A mural in Derry's Bogside, commemorating Irish hunger strikers.

The 1981 Irish Hunger Strike was a campaign by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland for the British government to grant them political status. It was a seminal event in modern Irish history. It radicalised nationalist politics, and was the midwife to Sinn Féin as a serious political force. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 644 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: 1981 Irish Hunger Strike ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 644 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: 1981 Irish Hunger Strike ... Salle des illustres, ceiling painting, by Jean André Rixens. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... The Bogside is a nationalist neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry in Northern Ireland. ... Irish Republicanism is an ideology based on the Irish nationalist belief that all of Ireland should be a united independent republic. ... Dieu et mon droit (motto) (French for God and my right)2 Northern Irelands location within the UK Languages English (De facto) 3, Irish, Ulster Scots 4 Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain MP Area  - Total Ranked 4th... The United Kingdom is a unitary state and a democratic constitutional monarchy. ... An Irish nationalist is generally one who seeks (greater) independence of Ireland from Great Britain, including since 1921 the goal of a United Ireland. ... Sinn Féin (pronounced in English, in Irish) is a name used by a series of Irish political movements of the 20th century, each of which claimed sole descent from the original party established by Arthur Griffith in 1905. ...

Background

The process which led up to Hunger Strikes began in 1976. As part of the policy of Ulsterisation and "criminalisation", the British government ended its previous policy of giving Special Category Status to paramilitary prisoners in Northern Ireland prisons. Special Category, or political, status meant prisoners were treated very like prisoners of war, not having, for example, to wear prison uniforms or do prison work. 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. The policy was not introduced for existing prisoners, but rather phased in for those newly convicted. 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Ulsterisation refers to a British Government strategy on the 1970s to pacify Northern Ireland during the conflict known as the The Troubles. ...

First Hunger Strike

Provisional IRA and INLA prisoners (the first was Ciarán Nugent) began the blanket protest in which prisoners would refuse to wear prison uniform and either went naked or fashioned garments from prison blankets. In 1978, after a number of attacks on prisoners leaving their cells to "slop out" (i.e. empty their chamber pots), this escalated into the dirty protest, where prisoners not granted political status refused to wash and smeared the walls of their cells with excrement. These protests aimed to re-establish their privileges by securing what were known as the "Five Demands": The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) is a paramilitary group which aimed, through the use of violence, to achieve three goals: (i) British withdrawal from Ireland, (ii) the political unification of Ireland through the merger of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland , and (iii) the creation of an all... The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) was formed on 8 December 1974 as the military wing of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement (a political wing, the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP), was formed the same day) by Seamus Costello and other activists who had left or been forced out of... The blanket protest was part of a dispute involving Provisional IRA and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison (Long Kesh) in Northern Ireland. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... The dirty protest was part of a dispute (see also Blanket protest) between Irish republican paramilitary prisoners and the prison authorities at the Maze prison (Long Kesh) and Armagh Womens Jail in the late 1970s and early 1980s. ...

1. The Right not to wear a prison uniform;
2. The Right not to do prison work;
3. The Right of free association with other prisoners;
4. The Right to organise their own educational and recreational facilities;
5. The Right to one visit, one letter and one parcel per week.

Initially, this protest did not attract a great deal of attention, and even the Provisional IRA regarded it as a side-issue compared to their armed struggle. It began to attract attention when Tomas O Fiach, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, visited the prison and condemned the conditions there. In 1979, former MP Bernadette McAliskey stood in the election for the European parliament on a platform of support for the blanketmen, and won 5.9% of the vote across Northern Ireland, even though Sinn Féin had called for a boycott of this election. Shortly after this, the broad-based Smash H-Block Campaign was formed, on a platform of support for the Five Demands, with McAliskey as its main spokesperson. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) is a paramilitary group which aimed, through the use of violence, to achieve three goals: (i) British withdrawal from Ireland, (ii) the political unification of Ireland through the merger of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland , and (iii) the creation of an all... Tomás Cardinal OFiach was an Irish Cardinal and the former Primate of All Ireland. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Primate of All Ireland is the title held by the Archbishop of Armagh. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... Josephine Bernadette Devlin McAliskey (born April 23, 1947), also known as Bernadette Devlin and Bernadette McAliskey, is a Northern Ireland republican politician. ... The European Parliament building in Strasbourg The inside of the building The European Parliament (formerly European Parliamentary Assembly) is the parliamentary body of the European Union (EU), directly elected by EU citizens once every five years. ... Sinn Féin (pronounced in English, in Irish) is a name used by a series of Irish political movements of the 20th century, each of which claimed sole descent from the original party established by Arthur Griffith in 1905. ...

