Gerard “Yogi” Brennan passed away on 10th October 2016.
Born in 1960 in the Lower Falls area of Belfast, Gerard joined Na Fianna Eireann, the youth wing of the Republican Movement, in 1970, later becoming an active Republican Clubs member. A committed activist, he remained with the movement through its transition to become the Workers’ Party, fully supporting its anti-sectarian, antiimperialist, socialist ethos.
Even though in more recent years Yogi took a step back from regular activism, he was always on hand to lend moral and practical support when asked, and remained a well-known figure in the Party’s Cyprus Street Social Club.
In April 2016 he received a lifetime achievement award from the party at the Easter Rising 100th Anniversary Commemoration. To a packed crowd he encouraged the mantle of the Party to be passed onto a new generation of young people unleashing his favourite battle cry of “Up the Sticks” to loud applause.
Yogi’s charm, humour and comradeship will be missed by all who knew him and by his comrades in the Workers’ Party.
