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The '''1981 Irish hunger strike''' was the culmination of a five-year protest during [[the Troubles]] by [[Irish republicanism|Irish republican]] prisoners in [[Northern Ireland]]. The protest began as the [[blanket protest]] in 1976, when the [[British government]] withdrew [[Special Category Status]] (prisoner of war rather than criminal status) for convicted [[paramilitary]] prisoners. In 1978, the dispute escalated into the [[dirty protest]], where prisoners refused to leave their cells to wash and covered the walls of their cells with excrement. In 1980, seven prisoners participated in the first [[hunger strike]], which ended after 53 days.<ref name="cainhsc">{{cite web | title = The Hunger Strike of 1981 – A Chronology of Main Events | url = http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/hstrike/chronology.htm | website=[[CAIN]] | access-date =26 May 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070531003915/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/hstrike/chronology.htm| archive-date= 31 May 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> |
The '''1981 Irish hunger strike''' was the culmination of a five-year protest during [[the Troubles]] by [[Irish republicanism|Irish republican]] prisoners in [[Northern Ireland]]. The protest began as the [[blanket protest]] in 1976, when the [[British government]] withdrew [[Special Category Status]] (prisoner of war rather than criminal status) for convicted [[paramilitary]] prisoners. In 1978, the dispute escalated into the [[dirty protest]], where prisoners refused to leave their cells to wash and covered the walls of their cells with excrement. In 1980, seven prisoners participated in the first [[hunger strike]], which ended after 53 days.<ref name="cainhsc">{{cite web | title = The Hunger Strike of 1981 – A Chronology of Main Events | url = http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/hstrike/chronology.htm | website=[[CAIN]] | access-date =26 May 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070531003915/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/hstrike/chronology.htm| archive-date= 31 May 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> |
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The second hunger strike took place in 1981 and was a showdown between the prisoners and the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]], [[Margaret Thatcher]]. One hunger striker, [[Bobby Sands]], was elected as a member of parliament during the strike, prompting media interest from around the world.<ref name="rbs">{{cite web | title = Remembering Bobby Sands | last = McKittrick | first = David | author-link = David McKittrick | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/remembering-bobby-sands-6101872.html |work=The Independent |location=UK | date = 5 May 2006 | access-date =26 May 2016}}</ref> The strike was called off after ten prisoners had [[Starvation|starved]] themselves to death, including Sands, whose funeral was attended by 100,000 people.<ref name="cainhsc"/> The strike radicalised [[Irish nationalist]] politics and was the driving force that enabled [[Sinn Féin]] to become a mainstream political party.<ref name="pt0">{{cite book | last = Taylor | first = Peter | author-link = Peter Taylor (Journalist) | title = Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin | publisher = [[Bloomsbury Publishing]] | year = 1997 | pages = 251–252 | isbn = 0-7475-3818-2 }}</ref> |
The second hunger strike took place in 1981 and was a showdown between the prisoners and the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]], [[Margaret Thatcher]]. One hunger striker, [[Bobby Sands]], was [[April 1981 Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election|elected as a member of parliament]] during the strike, prompting media interest from around the world.<ref name="rbs">{{cite web | title = Remembering Bobby Sands | last = McKittrick | first = David | author-link = David McKittrick | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/remembering-bobby-sands-6101872.html |work=The Independent |location=UK | date = 5 May 2006 | access-date =26 May 2016}}</ref> The strike was called off after ten prisoners had [[Starvation|starved]] themselves to death, including Sands, whose funeral was attended by 100,000 people.<ref name="cainhsc"/> The strike radicalised [[Irish nationalist]] politics and was the driving force that enabled [[Sinn Féin]] to become a mainstream political party.<ref name="pt0">{{cite book | last = Taylor | first = Peter | author-link = Peter Taylor (Journalist) | title = Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin | publisher = [[Bloomsbury Publishing]] | year = 1997 | pages = 251–252 | isbn = 0-7475-3818-2 }}</ref> |
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== Background == |
== Background == |
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[[File:Remember the Hunger Strikers Glasnevin Cemetery Dublin.JPG|thumb|Hunger Strikers Memorial Glasnevin Cemetery Dublin]] |
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{{see also|1920 Cork hunger strike|1923 Irish hunger strikes}} |
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[[File:Terence MacSwiney circle.png|thumb|[[Terence MacSwiney]], an Irish republican who died on hunger strike in [[Brixton Prison]] in 1920]] |
[[File:Terence MacSwiney circle.png|thumb|[[Terence MacSwiney]], an Irish republican who died on hunger strike in [[Brixton Prison]] in 1920]] |
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The use of a hunger strike as a means of protest in [[Ireland]] is a tradition dating to pre-Christian times.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sweeney |first=George |year=1993 |title=Irish Hunger Strikes and the Cult of Self-Sacrifice |journal=[[Journal of Contemporary History]] |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=421–422 |doi=10.1177/002200949302800302 |jstor=260640|s2cid=153564309 }}</ref> |
The use of a hunger strike as a means of protest in [[Ireland]] is a tradition dating to [[Gaelic Ireland|pre-Christian times.]]<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sweeney |first=George |year=1993 |title=Irish Hunger Strikes and the Cult of Self-Sacrifice |journal=[[Journal of Contemporary History]] |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=421–422 |doi=10.1177/002200949302800302 |jstor=260640|s2cid=153564309 }}</ref> In the 20th century there had been hunger strikes by Irish republican prisoners since 1917, twelve men died on hunger strike prior to the 1981 strikes:<reF name="white">{{cite book | last = White | first = Robert | title = Provisional Irish Republicans: An Oral and Interpretive History | publisher = [[Praeger Publishing]] | year = 1993 | pages = 116–118 | isbn = 978-0313285646}}</ref> [[Thomas Ashe]] (1917), [[Terence MacSwiney]] (1920), [[Michael Fitzgerald (Irish republican)|Michael Fitzgerald]] (1920), [[Joe Murphy (Irish republican)|Joe Murphy]] (1920), [[Joseph Whitty]] (1923), [[Andy O'Sullivan (Irish Republican)|Andy O'Sullivan]] (1923), [[Denny Barry]] (1923), [[Tony D'Arcy]] (1940), [[Jack McNeela]] (1940), [[Seán McCaughey]] (1946), [[Michael Gaughan (Irish republican)|Michael Gaughan]] (1974), and [[Frank Stagg (Irish republican)|Frank Stagg]] (1976).<reF name="white"/> |
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Convicted prisoners were refused the same rights as internees until July 1972, when [[Special Category Status]] was introduced following a hunger strike by 40 [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) prisoners led by the veteran republican [[Billy McKee]]. Special Category, or political status meant prisoners were treated similarly to prisoners of war; for example, not having to wear prison uniforms or do prison work.<ref name="tmd"/> On 1 March 1976, [[Merlyn Rees]], the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the [[Labour government 1974–79|Wilson ministry]], announced that paramilitary prisoners would no longer be entitled to Special Category Status.<ref name="cainhsc"/> The policy was not introduced for existing prisoners, but for those convicted of offences after 1 March 1976.<ref name="c76">{{cite web | title = A Chronology of the Conflict – 1976 | url = http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch76.htm | publisher = CAIN | access-date =9 April 2007}}</ref> The end to Special Category Status was a serious threat to the authority which the paramilitary leaderships inside prison had been able to exercise over their own men, as well as being a propaganda blow.<ref name="tmd"/> |
After the introduction of [[Operation Demetrius|internment]] in 1971, Long Kesh—later known as [[HM Prison Maze]]—was run like a [[prisoner of war]] camp.<ref name="tmd">{{cite book | last = Beresford | first = David | author-link = David Beresford (journalist) | title = Ten Men Dead | publisher = [[Grove/Atlantic Inc.|Atlantic Monthly Press]] | year = 1987 | pages = 13–16 | isbn = 0-87113-702-X}}</ref> Internees lived in dormitories and disciplined themselves with military-style command structures, [[Military exercise|drilled]] with dummy guns made from wood, and held lectures on [[guerrilla warfare]] and politics.<ref name="tmd"/> Convicted prisoners were refused the same rights as [[Civilian internee|internees]] until July 1972, when [[Special Category Status]] was introduced following a hunger strike by 40 [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) prisoners led by the veteran republican [[Billy McKee]]. Special Category, or political status meant prisoners were treated similarly to prisoners of war; for example, not having to wear prison uniforms or do prison work.<ref name="tmd"/> On 1 March 1976, [[Merlyn Rees]], the [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]] in the [[Labour government 1974–79|Wilson ministry]], announced that paramilitary prisoners would no longer be entitled to Special Category Status.<ref name="cainhsc"/> The policy was not introduced for existing prisoners, but for those convicted of offences after 1 March, 1976.<ref name="c76">{{cite web | title = A Chronology of the Conflict – 1976 | url = http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch76.htm | publisher = CAIN | access-date =9 April 2007}}</ref> The end to Special Category Status was a serious threat to the authority which the paramilitary leaderships inside prison had been able to exercise over their own men, as well as being a propaganda blow.<ref name="tmd"/> |
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=== Blanket and dirty protests === |
=== Blanket and dirty protests === |
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{{main|Blanket protest|dirty protest}} |
{{main|Blanket protest|dirty protest}} |
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[[File:Tommy McKearney (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Tommy McKearney]], who took part in the blanket protest, dirty protest and 1980 hunger strike]] |
[[File:Tommy McKearney (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Tommy McKearney]], who took part in the blanket protest, dirty protest and 1980 hunger strike]] |
