Hunger Strikes

The Special Category Status granted to imprisoned Nationalists and Loyalists in June 1972 was repealed by the British government on 1 March 1976. People convicted after that date for terrorist offences were interned in the new so-called H-Blocks and treated like ordinary inmates instead of prisoners of war with a political status. The Special Category Status was preserved for prisoners convicted before 1 March 1976, but was totally repealed on 1 April 1980.
Eight H-Blocks, named after their H-form shape, were built on the grounds of the Long Kesh Detention Centre, which was by then officially known as Her Majesty's Prison Maze.

In daily prison routine the prisoner of war status would imply more privileges, like the right to wear your own cloths, the right on free association and the right to refuse prison labour. On a higher level the existence of prisoners of war would imply of course the existence of a war.

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Blanket Protest And Dirty Protest

Cieran Nugent was one of the first convicted members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (pIRA) to arrive in the H-Blocks. From September 1976 onwards he refused to wear prison clothes and wrapped himself in blankets. This form of protest was followed and in 1978 300 prisoners lived on the blanket.

The government made no overtures to the prisoners at all and after having lived on the blanket for over a year the detainees intensified their protest in March 1978. They refused to wash themselves, smeared excrements on the walls of their cells and left food to rot on the floor. As weird as it might seem this dirty protest was inspired by the behaviour of the warders, who frequently kicked over the slop-bucket.
It's a a common fallacy that only the men in the H-Blocks protested for political status. In Her Majesty's Prison Armagh 30 Republican female inmates had joined in the dirty protest. In contrast with the men The Armagh Women were allowed to wear their own clothes, so instead of living on the blanket the women dressed themselves with berets, black skirts and other garments associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army (pIRA).
In the autumn of 1978 Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich, the Archbishop of Armagh and Roman Catholic Primate of All Ireland, visited the H-Blocks and Armagh Prison. The experienced clergyman was horrified by the inhumane conditions and stated One would hardly allow an animal to remain in such conditions let alone a human being. The nearest approach to it that I have seen was the spectacle of hundreds of homeless people living in sewer pipes in the slums of Calcutta..

The next year the United Kingdom witnessed a landslide in home policy. Chances to improve the situation in the Northern Irish jails had gone by the election of Margaret Iron Lady Thatcher as Prime Minister in May 1979.
The repeal of the Special Category Status was brought to the European Commission for Human Rights. Although the inflexible attitude of the government was criticised by the commission it ruled against the Special Category Status and deemed the living conditions self-inflicted. Probably a bit shocked by the ruling the government offered more civilian-like cloths to wear.

The ruling of the European Commission caused discord among the prisoners. Some took the commission's decision, and the appeal made by the Army Council of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, to heart and ended the dirty protest. The blanket protest however continued, because the new cloths were still considered prison uniforms. Other detainees proposed to aggravate the protests and the idea of a hunger strike was born.

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First Hunger Strike

The imprisoned commander of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (pIRA) Brendan Hughes announced a hunger strike of seven men until the following demands were granted:

• The right to wear their own clothes
• The right not to do prison work
• The right to free association
• The right to a weekly visit
• The right to educational and recreational pursuits
• The full restoration of remission lost through the protest

On 27 October 1980 Brendan Hughes and six other men, Tom McFeeley, Raymond McCartney, Leo Green, John Nixon, Tommy McKearney and Sean McKenna, refused food. In the course of December 23 other detainees joints in this protest, including three women detained in the Armagh Prison.

The hunger strike ended after 53 days on 18 December after Tomás Ó Fiaich, then Catholic Primate of Ireland, had interfered.
The reason why the hunger strike ended quite abruptly is veiled in mists. It is clear that the Catholic Primate of Ireland Tomás Ó Fiaich called on the protesters to end their strike, but there are also rumours of a document, now allegedly in the possession of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (pIRA), in which the government met many of their demands. Whether or not such a document exist, there were no changes in status nor living conditions of the prisoners.

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Second Hunger Strike

After the outmanoeuvred hunger strike the command of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (pIRA) in Her Majesty's Prison Maze was passed to Bobby Sands.
Bobby Sands was arrested on account of involvement in the bombing at Dunmurry and the gunfight which followed. The jury found however no evidence for this, and he got convicted for possession of a firearm and sentenced to 14 years in jail. He immediately joined the blanket protest when he arrived at Maze prison from the Crumlin Road Jail.

This time with the endorsement of the Army Council of the Provisional Irish Republican Army Bobby Sands started to plan a hunger strike which should be joined by a 10 prisoners, one each week. That way the authorities should have one death prisoner every week before the strike should stop on 3 October 1981. Bobby Sands took the lead when he refused food on 1 March 1981, exactly five years after the Special Category Status has been repealed.
During his imprisonment and hunger strike Bobby Sands continued writing using toilet paper. Besides his journal several poems, written under the name of his younger sister Marcella, were smuggled out of prison and published in Republican newspapers. His most famous poem is Back Home In Derry.