The period leading up to the hunger strike saw a campaign of assassination carried out by both sides. The IRA shot and killed a number of prison officers; at the same time, loyalist paramilitaries shot and killed a number of activists in the Smash H-Block Campaign and badly injured McAliskey and her husband in an attempt on their lives. In general, a loyalist is an individual who is loyal to the powers that be or The Establishment. ...

In October 1980, seven republican prisoners in HM Prison Maze (alternatively known as "Long Kesh") began a hunger strike. After a few weeks they were followed by three prisoners in Armagh Women's Prison, and then a short-lived hunger strike by several dozen more prisoners in Long Kesh. A number of Loyalist prisoners also started their own hunger strike after a few weeks, but they were accused of opportunism, attempting to win concessions on the backs of republicans without risking death or serious damage to their health. (No Loyalists or Armagh women took part in the 1981 hunger strike.) In a war of nerves between the PIRA leadership and the British government, with one prisoner close to death, the British government appeared to concede the prisoners' right to wear their own clothes. The strike was called off in December before any prisoners died. 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Her Majestys Prison Service is the British Executive Agency reporting to the Home Office tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own Prison Services). ... The personnel gate to the main guard office. ... Her Majestys Prison (HMP) Maze (known colloqually as The Maze) is a disused prison sited at the former RAF station at Long Kesh (it is still called Long Kesh by many Irish Republicans) near Lisburn, nine miles outside Belfast, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. ... Armagh womens prison in Northern Ireland was the scene of a protest by women Irish Republican prisoners demanding political status, although the numbers involved were much smaller than in the Maze (also known as Long Kesh) mens prison. ... The term Ulster Loyalist is used to describe militant unionists from Northern Ireland. ...

Second Hunger Strike

A Republican mural in Belfast depicting the hunger strikes of 1981.

After a few weeks it emerged that the British government were simply intending to give the prisoners the right to wear civilian-style clothing supplied by the prison, and had duped the hunger-strikers in the belief that no new hunger-strike would occur. On March 1, 1981, under the new PIRA Officer Commanding in Long Kesh, Bobby Sands, a second hunger strike began, with Sands himself the first to refuse food. The political atmosphere outside the prisons became electric, all over Ireland, with widespread rioting in nationalist areas of Northern Ireland. ImageMetadata File history File links Belfast_mural_13_(cropped). ... ImageMetadata File history File links Belfast_mural_13_(cropped). ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Robert Gerard Sands, commonly known as Bobby Sands (9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) and also by his military rank of Volunteer Bobby Sands[1] was an Irish republican who died on hunger strike in the prison officially called HM Prison Maze but formerly known as Long Kesh (a name... An Irish nationalist is generally one who seeks (greater) independence of Ireland from Great Britain, including since 1921 the goal of a United Ireland. ... Dieu et mon droit (motto) (French for God and my right)2 Northern Irelands location within the UK Languages English (De facto) 3, Irish, Ulster Scots 4 Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain MP Area  - Total Ranked 4th...

Shortly after the beginning of the strike, the independent Irish republican MP for Fermanagh & South Tyrone died and precipitated a high profile by-election. Sands was nominated as an Anti H-Block candidate, and was elected to the House of Commons on April 9, 1981 with 30,492 votes to 29,046 for the Ulster Unionist Party candidate Harry West. Fermanagh & South Tyrone is a Parliamentary Constituency in the British House of Commons and also an Assembly constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... The by-election held in Fermanagh and South Tryrone on April 9, 1981 is considered by many to be the most significant by-election held in Northern Ireland since the beginning of The Troubles. ... Anti H-Block was the political party label used by candidates standing in Northern Ireland in support of the 1981 hunger strike. ... British House of Commons Canadian House of Commons In some bicameral parliaments of a Westminster System, the House of Commons has historically been the name of the elected lower house. ... April 9 is the 99th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (100th in leap years). ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party ) is a moderate unionist political party in Northern Ireland, which formed its government between 1921 and 1972 and was supported by most unionists throughout the Troubles. ... Harry West Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1974 to 1979. ...

Three weeks later, Sands died from starvation in the prison hospital. The announcement of his death prompted several days of riots in nationalist areas of Northern Ireland. Over 100,000 people lined the route of his funeral.

