The 1981 hunger strike
When people think of Ireland, they think war torn and violence. The 1981 hunger strike protest is just one of these realities. It is a tale concerning the 5 years struggle for human rights and freedom.
Beginning in 1976 with a blanket protest.
Disputes between the Provisional IRA and the Irish National Liberation Army began this protest, when they decided that POWS would have to wear the prison uniform. The dispute then escalated and prisoners began to saturate their prison cells in excrement. It became known as the “dirty protest”.
In 1980, seven POW prisoners started the first hunger strike, ending it, 53 days later.
The second hunger strike, and possibly the most famous, took place in 1981, with a dispute between the prisoners and Margaret Thatcher. By the end of this hunger strike, 10 prisoners had starved themselves to death. Bobby Sands being the most famous. He was the leader of the 1981 hunger strike and was also elected as a member of the United Kingdom Parliament. He first refused his food on the 1st of March 1981.
The strikers had 5 main demands.
-The right to not wear a prison uniform
-The right to not do prison work
-The right of free association with other prisoners, and to organise educational and recreational pursuit
-The right to one visit, one letter and one parcel per week
- Full restoration of remission lost through the protest.
These people were political prisoners, not criminals.
After three weeks, Bobby Sands died after 66 days without food. Several days of riots followed and 100, 000 people attended his funeral.
There were various reactions throughout the globe.
In the United Kingdom:
-At Old firm football matches in Glasgow, Scotland, some Rangers. F.C fans have been known to sing songs mocking Bobby Sands to taunt fans of Celtic F.C Rangers fans are more likely to be sympathetic to the Unionist community and see Sands as a Republican terrorist; Celtic fans are more likely to support the Republican community and thus view him as a hero and martyr.
The 1981 British Home Championship football tournament was cancelled following the refusal of teams from England and Wales to travel to Northern Ireland in the aftermath of his death due to security concerns.
In Europe:
In Milan, 5,000 students burned the Union Flag and shouted "Freedom for Ulster" during a march.
In Ghent, students invaded the British Consulate.
In Paris, thousands marched behind huge portraits of Sands, to chants of 'The IRA will conquer'.
In Oslo, demonstrators threw a balloon filled with tomato sauce at Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom.
In the Soviet Union, Pravda described it as 'another tragic page in the grim chronicle of oppression, discrimination, terror and violence' in Ireland.
In France, many towns and cities have named streets for Sands. Examples include Nantes, St Etienne, Le Mans and St Denis.
Song have also been written about the hunger strike and Bobby Sands.
American rock band Rage Against the Machine have listed Sands as an inspiration in the sleeve notes of their self titled debut album and as a " political hero" in media interviews
It's gonna happen - The Undertones
Well there you have it. A bit about my country and my hero.
Bobby Sands (26)
Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Member of Parliament (MP)
began hunger strike on 1 March 1981 and died on 5 May 1981 after 66 days without food
Francis Hughes (25)
Irish Republican Army (IRA)
joined hunger strike on 15 March 1981 and died on 12 May 1981 after 59 days without food
Raymond McCreesh (24)
Irish Republican Army (IRA)
joined hunger strike on 22 March 1981 and died on 21 May 1981 after 61 days without food
Patsy O'Hara (23)
Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
joined hunger strike on 22 March 1981 and died on 21 May 1981 after 61 days without food
Joe McDonnell (30)
Irish Republican Army (IRA)
joined hunger strike on 8 May 1981 and died on 8 July 1981 after 61 days without food
Martin Hurson (29)
Irish Republican Army (IRA)
joined hunger strike on 28 May 1981 and died on 13 July 1981 after 46 days without food
Keven Lynch (25)
Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
joined hunger strike on xx May 1981 (?) and died on 1 August 1981 after 71 days without food
Kieran Doherty (25)
Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Teachta Dáil (TD; member of the Irish Parliament)
joined hunger strike on 22 May 1981 and died on 2 August 1981 after 73 days without food
Thomas McElwee (23)
Irish Republican Army (IRA)
joined hunger strike on 8 June 1981 and died on 8 August 1981 after 62 days without food
Michael Devine (27)
Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
joined hunger strike on 22 June 1981 and died on 20 August 1981 after 60 days without food
R.I.P
Beginning in 1976 with a blanket protest.
Disputes between the Provisional IRA and the Irish National Liberation Army began this protest, when they decided that POWS would have to wear the prison uniform. The dispute then escalated and prisoners began to saturate their prison cells in excrement. It became known as the “dirty protest”.
In 1980, seven POW prisoners started the first hunger strike, ending it, 53 days later.
The second hunger strike, and possibly the most famous, took place in 1981, with a dispute between the prisoners and Margaret Thatcher. By the end of this hunger strike, 10 prisoners had starved themselves to death. Bobby Sands being the most famous. He was the leader of the 1981 hunger strike and was also elected as a member of the United Kingdom Parliament. He first refused his food on the 1st of March 1981.