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On 14 September 1976, newly convicted prisoner [[Kieran Nugent]] began the |
On 14 September 1976, newly convicted prisoner [[Kieran Nugent]] began the blanket protest, in which IRA and [[Irish National Liberation Army]] (INLA) prisoners refused to wear prison uniforms and either went naked or fashioned garments from prison blankets.<ref name="c76"/> In 1978, after a number of clashes between prison officers and prisoners leaving their cells to wash and "[[slop out]]" (empty their chamber pots), this escalated into the dirty protest, where prisoners refused to wash and smeared their excrement on the walls of their cells.<ref>''Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin'', p. 220.</ref> These protests aimed to re-establish their political status by securing what were known as the "Five Demands": |
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# the right not to wear a prison uniform; |
# the right not to wear a prison uniform; |
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=== 1980 hunger strike === |
=== 1980 hunger strike === |
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On 27 October 1980, republican prisoners in HM Prison Maze began a hunger strike. One hundred and forty-eight prisoners volunteered to be part of the strike, but a total of seven were selected to match the number of men who signed the [[Easter Rising|Easter 1916]] [[Proclamation of the Irish Republic|Proclamation of the Republic]].<ref>{{cite book | last = White | first = Robert | title = Out of the Ashes: An Oral History of the Provisional Irish Republican Movement | publisher = [[Merrion Press]] | year = 2017 | page = 173 | isbn = 9781785370939}}</ref><ref name="o'rawe">{{cite book | last = O'Rawe | first = Richard | title = Blanketmen | publisher = [[New Island Books]] | year = 2005 | pages = 103–104 | isbn = 1-904301-67-3}}</ref> The group consisted of IRA members [[Brendan Hughes]], [[Tommy McKearney]], [[Raymond McCartney]], [[Tom |
On 27 October 1980, republican prisoners in HM Prison Maze began a hunger strike. One hundred and forty-eight prisoners volunteered to be part of the strike, but a total of seven were selected to match the number of men who signed the [[Easter Rising|Easter 1916]] [[Proclamation of the Irish Republic|Proclamation of the Republic]].<ref>{{cite book | last = White | first = Robert | title = Out of the Ashes: An Oral History of the Provisional Irish Republican Movement | publisher = [[Merrion Press]] | year = 2017 | page = 173 | isbn = 9781785370939}}</ref><ref name="o'rawe">{{cite book | last = O'Rawe | first = Richard | title = Blanketmen | publisher = [[New Island Books]] | year = 2005 | pages = 103–104 | isbn = 1-904301-67-3}}</ref> The group consisted of IRA members [[Brendan Hughes]], [[Tommy McKearney]], [[Raymond McCartney]], [[Tom McFeely]], Sean McKenna, Leo Green, and INLA member John Nixon.<ref name="o'rawe"/> |
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On 1 December three prisoners in [[Armagh Women's Prison]] joined the strike, including [[Mairéad Farrell]], followed by a short-lived hunger strike by several dozen more prisoners in HM Prison Maze. In a [[wikt:war of nerves|war of nerves]] between the IRA leadership and the British government, with McKenna lapsing in and out of a coma and on the brink of death, the government appeared to concede the essence of the prisoners' five demands with a thirty-page document detailing a proposed settlement. With the document in transit to Belfast, Hughes took the decision to save McKenna's life and end the strike after 53 days on 18 December.<ref name="pt1"/> |
On 1 December three prisoners in [[Armagh Women's Prison]] joined the strike, including [[Mairéad Farrell]], followed by a short-lived hunger strike by several dozen more prisoners in HM Prison Maze. In a [[wikt:war of nerves|war of nerves]] between the IRA leadership and the British government, with McKenna lapsing in and out of a coma and on the brink of death, the government appeared to concede the essence of the prisoners' five demands with a thirty-page document detailing a proposed settlement. With the document in transit to Belfast, Hughes took the decision to save McKenna's life and end the strike after 53 days on 18 December.<ref name="pt1"/> |
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In January 1981, it became clear that the prisoners' demands had not been conceded. Prison authorities began to supply the prisoners with officially issued civilian clothing, whereas the prisoners demanded the right to wear their own clothing. On 4 February, the prisoners issued a statement saying that the British government had failed to resolve the crisis and declared their intention of "hunger striking once more".<ref name="hist">{{cite book | last = English | first = Richard | author-link = Richard English | title = Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA | publisher = [[Pan Books]] | year = 2003 | pages = 195–196 | isbn = 0-330-49388-4 }}</ref> The second hunger strike began on 1 March, when [[Bobby Sands]], the IRA's former [[officer commanding]] (OC) in the prison, refused food. A statement from the prisoners was issued by [[Danny Morrison (Irish republican)|Danny Morrison]]: |
In January 1981, it became clear that the prisoners' demands had not been conceded. Prison authorities began to supply the prisoners with officially issued civilian clothing, whereas the prisoners demanded the right to wear their own clothing. On 4 February, the prisoners issued a statement saying that the British government had failed to resolve the crisis and declared their intention of "hunger striking once more".<ref name="hist">{{cite book | last = English | first = Richard | author-link = Richard English | title = Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA | publisher = [[Pan Books]] | year = 2003 | pages = 195–196 | isbn = 0-330-49388-4 }}</ref> The second hunger strike began on 1 March, when [[Bobby Sands]], the IRA's former [[officer commanding]] (OC) in the prison, refused food. A statement from the prisoners was issued by [[Danny Morrison (Irish republican)|Danny Morrison]]: |
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<blockquote>We have asserted that we are political prisoners and everything about our country, our arrests, interrogations, trials and prison conditions, show that we are politically motivated and not motivated by selfish reasons or for selfish ends. As further demonstration of our selflessness and the justness of our cause a number of our comrades, beginning today with Bobby Sands, will hunger-strike to the death unless the British government abandons its criminalization policy and meets our demand for political status.<ref>''Out of the Ashes: An Oral History of the Provisional Irish Republican Movement'', p. 177.</ref></blockquote> |
<blockquote>We have asserted that we are political prisoners and everything about our country, our arrests, interrogations, trials, and prison conditions, show that we are politically motivated and not motivated by selfish reasons or for selfish ends. As further demonstration of our selflessness and the justness of our cause a number of our comrades, beginning today with Bobby Sands, will hunger-strike to the death unless the British government abandons its criminalization policy and meets our demand for political status.<ref>''Out of the Ashes: An Oral History of the Provisional Irish Republican Movement'', p. 177.</ref></blockquote> |
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Unlike the first strike, the prisoners joined one at a time and at staggered intervals, which they believed would arouse maximum public support and exert maximum pressure on Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]].<ref>''Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin'', p. 237.</ref> The [[Republican movement (Ireland)|republican movement]] initially struggled to generate public support for the second hunger strike. The Sunday before Sands began his strike, 3,500 people marched through west Belfast. During the first hunger strike four months earlier the marchers had numbered 10,000.<ref name="pt4">''Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin'', pp. 239–240.</ref> Five days into the strike, [[Independent Republican (Ireland)|Independent Republican]] MP for [[Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)|Fermanagh and South Tyrone]] [[Frank Maguire (politician)|Frank Maguire]] died, resulting in a [[April 1981 Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election|by-election]]. There was debate among nationalists and republicans regarding who should contest the election: [[Austin Currie]] of the [[Social Democratic and Labour Party]] expressed an interest, as did [[Bernadette McAliskey]] and Maguire's brother Noel.<ref name="cainhsc"/> |
Unlike the first strike, the prisoners joined one at a time and at staggered intervals, which they believed would arouse maximum public support and exert maximum pressure on Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]].<ref>''Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin'', p. 237.</ref> The [[Republican movement (Ireland)|republican movement]] initially struggled to generate public support for the second hunger strike. The Sunday before Sands began his strike, 3,500 people marched through west Belfast. During the first hunger strike four months earlier the marchers had numbered 10,000.<ref name="pt4">''Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin'', pp. 239–240.</ref> Five days into the strike, [[Independent Republican (Ireland)|Independent Republican]] MP for [[Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)|Fermanagh and South Tyrone]] [[Frank Maguire (politician)|Frank Maguire]] died, resulting in a [[April 1981 Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election|by-election]]. There was debate among nationalists and republicans regarding who should contest the election: [[Austin Currie]] of the [[Social Democratic and Labour Party]] expressed an interest, as did [[Bernadette McAliskey]] and Maguire's brother Noel.<ref name="cainhsc"/> |
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After negotiations they agreed not to split the nationalist vote by contesting the election and Sands stood as an [[Anti H-Block]] candidate against [[Ulster Unionist Party]] candidate [[Harry West]].<ref name="pt4"/><ref name="em">{{cite book | last = Moloney | first = Ed | author-link = Ed Moloney | title = A Secret History of the IRA | publisher = [[Penguin Books]] | year = 2002 | pages = 211–212 | isbn = 0-14-101041-X}}</ref> Following a high-profile campaign the election took place on 9 April, and Sands was elected to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|British House of Commons]] with 30,492 votes to West's 29,046.<ref>{{cite web | title = Westminster By-election (NI) – Thursday 9 April 1981 | url = http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/politics/election/rwby1981a.htm | publisher = CAIN | access-date =26 May 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070529080718/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/politics/election/rwby1981a.htm| archive-date= 29 May 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> |