Over the summer, nine more hunger strikers also died. The names of these people, their paramiltary affiliation, hometown, dates of death, and length of hunger strike are as follows:

• Bobby Sands, Provisional IRA, Belfast (Twinbrook), 5 May, 66 days
• Francis Hughes, PIRA, Bellaghy, 12 May, 59 days
• Patsy O’Hara, INLA, Derry, 21 May, 61 days
• Raymond McCreesh, PIRA, Camlough, 21 May, 61 days
• Joe McDonnell, PIRA, Belfast (Lenadoon), 8 July, 61 days
• Martin Hurson, PIRA, Cappagh, 13 July, 46 days
• Kevin Lynch, INLA, Dungiven, 1 Aug, 71 days
• Kieran Doherty, PIRA, Belfast (Andersonstown), 2 Aug, 73 days
• Thomas McElwee, PIRA, Bellaghy, 8 Aug, 62 days
• Michael Devine, INLA, Derry, 20 Aug, 60 days

A number of protesting prisoners contested the general election in the Republic of Ireland in June. Paddy Agnew (who was not on hunger strike) and Kieran Doherty were elected in Louth and Cavan/Monaghan respectively, and Joe McDonnell narrowly missed election in Sligo/Leitrim. There were also local elections in Northern Ireland around that time and although Sinn Féin did not contest them, some smaller groups and independents who did support the hunger strikers had a few successes, e.g. the Irish Indepence Party won 21 seats, while a joint campaign by the Irish Republican Socialist Party (the INLA's political wing) and People's Democracy (a Trotskyist group) won four seats on Belfast City Council. Robert Gerard Sands, commonly known as Bobby Sands (9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) and also by his military rank of Volunteer Bobby Sands[1] was an Irish republican who died on hunger strike in the prison officially called HM Prison Maze but formerly known as Long Kesh (a name... The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) is a paramilitary group which aimed, through the use of violence, to achieve three goals: (i) British withdrawal from Ireland, (ii) the political unification of Ireland through the merger of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland , and (iii) the creation of an all... Francis Hughes was an Official IRA, and later, Provisional IRA guerrilla who participated in dozens of attacks on British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary targets. ... The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) was formed on 8 December 1974 as the military wing of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement (a political wing, the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP), was formed the same day) by Seamus Costello and other activists who had left or been forced out of... Raymond Peter McCreesh (25 February 1957 - 21 May 1981) was an Irish Republican hunger striker and member of the Provisional IRA. He was born in Camlough in South Armagh and was sentenced in March 1977 and sent to the Maze Prison. ... Joe McDonnell (14 September 1951 - 8 July 1981) was a Hunger Striker who died in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike. ... Edward Martin Hurson (September 13, 1956 - July 13, 1981) was an Irish Republican hunger striker and member of the Provisional IRA. He was born one of 9 children in County Tyrone (near Dungannon) and joined the PIRA in his teens. ... Kevin Lynch (May 25, 1956 - 1 August 1981) was an Irish Republican hunger striker and member of the Irish National Liberation Army. ... Volunteer Kieran (or Ciarán) Doherty (Provisional Irish Republican Army, Belfast Brigade) died at the age of 25 in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike in Long Kesh (prison). ... Thomas McElwee (30 November 1957 - 8 August 1981) was an Irish republican hunger striker and member of the Provisional IRA. He was sent to prison in September 1977 and was invloved in the blanket protest. ... Date Of Birth: 19/03/73 Height: 183 cm Weight: 86. ... County Louth (An Lú in Irish) is a county on the east coast of Ireland. ... Cavan (An Cabhán in Irish, meaning the hollow) is the main town and administrative centre of County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... Leitrim (Irish: Liatroim) is one of the counties in the west of Ireland and is part of the province Connacht. ... Dieu et mon droit (motto) (French for God and my right)2 Northern Irelands location within the UK Languages English (De facto) 3, Irish, Ulster Scots 4 Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain MP Area  - Total Ranked 4th... Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) describes itself as a republican socialist party and claims to be both Marxist-Leninist and republican. ... The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) was formed on 8 December 1974 as the military wing of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement (a political wing, the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP), was formed the same day) by Seamus Costello and other activists who had left or been forced out of... Peoples Democracy was a political organisation that, while supporting the campaign for civil rights for Northern Irelands Catholic minority stated that such rights could only be achieved through the establishment of a socialist republic in all of Ireland. ... Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ...

The British parliament rushed through emergency legislation 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. This by-election was won in August by Owen Carron, who had been Sands' election agent, standing as the prisoners' proxy candidate, with an increased vote. Owen Carron (born 1953) is an Irish republican activist and the former MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone. ...