The strikers had 5 main demands.
-The right to not wear a prison uniform
-The right to not do prison work
-The right of free association with other prisoners, and to organise educational and recreational pursuit
-The right to one visit, one letter and one parcel per week
- Full restoration of remission lost through the protest.
These people were political prisoners, not criminals.
After three weeks, Bobby Sands died after 66 days without food. Several days of riots followed and 100, 000 people attended his funeral.
There were various reactions throughout the globe.
In the United Kingdom:
-At Old firm football matches in Glasgow, Scotland, some Rangers. F.C fans have been known to sing songs mocking Bobby Sands to taunt fans of Celtic F.C Rangers fans are more likely to be sympathetic to the Unionist community and see Sands as a Republican terrorist; Celtic fans are more likely to support the Republican community and thus view him as a hero and martyr.
The 1981 British Home Championship football tournament was cancelled following the refusal of teams from England and Wales to travel to Northern Ireland in the aftermath of his death due to security concerns.
In Europe:
In Milan, 5,000 students burned the Union Flag and shouted "Freedom for Ulster" during a march.
In Ghent, students invaded the British Consulate.
In Paris, thousands marched behind huge portraits of Sands, to chants of 'The IRA will conquer'.
In Oslo, demonstrators threw a balloon filled with tomato sauce at Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom.
In the Soviet Union, Pravda described it as 'another tragic page in the grim chronicle of oppression, discrimination, terror and violence' in Ireland.
In France, many towns and cities have named streets for Sands. Examples include Nantes, St Etienne, Le Mans and St Denis.
Song have also been written about the hunger strike and Bobby Sands.
American rock band Rage Against the Machine have listed Sands as an inspiration in the sleeve notes of their self titled debut album and as a " political hero" in media interviews
It's gonna happen - The Undertones
Well there you have it. A bit about my country and my hero.
Bobby Sands (26)
Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Member of Parliament (MP)
began hunger strike on 1 March 1981 and died on 5 May 1981 after 66 days without food
Francis Hughes (25)
Irish Republican Army (IRA)
joined hunger strike on 15 March 1981 and died on 12 May 1981 after 59 days without food
Raymond McCreesh (24)
Irish Republican Army (IRA)
joined hunger strike on 22 March 1981 and died on 21 May 1981 after 61 days without food
Patsy O'Hara (23)
Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
joined hunger strike on 22 March 1981 and died on 21 May 1981 after 61 days without food
Joe McDonnell (30)
Irish Republican Army (IRA)
joined hunger strike on 8 May 1981 and died on 8 July 1981 after 61 days without food
Martin Hurson (29)
Irish Republican Army (IRA)
joined hunger strike on 28 May 1981 and died on 13 July 1981 after 46 days without food
Keven Lynch (25)
Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
joined hunger strike on xx May 1981 (?) and died on 1 August 1981 after 71 days without food
Kieran Doherty (25)
Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Teachta Dáil (TD; member of the Irish Parliament)
joined hunger strike on 22 May 1981 and died on 2 August 1981 after 73 days without food
Thomas McElwee (23)
Irish Republican Army (IRA)
joined hunger strike on 8 June 1981 and died on 8 August 1981 after 62 days without food
Michael Devine (27)
Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
joined hunger strike on 22 June 1981 and died on 20 August 1981 after 60 days without food
R.I.P
You know there's a film coming out about him soon, called Hunger? It looks quite good.
a-dawg., November 11th, 2007 at 03:51:11pm
Ireland may not be as violent as the warswe have going on now.
But unless you live in Ireland and have had interaction with the violence, you don't know what its like.
People throw petrol bombs at little kids going to school. Im sure we do come in there somewhere on the violence chart.
Mike N Tre Erections, August 10th, 2007 at 12:47:38pm
I'm sorry, but Ireland is not currently as violent as your average country. And back in the eighties, there was a lot of hype about it even though there was almost no change in everyday life.
Also, Welsh countryside owns Irish. =p
Anji, August 9th, 2007 at 08:25:52pm
Hunger strikes are very powerful and this definitley prooves it.
threeam., August 8th, 2007 at 12:01:01am
Believe me, Ireland is a violent place.
Especially the north of Ireland. There have been so many murders up there, all because of a diffrence between religions and wrong doings in the past.
But we our good asspects. If your a person like me and you grew up around that stuff, you'll want to escape into the green land.(the countryside)
Ireland isn't called the emeraled island for nothing you know.
Mike N Tre Erections, August 7th, 2007 at 07:45:18pm
...I'm hungry.
I think hunger strikes demand a very powerful and brave person to carry them out, I've always admired people on hunger strikes.
My dad remembers these days. He used to do a lot of work in Ireland at this time. Though he never tells me exactly what he did...
Anyway, he said loads of his friends were involved with this stuff, but Ireland itself was not actually as violent as people really believed it to be.
Anji, August 7th, 2007 at 06:53:27pm