After negotiations they agreed not to split the nationalist vote by contesting the election and Sands stood as an [[Anti H-Block]] candidate against [[Ulster Unionist Party]] candidate [[Harry West]].<ref name="pt4"/><ref name="em">{{cite book | last = Moloney | first = Ed | author-link = Ed Moloney | title = A Secret History of the IRA | publisher = [[Penguin Books]] | year = 2002 | pages = 211–212 | isbn = 0-14-101041-X}}</ref> Following a high-profile campaign the election took place on 9 April, and Sands was elected to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|British House of Commons]] with 30,492 votes to West's 29,046.<ref>{{cite web | title = Westminster By-election (NI) – Thursday 9 April 1981 | url = http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/politics/election/rwby1981a.htm | publisher = CAIN | access-date =26 May 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070529080718/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/politics/election/rwby1981a.htm| archive-date= 29 May 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> |
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Sands' election victory raised hopes that a settlement could be negotiated, but Thatcher stood firm in refusing to give concessions to the hunger strikers. She stated "We are not prepared to consider special category status for certain groups of people serving sentences for crime. Crime is crime is crime, it is not political".<ref>{{cite web | title = What happened in the hunger strike? | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4941866.stm |work=BBC | date = 5 May 2006 | access-date =28 May 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070513231527/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4941866.stm| archive-date= 13 May 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> The world's media descended on Belfast, and several intermediaries visited Sands in an attempt to negotiate an end to the hunger strike, including [[Síle de Valera]], granddaughter of [[Éamon de Valera]], [[Pope John Paul II]]'s personal envoy [[John Magee (bishop)|John Magee]], and [[European Commission of Human Rights]] officials.<ref name="rbs"/><ref name="pt5">''Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin'', pp. 242–243.</ref> With Sands close to death, the government's position remained unchanged, with [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]] [[Humphrey Atkins]] stating "If Mr. Sands persisted in his wish to commit suicide, that was his choice. The Government would not force medical treatment upon him".<ref name="pt5"/> |
Sands' election victory raised hopes that a settlement could be negotiated, but Thatcher stood firm in refusing to give concessions to the hunger strikers. She stated "We are not prepared to consider special category status for certain groups of people serving sentences for crime. Crime is crime is crime, it is not political".<ref>{{cite web | title = What happened in the hunger strike? | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4941866.stm |work=BBC | date = 5 May 2006 | access-date =28 May 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070513231527/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4941866.stm| archive-date= 13 May 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> The world's media descended on Belfast, and several intermediaries visited Sands in an attempt to negotiate an end to the hunger strike, including [[Síle de Valera]], granddaughter of [[Éamon de Valera]], [[Pope John Paul II]]'s [[Personal representative|personal envoy]] [[John Magee (bishop)|John Magee]], and [[European Commission of Human Rights]] officials.<ref name="rbs"/><ref name="pt5">''Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin'', pp. 242–243.</ref> With Sands close to death, the government's position remained unchanged, with [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]] [[Humphrey Atkins]] stating "If Mr. Sands persisted in his wish to commit suicide, that was his choice. The Government would not force medical treatment upon him".<ref name="pt5"/> |
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===Deaths and end of strike=== |
===Deaths and end of strike=== |
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In the two weeks following Sands' death, three more hunger strikers died. [[Francis Hughes]] died on 12 May, resulting in further rioting in nationalist areas of Northern Ireland, in particular Derry and Belfast. Following the deaths of [[Raymond McCreesh]] and [[Patsy O'Hara]] on 21 May, Tomás Ó Fiaich, by then [[Primate of All Ireland]], criticised the British government's handling of the hunger strike.<ref name="cainhsc"/> Despite this, Thatcher continued to refuse to negotiate a settlement, stating "Faced with the failure of their discredited cause, the men of violence have chosen in recent months to play what may well be their last card", during a visit to Belfast in late May.<ref name="tch"/> |
In the two weeks following Sands' death, three more hunger strikers died. [[Francis Hughes]] died on 12 May, resulting in further rioting in nationalist areas of Northern Ireland, in particular Derry and Belfast. Following the deaths of [[Raymond McCreesh]] and [[Patsy O'Hara]] on 21 May, Tomás Ó Fiaich, by then [[Primate of All Ireland]], criticised the British government's handling of the hunger strike.<ref name="cainhsc"/> Despite this, Thatcher continued to refuse to negotiate a settlement, stating "Faced with the failure of their discredited cause, the men of violence have chosen in recent months to play what may well be their last card", during a visit to Belfast in late May.<ref name="tch"/> |
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Nine protesting prisoners contested the [[1981 Irish general election|general election]] in the Republic of Ireland in June. [[Kieran Doherty (hunger striker)|Kieran Doherty]] and [[Paddy Agnew (Irish republican)|Paddy Agnew]] (who was not on hunger strike) were elected in [[Cavan–Monaghan (Dáil constituency)#1981 general election|Cavan–Monaghan]] and [[Louth (Dáil constituency)#1981 general election|Louth]] respectively, and [[Joe McDonnell (hunger striker)|Joe McDonnell]] narrowly missed election in [[Sligo–Leitrim (Dáil constituency)|Sligo–Leitrim]].<ref name="ob">{{cite book | last = O'Brien | first = Brendan | author-link = Brendan O'Brien (Irish journalist) | title = The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Féin | publisher = Syracuse Univ Pr | year = 1995 | page = [https://archive.org/details/longwarirasinnfe00obri/page/123 123] | isbn = 0-8156-0319-3 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/longwarirasinnfe00obri }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Sanders | first = Andrew | title = Inside the IRA: Dissident Republicans and the War for Legitimacy | publisher = [[Edinburgh University Press]] | year = 2011 | page = 133 | isbn = 978-0748646968}}</ref> There were also [[1981 Northern Ireland local elections|local elections in Northern Ireland on 20 May]],<ref>''Out of the Ashes: An Oral History of the Provisional Irish Republican Movement'', p. 183.</ref> although Sinn Féin did not contest them. Some smaller groups and independents who supported the hunger strikers gained seats, such as the [[Irish Independence Party]] with 21 seats, while the [[Irish Republican Socialist Party]] (the INLA's political wing) and [[People's Democracy (Ireland)|People's Democracy]] (a [[Trotskyist]] group) gained two seats each, and a number of pro-hunger strike independent candidates also won seats.{{refn|group=note|Peter Berresford Ellis states 12 independent councillors were elected,<ref>{{cite book | last = Berresford Ellis | first = Peter | author-link = Peter Berresford Ellis | title = A History of the Irish Working Class | publisher = Pluto Press | year = |
Nine protesting prisoners contested the [[1981 Irish general election|general election]] in the Republic of Ireland in June. [[Kieran Doherty (hunger striker)|Kieran Doherty]] and [[Paddy Agnew (Irish republican)|Paddy Agnew]] (who was not on hunger strike) were elected in [[Cavan–Monaghan (Dáil constituency)#1981 general election|Cavan–Monaghan]] and [[Louth (Dáil constituency)#1981 general election|Louth]] respectively, and [[Joe McDonnell (hunger striker)|Joe McDonnell]] narrowly missed election in [[Sligo–Leitrim (Dáil constituency)|Sligo–Leitrim]].<ref name="ob">{{cite book | last = O'Brien | first = Brendan | author-link = Brendan O'Brien (Irish journalist) | title = The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Féin | publisher = Syracuse Univ Pr | year = 1995 | page = [https://archive.org/details/longwarirasinnfe00obri/page/123 123] | isbn = 0-8156-0319-3 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/longwarirasinnfe00obri }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Sanders | first = Andrew | title = Inside the IRA: Dissident Republicans and the War for Legitimacy | publisher = [[Edinburgh University Press]] | year = 2011 | page = 133 | isbn = 978-0748646968}}</ref> There were also [[1981 Northern Ireland local elections|local elections in Northern Ireland on 20 May]],<ref>''Out of the Ashes: An Oral History of the Provisional Irish Republican Movement'', p. 183.</ref> although Sinn Féin did not contest them. Some smaller groups and independents who supported the hunger strikers gained seats, such as the [[Irish Independence Party]] with 21 seats, while the [[Irish Republican Socialist Party]] (the INLA's political wing) and [[People's Democracy (Ireland)|People's Democracy]] (a [[Trotskyist]] group) gained two seats each, and a number of pro-hunger strike independent candidates also won seats.{{refn|group=note|Peter Berresford Ellis states 12 independent councillors were elected,<ref>{{cite book | last = Berresford Ellis | first = Peter | author-link = Peter Berresford Ellis | title = A History of the Irish Working Class | publisher = Pluto Press | year = 1986 | page = 336 | isbn = 0-7453-0009-X}}</ref> Sydney Elliott states 11 independent councillors were elected.<ref>{{cite book | last = Elliott | first = Sydney | title = Northern Ireland : the District Council elections of 1981 | publisher = Blackstaff | year = 1982 | isbn = 0-85389-203-2}}</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2020}}}} The British government passed the [[Representation of the People Act 1981]] to prevent another prisoner contesting the second by-election in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, which was due to take place following the death of Sands.<ref name="cainhsc"/> On 4 July the prisoners stated they were not asking for preferential treatment, saying "We would warmly welcome the introduction of the Five Demands for all prisoners".<ref>''Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin'', p. 245.</ref> |
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[[File:Irish hunger strikers with Frank Stagg, Mural Belfast Irland@20160528.jpg|thumb|300px|A Belfast mural of the hunger strikers]] |
[[File:Irish hunger strikers with Frank Stagg, Mural Belfast Irland@20160528.jpg|thumb|300px|A Belfast mural of the hunger strikers]] |