In late summer, the hunger strike began to break, thanks in large part due to the actions of the radical Catholic priest, Fr. Denis Faul, who intervened with hunger strikers' families after they had lost consciousness to urge them to give consent to the prison authorities for their relatives to be fed by drip. The first prisoner whose family intervened was Paddy Quinn. After this happened with a number of other prisoners, on 3 October 1981, the PIRA and INLA called off the hunger strike. Monsignor Denis OBeirne Faul (August 14, 1932 – June 21, 2006) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest and civil rights campaigner best known for his role in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike. ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Recently the role of Gerry Adams (President of Sinn Féin) has been questioned. Richard O Rawe, the republican PRO (public relations officer) in the H blocks after the death of Sands when Bik Mcfarlane moved from PRO to CO alleges in his book Blanketmen (2005) that Adams prolonged the strike as it was of great political benefit to Sinn Féin and allowed Owen Carron win Sands Seat.^{[1] [2]} This claim is denied by several hunger strikers and Brendan Mc Farlane.^[3]

Other Participants in the Hunger Strike

Although ten men died during the course of the hunger strike, thirteen other men began refusing food but were taken off it, either due to medical reasons or after intervention by their families deciding that their relative's death would be futile. Many of them still suffer from the effects of the strike with problems including digestive, phsyical and neurological disabilities.

They were:

• Brendan McLaughlin, PIRA, joined the hunger strike on 14 May 1981 and was taken off the strike on 26 May 1981 when he suffered a perforated ulcer and internal bleeding.
• Paddy Quinn, PIRA, joined hunger strike on 15 June 1981 and was taken off the strike on 31 July 1981 by his family after 47 days without food.
• Laurence McKeown, PIRA, joined hunger strike 29 June 1981 was taken off the strike on 6 September 1981 by his family after 70 days without food.
• Patrick McGeown, PIRA, joined hunger strike on 9 July 1981 was taken off the strike on 20 August 1981 by his family after 42 days without food.
• Matt Devlin , PIRA, joined hunger strike on 14 July 1981 was taken off the strike on 4 September 1981 by his family after 52 days without food.
• Liam McCloskey, INLA, joined hunger strike on 3 August 1981 and ended the strike on 26 September 1981 after 55 days without food when it became clear that his family would intervene to save his life if he became unconscious.
• Patrick Sheehan, INLA, joined hunger strike on 10 August 1981 and ended the strike on 3 October 1981 after 55 days without food.
• Jackie McMullan, PIRA, joined hunger strike on 17 August 1981 ended the strike on 3 October 1981 after 48 days without food.
• Bernard Fox, PIRA, joined hunger strike on 24 August 1981 and was taken off the strike on 24 September 1981 when his medical condition deteriorated after 32 days without food.
• Hugh Carville, PIRA, joined hunger strike on 31 August 1981 and ended the strike on 3 October 1981 after 34 days without food.
• John Pickering, PIRA, joined hunger strike on 7 September 1981 and ended the strike 3 October 1981 after 27 days without food.
• Gerard Hodgkins, PIRA, joined hunger strike on 14 September 1981 and ended the strike on 3 October 1981 after 20 days without food.
• James Devine, PIRA, joined hunger strike on 21 September 1981 and ended the strike on 3 October 1981 after 13 days without food.

May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... Endoscopic images of a duodenal ulcer. ... June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining. ... June 29 is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 185 days remaining. ... This article is about the day of the year. ... July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 175 days remaining. ... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... September 4 is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years). ... September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 96 days remaining. ... Patrick Augustine Sheehan may refer to; Canon Patrick Augustine Sheehan, a Catholic clergyman. ... August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... August 17 is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Bernard Fox (born 11 May 1927 in Port Talbot, Glamorgan, Wales) is a Welsh-born English film and television actor. ... August 24 is the 236th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (237th in leap years), with 129 days remaining. ... September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years). ... August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining. ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... John Pickering (22 September 1737 - 11 April 1805) served as Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court and as Judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire. ... September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... September 14 is the 257th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (258th in leap years). ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Consequences

