Also some republican “activists” were seized in a dawn-swoop, and kept in custody at the Derrybeg Community Centre until the 60,000-strong crowd had dispersed. Sean explained: “Just one shot would have given the security forces and the tabloid press the excuse to claim IRA involvement. The world media was also kept under strict supervision, so that they could not exploit any tensions.”

He rejected any suggestion that the march organisers had assured the British military commander, General Tuzo, that there would be no confrontation with the soldiers, who were manning a huge barricade along the main route from Derrybeg estate into the town centre.

Another traumatic occasion for Sean and the Newry CRA was the shooting dead of three unarmed young Newrymen, by soldiers on the roof of Woolworths in the town centre. The killings resulted in rioting, with rubber bullets and C.S. gas being used against protesters. Young Hollywood and Bernadette Devlin, M.P., helped to defuse the situation.

Joining the S.D.L.P, which he saw as a force for positive change, Sean was chosen to contest the South Down seat in the Westminster elections. He faced the controversial British Tory, Enoch Powell, nominated by the Ulster Unionists Party, who had a majority in the constituency. Canvassing even in loyalist strongholds, young Hollywood cut the majority from 17,000 to only 3,000.

However, in the subsequent Assembly elections, Sean failed to be selected as a candidate. S.D.L.P. branches in Newry, Newcastle and Downpatrick were invited to nominate a candidate for a selection convention. But the Newry branch could not decide between Sean Hollywood and Frank Feeley, so both names were submitted.

However, the other branches believed that only two seats could be won and that, with his high-profile, Sean Hollywood would be elected first. As a result, one of the other candidates, Eddie McGrady or the late Paddy O’Donoghue, would lose out. So they chose Frank Feeley. Ironically, all three were elected, with the present Mayor of Newry topping the poll!

Sean was elected a member of Newry and Mourne district council, being appointed security spokesman. But, with the establishment of the Irish Independence Party, he felt that the S.D.L.P. was being pushed to the right. And his defiance of party policy on the question of Council Security Committees caused further strains.

“I don’t believe that boycotts achieve anything,” he stated. “I was able to make complaints directly to senior RUC and British Army officers. In any case, the present SDLP policy on supporting the police in pursuit of their normal duties was first proposed by me at a Party Conference, but rejected.”

Leaving the political scene, he concentrated on a stage role, as a member of the Newpoint Players. And what a record of achievements followed, at provincial and national level, crowned in 1992 with triumph at the All-Ireland Drama Festival. In fact, the Newry thespian collected just about every prize, North and South. And he was elected chairman of the Ulster Association of Drama Festivals.

But Sean’s greatest delight was the Youth Drama Group, with which he was associated for 12 years. This gave hundreds of young people the opportunity to discover if they had acting talent or back-stage expertise. Among those who graduated were John and Susan Lynch of television and film fame; Tommy McLaughlin and Gerard Rooney, who have starred in the London West End; as well as Mairead McKinley and Kieran Cunningham, who also made a name for themselves.

He spearheaded an ambitious new professional theatre company, launched by Sean O’Casey’s daughter, Shivaun, with the intention of putting Newry on the map, in the same way as Field Day did for Derry. With Sean as chairman, it brought various Irish plays to Dublin, London, New York and Washington, opening an international door for aspiring young actors and actresses.

As Sean’s cousin and former pupil, Fr Tony Kieley, told mourners at the funeral: “It is hard to believe that this great light has finally been extinguished. His talents have taken him in many directions, and he lived life with an intensity, which often concerned those who loved him.

“In many ways, his 54 years were agonisingly short. A life well lived is not ended; and we can be sure that Sean Hollywood lives on, with the same intensity as ever before. He is irreplaceable, and a more eloquent or talented intercessor we couldn’t have. Indeed, he was simply dazzling!”

As thousands of people followed the coffin, draped with a green and white flag, borne from the cathedral by members of Newry Shamrocks G.A.C., and with a guard-of-honour by students at St Colman’s College, a soloist sang: “I Did It My Way.”

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