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The original [[pathologist]]'s report recorded the hunger strikers' cause of death as "self-imposed [[starvation]]". This was later amended to simply "starvation", after protests from the dead strikers' families. The [[coroner]] recorded verdicts of "starvation, self-imposed".<ref>{{cite journal |last=O'Keeffe |first=Terence |year=1984 |title=Suicide and Self-Starvation |journal=[[Philosophy (journal)|Philosophy]] |volume=59 |issue=229 |pages=349–363 |jstor=3750951 |doi=10.1017/S0031819100069941}}</ref> |
The original [[pathologist]]'s report recorded the hunger strikers' cause of death as "self-imposed [[starvation]]". This was later amended to simply "starvation", after protests from the dead strikers' families. The [[coroner]] recorded verdicts of "starvation, self-imposed".<ref>{{cite journal |last=O'Keeffe |first=Terence |year=1984 |title=Suicide and Self-Starvation |journal=[[Philosophy (journal)|Philosophy]] |volume=59 |issue=229 |pages=349–363 |jstor=3750951 |doi=10.1017/S0031819100069941|s2cid=154281192 }}</ref> |
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=== Other participants in the hunger strike === |
=== Other participants in the hunger strike === |
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Although ten men died during the course of the hunger strike, thirteen others began refusing food but were taken off hunger strike, either due to medical reasons or after intervention by their families. Many of them still suffer from the effects of the strike, with problems including digestive, visual, physical and neurological disabilities.<ref>{{cite web | title = Hunger striker in fight for sight | last = Morris | first = Allison | url = http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/irish_news/arts2006/oct6_Hunger-striker_sight.php |work=The Irish News | date = 6 October 2006 | access-date =26 May 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Ex-IRA hunger striker criticises 'celebrations' | last = Peterkin | first = Tom | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/07/ngallant107.xml | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070317005940/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2006%2F10%2F07%2Fngallant107.xml | url-status = dead | archive-date = 17 March 2007 | work = The Daily Telegraph | location = UK | date = 7 October 2006 | access-date = 26 May 2007 }}</ref> |
Although ten men died during the course of the hunger strike, thirteen others began refusing food but were taken off hunger strike, either due to medical reasons or after intervention by their families. Many of them still suffer from the effects of the strike, with problems including digestive, visual, physical and neurological disabilities.<ref>{{cite web | title = Hunger striker in fight for sight | last = Morris | first = Allison | url = http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/irish_news/arts2006/oct6_Hunger-striker_sight.php | work = The Irish News | date = 6 October 2006 | access-date = 26 May 2007 | archive-date = 21 April 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160421035818/http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/irish_news/arts2006/oct6_Hunger-striker_sight.php | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Ex-IRA hunger striker criticises 'celebrations' | last = Peterkin | first = Tom | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/07/ngallant107.xml | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070317005940/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2006%2F10%2F07%2Fngallant107.xml | url-status = dead | archive-date = 17 March 2007 | work = The Daily Telegraph | location = UK | date = 7 October 2006 | access-date = 26 May 2007 }}</ref> |
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| Taken off by his family<ref name="cainlist"/> |
| Taken off by his family<ref name="cainlist"/> |
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| [[Matt Devlin]] |
| [[Matt Devlin (Irish republican)|Matt Devlin]] |
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| IRA |
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== Impact of the hunger strike == |
== Impact of the hunger strike == |
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[[File:HblockMonument073107.jpg|thumb|300px|A hunger strike memorial in [[Derry]]'s [[Bogside]] on [[Free Derry Corner]]]] |
[[File:HblockMonument073107.jpg|thumb|300px|A hunger strike memorial in [[Derry]]'s [[Bogside]] on [[Free Derry Corner]]]] |
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The British press hailed the hunger strike as a triumph for Thatcher, with ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper stating "The Government had overcome the hunger strikes by a show of resolute determination not to be bullied".<ref>''Ten Men Dead'', p. 331.</ref> At the time most thought the hunger strike a crushing defeat for the republicans, a view shared by many within the IRA and Sinn Féin, but Sands' by-election win was a propaganda victory,<ref name="rbs"/> and the hunger strike became a [[Pyrrhic victory]] for Thatcher and the British government.<ref name="as">''Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA'', pp. 207–208.</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = White | first = Robert | title = Ruairí Ó Brádaigh: The Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary | publisher = [[Indiana University Press]] | year = 2006 | page = 282 | isbn = 978-0253347084}}</ref> Sands became a [[martyr]] to Irish republicans,<ref>{{cite book | last = Rowan | first = Brian | title = The Armed Peace: Life and Death after the Ceasefires | publisher = [[Mainstream Publishing]] | year = 2011 | page = 84 | isbn = 978-1-84018-862-2}}</ref> while Thatcher became a republican hate figure of [[Cromwellian]] proportions, with [[Danny Morrison (Irish republican)|Danny Morrison]] describing her as "the biggest bastard we have ever known".<ref name="as"/> |
The British press hailed the hunger strike as a triumph for Thatcher, with ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper stating "The Government had overcome the hunger strikes by a show of resolute determination not to be bullied".<ref>''Ten Men Dead'', p. 331.</ref> At the time most thought the hunger strike a crushing defeat for the republicans, a view shared by many within the IRA and Sinn Féin, but Sands' by-election win was a propaganda victory,<ref name="rbs"/> and the hunger strike became a [[Pyrrhic victory]] for Thatcher and the British government.<ref>In ''[[The Iron Lady (film)|The Iron Lady]]'', Thatcher, portrayed by [[Meryl Streep]] in a flashback, ties the hunger strikes to the 1984 car bombing at the Conservative Party conference.</ref><ref name="as">''Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA'', pp. 207–208.</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = White | first = Robert | title = Ruairí Ó Brádaigh: The Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary | publisher = [[Indiana University Press]] | year = 2006 | page = 282 | isbn = 978-0253347084}}</ref> Sands became a [[martyr]] to Irish republicans,<ref>{{cite book | last = Rowan | first = Brian | title = The Armed Peace: Life and Death after the Ceasefires | publisher = [[Mainstream Publishing]] | year = 2011 | page = 84 | isbn = 978-1-84018-862-2}}</ref> while Thatcher became a republican hate figure of [[Cromwellian]] proportions, with [[Danny Morrison (Irish republican)|Danny Morrison]] describing her as "the biggest bastard we have ever known".<ref name="as"/> |
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As with [[Operation Demetrius|internment]] in 1971 and [[Bloody Sunday (1972)|Bloody Sunday]] in 1972, IRA recruitment was boosted, resulting in a new surge of paramilitary activity.<ref name="as"/> There was an upsurge of violence after the comparatively quiet years of the late 1970s, with widespread civil disorder in Northern Ireland and rioting outside the [[Embassy of the United Kingdom, Dublin|British Embassy in Dublin]].<ref name="cainhsc"/> Security forces fired 29,695 [[plastic bullets]] in 1981, causing seven deaths, compared to a total of around 16,000 bullets and four deaths in the eight years following the hunger strikes.<ref>''The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Féin'', p. 44.</ref> |
As with [[Operation Demetrius|internment]] in 1971 and [[Bloody Sunday (1972)|Bloody Sunday]] in 1972, IRA recruitment was boosted, resulting in a new surge of paramilitary activity.<ref name="as"/> There was an upsurge of violence after the comparatively quiet years of the late 1970s, with widespread civil disorder in Northern Ireland and rioting outside the [[Embassy of the United Kingdom, Dublin|British Embassy in Dublin]].<ref name="cainhsc"/> Security forces fired 29,695 [[plastic bullets]] in 1981, causing seven deaths, compared to a total of around 16,000 bullets and four deaths in the eight years following the hunger strikes.<ref>''The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Féin'', p. 44.</ref> |
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The IRA [[Provisional IRA campaign 1969–1997|continued its armed campaign]] during the seven months of the strike, killing 13 policemen, 13 soldiers, including five members of the [[Ulster Defence Regiment]] and five civilians. The seven months were one of the bloodiest periods of the Troubles with a total of 61 people killed, 34 of them civilians.<ref>''Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin'', p. 237. "It was to be one of the bloodiest periods of the 'Troubles'. In total, sixty-one people died, thirty-four of whom were civilians".</ref> Three years later the IRA tried to take their revenge on Thatcher with the [[Brighton hotel bombing]], an attack on the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative party]] conference that killed five people and in which Thatcher herself only narrowly escaped death.<ref name="rbs"/> |
The IRA [[Provisional IRA campaign 1969–1997|continued its armed campaign]] during the seven months of the strike, killing 13 policemen, 13 soldiers, including five members of the [[Ulster Defence Regiment]] and five civilians. The seven months were one of the bloodiest periods of the Troubles with a total of 61 people killed, 34 of them civilians.<ref>''Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin'', p. 237. "It was to be one of the bloodiest periods of the 'Troubles'. In total, sixty-one people died, thirty-four of whom were civilians".</ref> Three years later the IRA tried to take their revenge on Thatcher with the [[Brighton hotel bombing]], an attack on the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative party]] conference that killed five people and in which Thatcher herself only narrowly escaped death.<ref name="rbs"/> |