The Hunger Strike heralded an upsurge of violence after the comparatively quiet years of the late 1970s, with widespread civil disorder in Northern Ireland and serious unrest in the Republic, including rioting outside the British Embassy in Dublin. (Many may have either hoped for or feared a repeat of 1972, when after Bloody Sunday the embassy was burned out by protestors.) There was extensive international condemnation of Britain's handling of the hunger strikes. It resulted in a new surge of IRA activity, with the group obtaining many more members. It prompted the republican movement to move towards electoral politics – Sands' success 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. As a direct consequence, Sinn Féin emerged as a serious political force in the 1982 elections to the Prior Assembly and the 1983 general election. Thereby, it indirectly paved the way for the Good Friday Agreement many years later. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one nation state present in another nation state to represent the sending state in the receiving State. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Derry civil rights association banner stained with Bernard McGuigans blood after shootings On Sunday January 30, 1972, in an incident since known as Bloody Sunday, 13 people were killed (including 6 minors) and 17 others wounded by British paratroopers after a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march in the... The armalite and the ballot box strategy was pursued by the Irish Republican movement in the 1980s and early 1990s, a strategy where elections in Northern Ireland and the Republic were contested by Sinn Féin, while the IRA continued to pursue a paramilitary struggle against the British army, the... Sinn Féin (pronounced in English, in Irish) is a name used by a series of Irish political movements of the 20th century, each of which claimed sole descent from the original party established by Arthur Griffith in 1905. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The UK general election, 1983 was held on June 9, 1983 and gave the Conservatives and Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945. ... The Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement and, more rarely, as the Stormont Agreement) was signed in Belfast on April 10, 1998 by the British and Irish Governments and endorsed by most Northern Ireland political parties. ...

The prisoners' case was summarised by the chorus of a song written at the time by Francis Brolly, now a Sinn Féin member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, which was played by a piper at the funeral of Bobby Sands: Sinn Féin (pronounced in English, in Irish) is a name used by a series of Irish political movements of the 20th century, each of which claimed sole descent from the original party established by Arthur Griffith in 1905. ... The logo of the Northern Ireland Assembly is a six flowered linen or flax plant, chosen for the plants historical economic importance to the region. ... A piper playing the Great Highland Bagpipe. ...

"So I'll wear no convict's uniform,
Nor meekly serve my time,
That Britain might brand Ireland's fight,
Eight hundred years of crime"

Commemorations

The people of Hartford, Connecticut, in the United States dedicated a monument to Bobby Sands and the other hunger strikers in 1997. The monument stands in a traffic circle known as "Bobby Sands Circle", at the bottom of Maple Avenue near Goodwin Park. Flag Seal Nickname: The Insurance Capital of the World Location Location in Hartford County, Connecticut Coordinates , Government Counties Hartford County Mayor Eddie Perez Geographical characteristics Area     City 18. ...

The Iranian government named a street in Tehran after Bobby Sands. (It was formerly Winston Churchill Street.) It runs alongside the British embassy. ^[4] Motto: Persian: Esteqlāl, āzādÄ«, jomhÅ«rÄ«-ye eslāmÄ« (English: Independence, freedom, (the) Islamic Republic) Anthem: SorÅ«d-e MellÄ«-e Īrān Capital Tehran Largest city Tehran Official language(s) Persian Government Islamic Republic  - Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei  - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Revolution Overthrew Monarchy   - Declared February 11... Tehran (IPA: ; Persian: تهران, also transliterated as Teheran or Tehrān), population 7,160,094 (metropolitan: 14,000,000), and a land area of 658 square kilometers, is the capital city of Iran and the center of Tehran Province. ... Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British politician and author, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ...

The events of the strike are the basis for the 1996 film Some Mother's Son. Some Mothers Son is a 1996 film written and directed by Northern Irish filmmaker Terry George, and based on the true story of the 1981 hunger strike in Maze Prison , a British prison. ...

Radio Eclectica has sound versions of several songs concerning the hunger strike,[1] including So I'll Wear No Convict's Uniform, Joe McDonnell, and the Black 47 song Bobby Sands, M.P.. Black 47 is an American-Celtic rock band made up of Irish expatriates, formed in New York City by Larry Kirwan and Chris Byrne in 1989. ...

In 2006, a diverse group of Irish Republicans in Chicago, IL have to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Hunger Strike under the banner "Chicago Hunger Strike Commemoration Committee."

 For a more detailed list of commemorations see Bobby Sands page. 

Robert Gerard Sands, commonly known as Bobby Sands (9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) and also by his military rank of Volunteer Bobby Sands[1] was an Irish republican who died on hunger strike in the prison officially called HM Prison Maze but formerly known as Long Kesh (a name...

References

1. ^ Allegations available from The Guardian 4 March 2006 here.
2. ^ For more detail see also interview with Richard O'Rawe in the Blanket 16 May 2006
3. ^ See Brendan 'Bik' McFarlane's interview in the Irish News 12 March 2006 available here.
4. ^ The naming of Bobby Sands Street is detailed here,'Naming Bobby Sands Street,' The Blanket, 24 February 2004

Further Information/Sources

• Bobby Sands Trust
• Beresford, David Ten Men Dead
• Coogan, Tim Pat On The Blanket
• Hunger Strikes (General)
• Hunger Strikes BBC History
• Hungerstrikers Hunger Strikers Memorial, Hartford, CT, USA
• Loyalist look at the hungerstikers Calton Radio hungerstrikers content.