946 for his role in this campaign. In 1956, the IRA embarked on another armed campaign against partition, known as the Border Campaign. McKee was again arrested and interned for the duration of the campaign. He was released in 1962. Upon release, he became Officer Commanding (OC) of the IRA's Belfast Brigade. However, he resigned this position in 1963, after a dispute with other republicans after McKee acceded to a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) demand that he not fly an Irish tricolour during a republican march. He was succeeded by Billy McMillen. As the 1960s went on, McKee drifted away from the IRA. He grew very disillusioned with the organisation's increasing emphasis on socialism and reformist politics over "armed struggle". McKee was a devout Roman Catholic, who attended Mass daily. As a result, he was very uncomfortable with what he felt were "communist" ideas coming into the republican movement. IRA split During the Northern Ireland riots of August 1969, severe rioting broke out in Belfast between Irish Catholic nationalists, Protestant loyalists, and the RUC. McKee was highly critical of the IRA's failure to defend Catholic areas during these disturbances. On 14 August 1969 McKee, Joe Cahill and a number of other Irish Republican activists occupied houses at Kashmir Street, however, being poorly armed they failed to prevent Irish Catholics in Bombay Street and parts of Cupar Street and Kashmir Street being driven from their homes in the sectarian rioting that had engulfed parts of the city. In the aftermath of the riots, McKee accused Billy McMillen, the IRA's Belfast commander, and the Dublin-based IRA leadership, of having failed to direct a clear course of action for the organization in civil disturbances. On 22 September 1969 McKee and a number of other IRA men arrived with weapons at a meeting called by McMillen and tried to oust him as head of the Belfast IRA. They did not succeed, but announced that they would