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The hunger strike prompted Sinn Féin to move towards electoral politics. Sands' election victory, combined with that of pro-hunger strike candidates in the Northern Ireland local elections and Dáil elections in the Republic of Ireland, gave birth to the [[Armalite and ballot box strategy]]. Gerry Adams remarked that Sands' victory "exposed the lie that the hunger strikers—and by extension the IRA and the whole republican movement—had no popular support".<ref>''Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA'', p. 200.</ref> The election victories of Doherty and Agnew also had political impact in the Republic of Ireland, as they denied power to [[Charles Haughey]]'s outgoing [[Fianna Fáil]] government.<ref name="ob"/> In 1982 Sinn Féin won five seats in the elections to the [[Northern Ireland Assembly, 1982|Northern Ireland Assembly]], and in 1983 Gerry Adams won a seat in the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|UK general election]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Abstentionism: Sinn Féin Ard Fheis, 1–2 November 1986 | url = http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/abstentionism/chron.htm | publisher = CAIN |access-date =26 May 2007}}</ref> As a result of the political base built during the hunger strike, Sinn Féin continued to grow in the following two decades.<ref name="pt0"/> After the [[2001 United Kingdom general election]], it became the largest nationalist party in Northern Ireland. |
The hunger strike prompted Sinn Féin to move towards electoral politics. Sands' election victory, combined with that of pro-hunger strike candidates in the Northern Ireland local elections and Dáil elections in the Republic of Ireland, gave birth to the [[Armalite and ballot box strategy]]. Gerry Adams remarked that Sands' victory "exposed the lie that the hunger strikers—and by extension the IRA and the whole republican movement—had no popular support".<ref>''Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA'', p. 200.</ref> The election victories of Doherty and Agnew also had political impact in the Republic of Ireland, as they denied power to [[Charles Haughey]]'s outgoing [[Fianna Fáil]] government.<ref name="ob"/> In 1982 Sinn Féin won five seats in the elections to the [[Northern Ireland Assembly, 1982|Northern Ireland Assembly]], and in 1983 Gerry Adams won a seat in the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|UK general election]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Abstentionism: Sinn Féin Ard Fheis, 1–2 November 1986 | url = http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/abstentionism/chron.htm | publisher = CAIN |access-date =26 May 2007}}</ref> As a result of the [[political base]] built during the hunger strike, Sinn Féin continued to grow in the following two decades.<ref name="pt0"/> After the [[2001 United Kingdom general election]], it became the largest nationalist party in Northern Ireland. |
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In 2005, the role of Gerry Adams was questioned by former prisoner [[Richard O'Rawe]], who was the public relations officer inside the prison during the strike. O'Rawe states in his book ''Blanketmen'' that Adams prolonged the strike as it was of great political benefit to Sinn Féin and allowed Owen Carron to win Sands' seat.<ref>{{cite web|title=The legacy of the hunger strikes | last = McFadyean | first = Melanie | authorlink = Melanie McFadyean | url = https://www.theguardian.com/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,,1721871,00.html |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=4 March 2006 |access-date=26 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070417143637/http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0%2C%2C1721871%2C00.html |archive-date=17 April 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = 'The Blanket' meets 'Blanketmen' | last = McIntyre | first = Anthony | author-link = Anthony McIntyre | url = http://indiamond6.ulib.iupui.edu:81/AMROR1605068g.html |work=The Blanket | date = 16 May 2006 | access-date =26 May 2007}}</ref> This was denied by several hunger strikers and [[Brendan McFarlane]], who was OC inside the prison during the hunger strike.<ref>{{cite web | title = Former comrades' war of words over hunger strike | last = McCaffrey | first = Steven | url = http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/irish_news/arts2005/mar11_hunger_strike_war_of_words.php |work=[[The Irish News]] | date = 12 March 2005 | access-date =26 May 2007}}</ref> McFarlane states O'Rawe's version of events is confused and fragmentary, and states "We were desperate for a solution. Any deal that went some way to meeting the five demands would have been taken. If it was confirmed in writing, we'd have grabbed it . |
In 2005, the role of Gerry Adams was questioned by former prisoner [[Richard O'Rawe]], who was the public relations officer inside the prison during the strike. O'Rawe states in his book ''Blanketmen'' that Adams prolonged the strike as it was of great political benefit to Sinn Féin and allowed Owen Carron to win Sands' seat.<ref>{{cite web|title=The legacy of the hunger strikes | last = McFadyean | first = Melanie | authorlink = Melanie McFadyean | url = https://www.theguardian.com/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,,1721871,00.html |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=4 March 2006 |access-date=26 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070417143637/http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0%2C%2C1721871%2C00.html |archive-date=17 April 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = 'The Blanket' meets 'Blanketmen' | last = McIntyre | first = Anthony | author-link = Anthony McIntyre | url = http://indiamond6.ulib.iupui.edu:81/AMROR1605068g.html |work=The Blanket | date = 16 May 2006 | access-date =26 May 2007}}</ref> This was denied by several hunger strikers and [[Brendan McFarlane]], who was OC inside the prison during the hunger strike.<ref>{{cite web | title = Former comrades' war of words over hunger strike | last = McCaffrey | first = Steven | url = http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/irish_news/arts2005/mar11_hunger_strike_war_of_words.php | work = [[The Irish News]] | date = 12 March 2005 | access-date = 26 May 2007 | archive-date = 22 March 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180322002854/http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/irish_news/arts2005/mar11_hunger_strike_war_of_words.php | url-status = dead }}</ref> McFarlane states O'Rawe's version of events is confused and fragmentary, and states "We were desperate for a solution. Any deal that went some way to meeting the five demands would have been taken. If it was confirmed in writing, we'd have grabbed it ... There was never a deal, there was never a "take it or leave it" option at all".<ref>''The Hunger Strikes'', pp. 185–186.</ref> |
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== Commemorations == |
== Commemorations == |
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There are memorials and murals in memory of the hunger strikers in towns and cities across Ireland, including [[Belfast]], Dublin, Derry, [[Crossmaglen]] and [[Camlough]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Hunger Strike Commemoration kicks off in Dublin |url=http://republican-news.org/archive/2001/March08/061981.html |work=[[An Phoblacht]] |date=8 March 2001 |access-date=19 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023214806/http://republican-news.org/archive/2001/March08/061981.html |archive-date=23 October 2007 }}</ref> Annual commemorations take place across Ireland for each man who died on the hunger strike, and an annual hunger strike commemoration march is held in Belfast each year, which includes a Bobby Sands memorial lecture.<ref>{{cite web | title = Remembering 1981: Hurson Anniversary marked across the country | url = http://www.anphoblacht.com/news/detail/15153 |work=An Phoblacht | date = 20 July 2006 | access-date =1 June 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Collusion highlighted during Hunger Strike weekend |url = http://www.anphoblacht.com/news/detail/4616 |work=An Phoblacht | date = 6 May 2004 | access-date =1 June 2007}}</ref> Several towns and cities in France have named streets after Bobby Sands, including Paris and [[Le Mans]].<ref name="rbs"/><ref>{{cite news | title = French intelligentsia ponders what should be done with killer | last = Randall | first = Colin | url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/1469419/Worldwide-French-intelligentsia-ponders-what-should-be-done-with-killer.html| work = The Daily Telegraph | date = 13 August 2004 | access-date = 25 May 2007 | location=London}}</ref> The government in [[Tehran]], [[Iran]], changed the name of the street on which the [[Embassy of the United Kingdom, Tehran|British embassy]] was located to Bobby Sands, from its previous name, Churchill Street.<ref name="blanket">{{cite web | title = Naming Bobby Sands Street | last = Moallemian | first = Pedram | url = http://indiamond6.ulib.iupui.edu:81/bobbysandsstreet.html |work=The Blanket | date = 24 February 2004 | access-date =26 May 2007}}</ref><ref name="o'hearn">{{cite book | last = O'Hearn | first = Denis | authorlink = Denis O'Hearn | title = Bobby Sands: Nothing But an Unfinished Song | publisher = [[Pluto Press]] | year = 2006 | page = 377 | isbn = 0-7453-2572-6}}</ref> The embassy subsequently changed its mailing address to refer to an entrance door around the corner from the main entrance, to avoid having to use the name of Bobby Sands on their [[letterhead]].<ref name="blanket"/><ref name="o'hearn"/> |
There are memorials and murals in memory of the hunger strikers in towns and cities across Ireland, including [[Belfast]], Dublin, Derry, [[Crossmaglen]] and [[Camlough]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Hunger Strike Commemoration kicks off in Dublin |url=http://republican-news.org/archive/2001/March08/061981.html |work=[[An Phoblacht]] |date=8 March 2001 |access-date=19 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023214806/http://republican-news.org/archive/2001/March08/061981.html |archive-date=23 October 2007 }}</ref> Annual commemorations take place across Ireland for each man who died on the hunger strike, and an annual hunger strike commemoration march is held in Belfast each year, which includes a Bobby Sands memorial lecture.<ref>{{cite web | title = Remembering 1981: Hurson Anniversary marked across the country | url = http://www.anphoblacht.com/news/detail/15153 |work=An Phoblacht | date = 20 July 2006 | access-date =1 June 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Collusion highlighted during Hunger Strike weekend |url = http://www.anphoblacht.com/news/detail/4616 |work=An Phoblacht | date = 6 May 2004 | access-date =1 June 2007}}</ref> Several towns and cities in France have named streets after Bobby Sands, including Paris and [[Le Mans]].<ref name="rbs"/><ref>{{cite news | title = French intelligentsia ponders what should be done with killer | last = Randall | first = Colin | url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/1469419/Worldwide-French-intelligentsia-ponders-what-should-be-done-with-killer.html| work = The Daily Telegraph | date = 13 August 2004 | access-date = 25 May 2007 | location=London}}</ref> The government in [[Tehran]], [[Iran]], changed the name of the street on which the [[Embassy of the United Kingdom, Tehran|British embassy]] was located to Bobby Sands, from its previous name, Churchill Street.<ref name="blanket">{{cite web | title = Naming Bobby Sands Street | last = Moallemian | first = Pedram | url = http://indiamond6.ulib.iupui.edu:81/bobbysandsstreet.html |work=The Blanket | date = 24 February 2004 | access-date =26 May 2007}}</ref><ref name="o'hearn">{{cite book | last = O'Hearn | first = Denis | authorlink = Denis O'Hearn | title = Bobby Sands: Nothing But an Unfinished Song | publisher = [[Pluto Press]] | year = 2006 | page = 377 | isbn = 0-7453-2572-6}}</ref> The embassy subsequently changed its mailing address to refer to an entrance door around the corner from the main entrance, to avoid having to use the name of Bobby Sands on their [[letterhead]].<ref name="blanket"/><ref name="o'hearn"/> |