After the death of Frank Maguire, an independent Member of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, on 5 March Sinn Féin decided to put Bobby Sands forward as a candidate. The tension in Northern Ireland since the start of this hunger strike led to an increasing group of followers for this political movement. Only a few days prior to the elections a third candidate, Noel Maguire, withdrew his nomination. In fact the electorate had to choose between Bobby Sands and the Unionist Harry West. Nevertheless was Bobby Sands elected on 9 April as Member of Parliament with an overwhelming majority.
The election of Bobby Sands, a Member of Parliament on hunger strike, attracted media from all over the world and therewith attention for both the prisoners status issue and the Northern Ireland Conflict on the whole.

When a delegation of Teachta Dáil, Members of the Irish Parliament, after paying a visit to the Maze prison called for talks with Margaret Thatcher she refused with the words Crime is crime is crime, it is not political.
The attitude of the government remained obstructive when representatives of the European Commission for Human Rights wanted to visit Bobby Sands. The representatives had to conclude that the European Commission had no power to proceed with this case.

Despite the interference or words of concern by people with a high esteem, such as Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan, the President of the United States at that time, Bobby Sands died on starvation after a hunger strike of 66 days on 5 May 1981.
His funeral was attended by 75,000 to 100,000 people. The 600 hastily sent extra British troops had to manage the riots triggered by his death.

In the months that followed nine other young men died on starvation. It is notable that the number of songs referring to Bobby Sands and his martyr status, such as for example The People's Own M.P. and Bobby Sands MP, outshine the songs of the other nine men.

Bobby Sands Born: 9 March 1954 Started hunger strike: 1 March 1981 Died: 5 May 1981	Francis Hughes Born: 28 February 1956 Started hunger strike: 15 March 1981 Died: 12 May 1981
Raymond McCreesh Born: 25 February 1957 Started hunger strike: 22 March 1981 Died: 21 May 1981	Patsy O'Hara Born: 11 July 1957 Started hunger strike: 22 March 1981 Died: 21 May 1981
Joe McDonnell Born: 14 September 1951 Started hunger strike: 9 May 1981 Died: 8 July 1981	Martin Hurson Born: 13 September 1956 Started hunger strike: 29 May 1981 Died: 13 July 1981
Kevin Lynch Born: 25 May 1956 Started hunger strike: 23 May 1981 Died: 1 August 1981	Kieran Doherty Born: 16 October 1955 Started hunger strike: 22 May 1981 Died: 2 August 1981
Thomas McElwee Born: 30 November 1957 Started hunger strike: 8 June 1981 Died: 8 August 1981	Michael Mickey Devine Born: 26 May 1954 Started hunger strike: 22 June 1981 Died: 20 August 1981

At the end of August the family of Patrick McGeown, by then 44 days on hunger strike, agreed to medical intervention to save his life. Whether or not this option has been cooked up by the government, it appeared to be a way to work around the hunger strike. When it became clear that their families would ask medical intervention if necessary the six remaining prisoners ended their hunger strike on 3 October 1981.

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The Aftermath

Just like the executed leaders of the Easter Rising the ten starved hunger strikers has become martyrs. The two events and their impact are quite different though. Europe and the United States were involved in a horrifying war with Germany when the leaders of 1916 were executed, while in 1981 Northern Ireland was the centre of international media attention. We were about 15 years old in 1981 and we can still reminder the news footage.
Britain was forced by the international community to act.

After the end of the hunger strike the prisoners started again with the blanket protest, which was postponed during the hunger strike. On 6 October 1981 the government agreed to most of their demands and by the end of October most prisoners had stopped their protest.
In the beginning of November Garret FitzGerald, the Taoiseach, the Irish Prime Minister, and Margaret Thatcher agreed on the establishment of a forum for both governments, the Anglo-Irish Inter-Governmental Council.

On Ireland, both in the Republic as in the Six Counties, the support for Sinn Féin and the branches of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) increased tremendously. On 25 October 1981 the connection between politics, embodied by Sinn Féin, and paramilitary organisations was consolidated by Danny Morrison at the Ard Fheis, annual conference of Sinn Féin: Who here really believes we can win the war through the ballot box? But will anyone here object if, with a ballot paper in one hand and the ArmaLite in the other, we take power in Ireland?.

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	Last modified: 19-02-2007. Copyright by Vincent J. Peters.
	Content: ireland - irish - eire - history - northern ireland - northern ireland conflict - the troubles - kieran nugent - brendan hughes - bobby sands