Inverness Royal Academy

By Staff Reporter Shengas McGlumphie

A Granville man has withdrawn an Inverness Royal Academy (IRA) uniform from sale after a campaign of abuse from neighbours and strangers. John McGuigan was a pupil at the academy during the 1980s before moving from Scotland to Tyrone 10 years ago.

“I just can’t understand it”, said McGuigan, 54. “I just wanted someone else to make good use of it. There might not be much demand for an IRA uniform around these parts, but I just thought I’d give it a try. My IRA days were amongst the happiest of my life. I had some brilliant times there and I remember how me and the lads just seemed to spend our whole time laughing our heads off at some of the stuff we got up to. All I want to do is for someone else to use the uniform and maybe enjoy the IRA as much as I did, and I’ve been quite open about that”.

But locals have reacted strongly to the advert which has appeared in two local papers for four consecutive weeks, and have recently resorted to action. At the weekend, profanities in indelible ink appeared across McGuigan’s front door.

“I spent all day Sunday trying to scrub the letters out with a brillo pad and a big bottle of Jif. I’ve removed 5 of the letters but the ‘w’ is really stubborn. And then the week before I was at the hole in the wall at Tesco getting some cash when someone sneaked round the corner and toed me right up the arse, then just ran off. It’s ridiculous. It’s a free country isn’t it?”

Several phone calls made by McGuigan to Dungannon Police Station have met little response.

“That shower were even worse. I told them I was getting dog’s abuse just for trying to sell an IRA uniform and they went mental. I can’t even repeat what the desk sergeant told me to do with the uniform, but I certainly don’t think it would fit. And it’s made of horsehair, so it would be dead scratchy and everything”.

McGuigan now plans to contact the Academy directly to see if the school is able to sell the uniform on to any of its current or future pupils.

“I have other stuff to sell but after all the hassle I’m not sure now” said McGuigan “although I have quite a lot of memorabilia from my days in the Ullapool Darts Association, so I might have better luck with that”.