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A memorial to the men who died in the [[Irish Rebellion of 1798]], the Easter Rising and the hunger strike stands in Waverley Cemetery, Sydney, Australia, which is also the burial place of [[Michael Dwyer]] of the [[Society of United Irishmen]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Easter 2001 | url = http://republican-news.org/archive/2001/April19/12east.html |work=An Phoblacht | date = 19 April 2001 | access-date =28 June 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Irish in the land of Oz | last = O'Donnell | first = Ruán | url = http://www.irishdemocrat.co.uk/features/irish-in-oz/ |work=Irish Democrat | date = 30 July 2002 | access-date =28 June 2008}}</ref> In 1997 [[NORAID]]'s [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]] Unit in the United States dedicated a monument to Bobby Sands and the other hunger strikers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hunger Strikers remembered in US | last = Mac an Bhaird | first = Christy | url=http://republican-news.org/archive/1997/May08/08ina.html |work=An Phoblacht |date=8 May 1997 |access-date=26 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070831040451/http://republican-news.org/archive/1997/May08/08ina.html |archive-date=31 August 2007 }}</ref> The monument is a granite [[Celtic cross]] standing in a traffic roundabout renamed "Bobby Sands Circle" in 1995.<ref>{{cite news | title = Memorial dedicated to Irish republicans | last = Hay Brown | first = Matthew | url = https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1997-05-05-9705050112-story.html | work = [[Hartford Courant]] | date = 5 May 1997 | access-date = 29 July 2021}}</ref> On 3 October 2001—the 20th anniversary of the end of the hunger strike—a memorial was unveiled by Gerry Adams, Patrick Sheehan and [[Ahmed Kathrada]], on [[Robben Island]], [[South Africa]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Maillot | first = Agnès | title = New Sinn Féin: Irish republicanism in the twenty-first century | publisher = [[Routledge]] | year = 2005 | page = 132 | isbn = 0-415-32197-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Hunger strikers honoured in South Africa | url = https://www.anphoblacht.com/contents/7929 |work= An Phoblacht | date = 4 October 2001 | access-date = 5 August 2020}}</ref> |
A memorial to the men who died in the [[Irish Rebellion of 1798]], the Easter Rising, and the hunger strike stands in Waverley Cemetery, Sydney, Australia, which is also the burial place of [[Michael Dwyer]] of the [[Society of United Irishmen]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Easter 2001 | url = http://republican-news.org/archive/2001/April19/12east.html |work=An Phoblacht | date = 19 April 2001 | access-date =28 June 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Irish in the land of Oz | last = O'Donnell | first = Ruán | url = http://www.irishdemocrat.co.uk/features/irish-in-oz/ |work=Irish Democrat | date = 30 July 2002 | access-date =28 June 2008}}</ref> In 1997 [[NORAID]]'s [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]] Unit in the United States dedicated a monument to Bobby Sands and the other hunger strikers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hunger Strikers remembered in US | last = Mac an Bhaird | first = Christy | url=http://republican-news.org/archive/1997/May08/08ina.html |work=An Phoblacht |date=8 May 1997 |access-date=26 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070831040451/http://republican-news.org/archive/1997/May08/08ina.html |archive-date=31 August 2007 }}</ref> The monument is a granite [[Celtic cross]] standing in a traffic roundabout renamed "Bobby Sands Circle" in 1995.<ref>{{cite news | title = Memorial dedicated to Irish republicans | last = Hay Brown | first = Matthew | url = https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1997-05-05-9705050112-story.html | work = [[Hartford Courant]] | date = 5 May 1997 | access-date = 29 July 2021}}</ref> On 3 October 2001—the 20th anniversary of the end of the hunger strike—a memorial was unveiled by Gerry Adams, Patrick Sheehan and [[Ahmed Kathrada]], on [[Robben Island]], [[South Africa]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Maillot | first = Agnès | title = New Sinn Féin: Irish republicanism in the twenty-first century | publisher = [[Routledge]] | year = 2005 | page = 132 | isbn = 0-415-32197-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Hunger strikers honoured in South Africa | url = https://www.anphoblacht.com/contents/7929 |work= An Phoblacht | date = 4 October 2001 | access-date = 5 August 2020}}</ref> |
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On 20 March 2001 Sinn Féin's national chairperson [[Mitchel McLaughlin]] opened the National Hunger Strike Commemoration Committee's exhibition at the [[Europa Hotel, Belfast|Europa Hotel]] in Belfast, which included three original works of art from Belfast-based artists.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hunger strike exhibition launched | last = Whelan | first = Peadar |url=http://republican-news.org/archive/2001/March22/22exhi.html |work=An Phoblacht |date=21 March 2001 |access-date=1 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023214706/http://republican-news.org/archive/2001/March22/22exhi.html |archive-date=23 October 2007 }}</ref> A separate exhibition was also launched in Derry the following month.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hunger strike exhibition launched |url=http://republican-news.org/archive/2001/April19/12derr.html |work=An Phoblacht |date=19 April 2001 |access-date=1 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023215140/http://republican-news.org/archive/2001/April19/12derr.html |archive-date=23 October 2007 }}</ref> Numerous films have been made based on the events of the hunger strike, including ''[[Some Mother's Son]]'' starring [[Helen Mirren]], ''[[H3 (film)|H3]]'' (which was co-written by former hunger striker Laurence McKeown), and [[Steve McQueen (director)|Steve McQueen]]'s ''[[Hunger (2008 film)|Hunger]]''. |
On 20 March 2001 Sinn Féin's national chairperson [[Mitchel McLaughlin]] opened the National Hunger Strike Commemoration Committee's exhibition at the [[Europa Hotel, Belfast|Europa Hotel]] in Belfast, which included three original works of art from Belfast-based artists.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hunger strike exhibition launched | last = Whelan | first = Peadar |url=http://republican-news.org/archive/2001/March22/22exhi.html |work=An Phoblacht |date=21 March 2001 |access-date=1 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023214706/http://republican-news.org/archive/2001/March22/22exhi.html |archive-date=23 October 2007 }}</ref> A separate exhibition was also launched in Derry the following month.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hunger strike exhibition launched |url=http://republican-news.org/archive/2001/April19/12derr.html |work=An Phoblacht |date=19 April 2001 |access-date=1 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023215140/http://republican-news.org/archive/2001/April19/12derr.html |archive-date=23 October 2007 }}</ref> Numerous films have been made based on the events of the hunger strike, including ''[[Some Mother's Son]]'' starring [[Helen Mirren]], ''[[H3 (film)|H3]]'' (which was co-written by former hunger striker Laurence McKeown), and [[Steve McQueen (director)|Steve McQueen]]'s ''[[Hunger (2008 film)|Hunger]]''. |
Latest revision as of 16:20, 9 May 2024
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status (prisoner of war rather than criminal status) for convicted paramilitary prisoners. In 1978, the dispute escalated into the dirty protest, where prisoners refused to leave their cells to wash and covered the walls of their cells with excrement. In 1980, seven prisoners participated in the first hunger strike, which ended after 53 days.[1]
The second hunger strike took place in 1981 and was a showdown between the prisoners and the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. One hunger striker, Bobby Sands, was elected as a member of parliament during the strike, prompting media interest from around the world.[2] The strike was called off after ten prisoners had starved themselves to death, including Sands, whose funeral was attended by 100,000 people.[1] The strike radicalised Irish nationalist politics and was the driving force that enabled Sinn Féin to become a mainstream political party.[3]
Background
The use of a hunger strike as a means of protest in Ireland is a tradition dating to pre-Christian times.[4] In the 20th century there had been hunger strikes by Irish republican prisoners since 1917, twelve men died on hunger strike prior to the 1981 strikes:[5] Thomas Ashe (1917), Terence MacSwiney (1920), Michael Fitzgerald (1920), Joe Murphy (1920), Joseph Whitty (1923), Andy O'Sullivan (1923), Denny Barry (1923), Tony D'Arcy (1940), Jack McNeela (1940), Seán McCaughey (1946), Michael Gaughan (1974), and Frank Stagg (1976).[5]
After the introduction of internment in 1971, Long Kesh—later known as HM Prison Maze—was run like a prisoner of war camp.[6] Internees lived in dormitories and disciplined themselves with military-style command structures, drilled with dummy guns made from wood, and held lectures on guerrilla warfare and politics.[6] Convicted prisoners were refused the same rights as internees until July 1972, when Special Category Status was introduced following a hunger strike by 40 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoners led by the veteran republican Billy McKee. Special Category, or political status meant prisoners were treated similarly to prisoners of war; for example, not having to wear prison uniforms or do prison work.[6] On 1 March 1976, Merlyn Rees, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the Wilson ministry, announced that paramilitary prisoners would no longer be entitled to Special Category Status.[1] The policy was not introduced for existing prisoners, but for those convicted of offences after 1 March, 1976.[7] The end to Special Category Status was a serious threat to the authority which the paramilitary leaderships inside prison had been able to exercise over their own men, as well as being a propaganda blow.[6]
Blanket and dirty protests
On 14 September 1976, newly convicted prisoner Kieran Nugent began the blanket protest, in which IRA and Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) prisoners refused to wear prison uniforms and either went naked or fashioned garments from prison blankets.[7] In 1978, after a number of clashes between prison officers and prisoners leaving their cells to wash and "slop out" (empty their chamber pots), this escalated into the dirty protest, where prisoners refused to wash and smeared their excrement on the walls of their cells.[8] These protests aimed to re-establish their political status by securing what were known as the "Five Demands":
- the right not to wear a prison uniform;
- the right not to do prison work;
- the right of free association with other prisoners, and to organise educational and recreational pursuits;
- the right to one visit, one letter and one parcel per week;
- full restoration of remission lost through the protest.[9]
Initially, this protest did not attract a great deal of attention, and even the IRA regarded it as a side-issue compared to their armed campaign.[10][11] It began to attract attention when Tomás Ó Fiaich, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, visited the prison and condemned the conditions there.[12] In 1979, former MP Bernadette McAliskey stood in the election for the European Parliament on a platform of support for the protesting prisoners, and won 5.9% of the vote across Northern Ireland, even though Sinn Féin had called for a boycott of the election.[13][14]
Shortly after this, the broad-based National H-Block/Armagh Committee was formed, on a platform of support for the "Five Demands", with McAliskey as its main spokesperson.[15][16] The period leading up to the hunger strike saw assassinations by both republicans and loyalists. The IRA shot and killed a number of prison officers,[10][17] while loyalist paramilitaries shot and killed a number of activists in the National H-Block/Armagh Committee and badly injured McAliskey and her husband in an attempt on their lives.[18][19]
1980 hunger strike
On 27 October 1980, republican prisoners in HM Prison Maze began a hunger strike. One hundred and forty-eight prisoners volunteered to be part of the strike, but a total of seven were selected to match the number of men who signed the Easter 1916 Proclamation of the Republic.[20][21] The group consisted of IRA members Brendan Hughes, Tommy McKearney, Raymond McCartney, Tom McFeely, Sean McKenna, Leo Green, and INLA member John Nixon.[21]
On 1 December three prisoners in Armagh Women's Prison joined the strike, including Mairéad Farrell, followed by a short-lived hunger strike by several dozen more prisoners in HM Prison Maze. In a war of nerves between the IRA leadership and the British government, with McKenna lapsing in and out of a coma and on the brink of death, the government appeared to concede the essence of the prisoners' five demands with a thirty-page document detailing a proposed settlement. With the document in transit to Belfast, Hughes took the decision to save McKenna's life and end the strike after 53 days on 18 December.[9]
1981 hunger strike
In January 1981, it became clear that the prisoners' demands had not been conceded. Prison authorities began to supply the prisoners with officially issued civilian clothing, whereas the prisoners demanded the right to wear their own clothing. On 4 February, the prisoners issued a statement saying that the British government had failed to resolve the crisis and declared their intention of "hunger striking once more".[22] The second hunger strike began on 1 March, when Bobby Sands, the IRA's former officer commanding (OC) in the prison, refused food. A statement from the prisoners was issued by Danny Morrison:
We have asserted that we are political prisoners and everything about our country, our arrests, interrogations, trials, and prison conditions, show that we are politically motivated and not motivated by selfish reasons or for selfish ends. As further demonstration of our selflessness and the justness of our cause a number of our comrades, beginning today with Bobby Sands, will hunger-strike to the death unless the British government abandons its criminalization policy and meets our demand for political status.[23]
Unlike the first strike, the prisoners joined one at a time and at staggered intervals, which they believed would arouse maximum public support and exert maximum pressure on Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.[24] The republican movement initially struggled to generate public support for the second hunger strike. The Sunday before Sands began his strike, 3,500 people marched through west Belfast. During the first hunger strike four months earlier the marchers had numbered 10,000.[25] Five days into the strike, Independent Republican MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone Frank Maguire died, resulting in a by-election. There was debate among nationalists and republicans regarding who should contest the election: Austin Currie of the Social Democratic and Labour Party expressed an interest, as did Bernadette McAliskey and Maguire's brother Noel.[1]
After negotiations they agreed not to split the nationalist vote by contesting the election and Sands stood as an Anti H-Block candidate against Ulster Unionist Party candidate Harry West.[25][26] Following a high-profile campaign the election took place on 9 April, and Sands was elected to the British House of Commons with 30,492 votes to West's 29,046.[27]
Sands' election victory raised hopes that a settlement could be negotiated, but Thatcher stood firm in refusing to give concessions to the hunger strikers. She stated "We are not prepared to consider special category status for certain groups of people serving sentences for crime. Crime is crime is crime, it is not political".[28] The world's media descended on Belfast, and several intermediaries visited Sands in an attempt to negotiate an end to the hunger strike, including Síle de Valera, granddaughter of Éamon de Valera, Pope John Paul II's personal envoy John Magee, and European Commission of Human Rights officials.[2][29] With Sands close to death, the government's position remained unchanged, with Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Humphrey Atkins stating "If Mr. Sands persisted in his wish to commit suicide, that was his choice. The Government would not force medical treatment upon him".[29]
Deaths and end of strike
On 5 May, Sands died in the prison hospital on the 66th day of his hunger strike, prompting rioting in nationalist areas of Northern Ireland.[1] Humphrey Atkins issued a statement saying that Sands had committed suicide "under the instructions of those who felt it useful to their cause that he should die".[30] More than 100,000 people lined the route of his funeral, which was conducted with full IRA military honours. Margaret Thatcher showed no sympathy for his death, telling the House of Commons that "Mr. Sands was a convicted criminal. He chose to take his own life. It was a choice that his organisation did not allow to many of its victims".[29]
In the two weeks following Sands' death, three more hunger strikers died. Francis Hughes died on 12 May, resulting in further rioting in nationalist areas of Northern Ireland, in particular Derry and Belfast. Following the deaths of Raymond McCreesh and Patsy O'Hara on 21 May, Tomás Ó Fiaich, by then Primate of All Ireland, criticised the British government's handling of the hunger strike.[1] Despite this, Thatcher continued to refuse to negotiate a settlement, stating "Faced with the failure of their discredited cause, the men of violence have chosen in recent months to play what may well be their last card", during a visit to Belfast in late May.[30]
Nine protesting prisoners contested the general election in the Republic of Ireland in June. Kieran Doherty and Paddy Agnew (who was not on hunger strike) were elected in Cavan–Monaghan and Louth respectively, and Joe McDonnell narrowly missed election in Sligo–Leitrim.[31][32] There were also local elections in Northern Ireland on 20 May,[33] although Sinn Féin did not contest them. Some smaller groups and independents who supported the hunger strikers gained seats, such as the Irish Independence Party with 21 seats, while the Irish Republican Socialist Party (the INLA's political wing) and People's Democracy (a Trotskyist group) gained two seats each, and a number of pro-hunger strike independent candidates also won seats.[note 1] The British government passed the Representation of the People Act 1981 to prevent another prisoner contesting the second by-election in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, which was due to take place following the death of Sands.[1] On 4 July the prisoners stated they were not asking for preferential treatment, saying "We would warmly welcome the introduction of the Five Demands for all prisoners".[36]
Following the deaths of Joe McDonnell and Martin Hurson, the families of some of the hunger strikers attended a meeting on 28 July with Catholic priest Father Denis Faul. The families expressed concern at the lack of a settlement to the priest, and a decision was made to meet with Gerry Adams later that day. At the meeting Father Faul put pressure on Adams to find a way of ending the strike, and Adams agreed to ask the IRA leadership to order the men to end the hunger strike.[37] The following day Adams held a meeting with six of the hunger strikers to outline a proposed settlement on offer from the British government should the strike be brought to an end.[38] The six men rejected the settlement, believing that accepting anything less than the "Five Demands" would be a betrayal of the sacrifice made by Bobby Sands and the other hunger strikers who had died.[39]
On 31 July, the hunger strike began to break, when the mother of Paddy Quinn insisted on medical intervention to save his life. The following day Kevin Lynch died, followed by Kieran Doherty on 2 August, Thomas McElwee on 8 August and Michael Devine on 20 August.[40] On the day Devine died, Sands' election agent Owen Carron won the Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election with an increased number of votes.[41]
On 6 September, the family of Laurence McKeown became the fourth family to intervene and asked for medical treatment to save his life, and Cahal Daly issued a statement calling on prisoners to end the hunger strike. A week later, James Prior replaced Humphrey Atkins as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and met with prisoners in an attempt to end the strike.[1] Liam McCloskey ended his strike on 26 September after his family said they would ask for medical intervention if he became unconscious, and it became clear that the families of the remaining hunger strikers would also intervene to save their lives.[42]
The strike was called off at 3:15 pm on 3 October.[42] Three days later, Prior announced partial concessions to the prisoners including the right to wear their own clothes at all times.[3] The only one of the "Five Demands" still outstanding was the right not to do prison work. Following sabotage by the prisoners and the Maze Prison escape in 1983, the prison workshops were closed, effectively granting all of the "Five Demands" but without any formal recognition of political status from the government.[43]
Participants who died on hunger strike
Name | Paramilitary affiliation | Strike started | Length of strike | Date of death | Age at death |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bobby Sands | IRA | 1 March | 66 days | 5 May | 27 |
Francis Hughes | IRA | 15 March | 59 days | 12 May | 25 |
Raymond McCreesh | IRA | 22 March | 61 days | 21 May | 24 |
Patsy O'Hara | INLA | 22 March | 61 days | 21 May | 23 |
Joe McDonnell | IRA | 8 May | 61 days | 8 July | 29 |
Martin Hurson | IRA | 28 May | 46 days | 13 July | 24 |
Kevin Lynch | INLA | 23 May | 71 days | 1 August | 25 |
Kieran Doherty | IRA | 22 May | 73 days | 2 August | 25 |
Thomas McElwee | IRA | 8 June | 62 days | 8 August | 23 |
Michael Devine | INLA | 22 June | 60 days | 20 August | 27 |
The original pathologist's report recorded the hunger strikers' cause of death as "self-imposed starvation". This was later amended to simply "starvation", after protests from the dead strikers' families. The coroner recorded verdicts of "starvation, self-imposed".[44]
Other participants in the hunger strike
Although ten men died during the course of the hunger strike, thirteen others began refusing food but were taken off hunger strike, either due to medical reasons or after intervention by their families. Many of them still suffer from the effects of the strike, with problems including digestive, visual, physical and neurological disabilities.[45][46]
Name | Paramilitary affiliation | Strike started | Length of strike | Strike ended | Reason for ending strike |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brendan McLaughlin | IRA | 14 May | 13 days | 26 May | Suffering from a perforated ulcer and internal bleeding[47] |
Paddy Quinn | IRA | 15 June | 47 days | 31 July | Taken off by his family[47] |
Laurence McKeown | IRA | 29 June | 70 days | 6 September | Taken off by his family[47] |
Pat McGeown | IRA | 9 July | 42 days | 20 August | Taken off by his family[47] |
Matt Devlin | IRA | 14 July | 52 days | 4 September | Taken off by his family[47] |
Liam McCloskey | INLA | 3 August | 55 days | 26 September | His family said they would intervene if he became unconscious[47] |
Patrick Sheehan | IRA | 10 August | 55 days | 3 October | End of hunger strike[47] |
Jackie McMullan | IRA | 17 August | 48 days | 3 October | End of hunger strike[47] |
Bernard Fox | IRA | 24 August | 32 days | 24 September | Suffering from an obstructed kidney[47][48] |
Hugh Carville | IRA | 31 August | 34 days | 3 October | End of hunger strike[47] |
John Pickering | IRA | 7 September | 27 days | 3 October | End of hunger strike[47] |
Gerard Hodgins | IRA | 14 September | 20 days | 3 October | End of hunger strike[47] |
James Devine | IRA | 21 September | 13 days | 3 October | End of hunger strike[47] |
Impact of the hunger strike
The British press hailed the hunger strike as a triumph for Thatcher, with The Guardian newspaper stating "The Government had overcome the hunger strikes by a show of resolute determination not to be bullied".[49] At the time most thought the hunger strike a crushing defeat for the republicans, a view shared by many within the IRA and Sinn Féin, but Sands' by-election win was a propaganda victory,[2] and the hunger strike became a Pyrrhic victory for Thatcher and the British government.[50][51][52] Sands became a martyr to Irish republicans,[53] while Thatcher became a republican hate figure of Cromwellian proportions, with Danny Morrison describing her as "the biggest bastard we have ever known".[51]
As with internment in 1971 and Bloody Sunday in 1972, IRA recruitment was boosted, resulting in a new surge of paramilitary activity.[51] There was an upsurge of violence after the comparatively quiet years of the late 1970s, with widespread civil disorder in Northern Ireland and rioting outside the British Embassy in Dublin.[1] Security forces fired 29,695 plastic bullets in 1981, causing seven deaths, compared to a total of around 16,000 bullets and four deaths in the eight years following the hunger strikes.[54]
The IRA continued its armed campaign during the seven months of the strike, killing 13 policemen, 13 soldiers, including five members of the Ulster Defence Regiment and five civilians. The seven months were one of the bloodiest periods of the Troubles with a total of 61 people killed, 34 of them civilians.[55] Three years later the IRA tried to take their revenge on Thatcher with the Brighton hotel bombing, an attack on the Conservative party conference that killed five people and in which Thatcher herself only narrowly escaped death.[2]
The hunger strike prompted Sinn Féin to move towards electoral politics. Sands' election victory, combined with that of pro-hunger strike candidates in the Northern Ireland local elections and Dáil elections in the Republic of Ireland, gave birth to the Armalite and ballot box strategy. Gerry Adams remarked that Sands' victory "exposed the lie that the hunger strikers—and by extension the IRA and the whole republican movement—had no popular support".[56] The election victories of Doherty and Agnew also had political impact in the Republic of Ireland, as they denied power to Charles Haughey's outgoing Fianna Fáil government.[31] In 1982 Sinn Féin won five seats in the elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, and in 1983 Gerry Adams won a seat in the UK general election.[57] As a result of the political base built during the hunger strike, Sinn Féin continued to grow in the following two decades.[3] After the 2001 United Kingdom general election, it became the largest nationalist party in Northern Ireland.
In 2005, the role of Gerry Adams was questioned by former prisoner Richard O'Rawe, who was the public relations officer inside the prison during the strike. O'Rawe states in his book Blanketmen that Adams prolonged the strike as it was of great political benefit to Sinn Féin and allowed Owen Carron to win Sands' seat.[58][59] This was denied by several hunger strikers and Brendan McFarlane, who was OC inside the prison during the hunger strike.[60] McFarlane states O'Rawe's version of events is confused and fragmentary, and states "We were desperate for a solution. Any deal that went some way to meeting the five demands would have been taken. If it was confirmed in writing, we'd have grabbed it ... There was never a deal, there was never a "take it or leave it" option at all".[61]
Commemorations
There are memorials and murals in memory of the hunger strikers in towns and cities across Ireland, including Belfast, Dublin, Derry, Crossmaglen and Camlough.[62] Annual commemorations take place across Ireland for each man who died on the hunger strike, and an annual hunger strike commemoration march is held in Belfast each year, which includes a Bobby Sands memorial lecture.[63][64] Several towns and cities in France have named streets after Bobby Sands, including Paris and Le Mans.[2][65] The government in Tehran, Iran, changed the name of the street on which the British embassy was located to Bobby Sands, from its previous name, Churchill Street.[66][67] The embassy subsequently changed its mailing address to refer to an entrance door around the corner from the main entrance, to avoid having to use the name of Bobby Sands on their letterhead.[66][67]
A memorial to the men who died in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the Easter Rising, and the hunger strike stands in Waverley Cemetery, Sydney, Australia, which is also the burial place of Michael Dwyer of the Society of United Irishmen.[68][69] In 1997 NORAID's Hartford Unit in the United States dedicated a monument to Bobby Sands and the other hunger strikers.[70] The monument is a granite Celtic cross standing in a traffic roundabout renamed "Bobby Sands Circle" in 1995.[71] On 3 October 2001—the 20th anniversary of the end of the hunger strike—a memorial was unveiled by Gerry Adams, Patrick Sheehan and Ahmed Kathrada, on Robben Island, South Africa.[72][73]
On 20 March 2001 Sinn Féin's national chairperson Mitchel McLaughlin opened the National Hunger Strike Commemoration Committee's exhibition at the Europa Hotel in Belfast, which included three original works of art from Belfast-based artists.[74] A separate exhibition was also launched in Derry the following month.[75] Numerous films have been made based on the events of the hunger strike, including Some Mother's Son starring Helen Mirren, H3 (which was co-written by former hunger striker Laurence McKeown), and Steve McQueen's Hunger.
Notes
- ^ Peter Berresford Ellis states 12 independent councillors were elected,[34] Sydney Elliott states 11 independent councillors were elected.[35][page needed]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Hunger Strike of 1981 – A Chronology of Main Events". CAIN. Archived from the original on 31 May 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
- ^ a b c d e McKittrick, David (5 May 2006). "Remembering Bobby Sands". The Independent. UK. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ a b c Taylor, Peter (1997). Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 251–252. ISBN 0-7475-3818-2.
- ^ Sweeney, George (1993). "Irish Hunger Strikes and the Cult of Self-Sacrifice". Journal of Contemporary History. 28 (3): 421–422. doi:10.1177/002200949302800302. JSTOR 260640. S2CID 153564309.
- ^ a b White, Robert (1993). Provisional Irish Republicans: An Oral and Interpretive History. Praeger Publishing. pp. 116–118. ISBN 978-0313285646.
- ^ a b c d Beresford, David (1987). Ten Men Dead. Atlantic Monthly Press. pp. 13–16. ISBN 0-87113-702-X.
- ^ a b "A Chronology of the Conflict – 1976". CAIN. Retrieved 9 April 2007.
- ^ Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin, p. 220.
- ^ a b Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin, pp. 229–234.
- ^ a b Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin, p. 217.
- ^ Holland, Jack; McDonald, Henry (1996). INLA Deadly Divisions. Poolbeg Press. p. 261. ISBN 1-85371-263-9.
- ^ Beresford, David (5 October 1981). "The deaths that gave new life to an IRA legend". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
- ^ Whyte, Nicholas (18 April 2004). "The 1979 European elections". CAIN. Archived from the original on 7 June 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
- ^ Holland, Jack (7 March 2001). "A View North Anniversaries recall the rise of Sinn Féin". The Irish Echo. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
- ^ Ten Men Dead, pp. 21–22.
- ^ "Abstracts on Organisations – 'N'". CAIN. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
- ^ Ten Men Dead, p. 20.
- ^ Taylor, Peter (1999). Loyalists. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 168. ISBN 0-7475-4519-7.
- ^ McDonald, Henry; Cusack, Jim (2004). UDA Inside the Heart of Loyalist Terror. Penguin Books. pp. 116–118. ISBN 1-84488-020-6.
- ^ White, Robert (2017). Out of the Ashes: An Oral History of the Provisional Irish Republican Movement. Merrion Press. p. 173. ISBN 9781785370939.
- ^ a b O'Rawe, Richard (2005). Blanketmen. New Island Books. pp. 103–104. ISBN 1-904301-67-3.
- ^ English, Richard (2003). Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA. Pan Books. pp. 195–196. ISBN 0-330-49388-4.
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