Francis Hughes
Template:Infobox 1981 Hungerstriker
Francis Hughes (Irish name: Proinsias Ó hÁodha; (28 February, 1956 – 12 May, 1981[1]) was an Irish republican and Official IRA (OIRA) member (or volunteer), who later became a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA), and who participated in a number of operations against British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary targets. He died during the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike in the Maze prison (Long Kesh).
Background
Hughes was born into a republican family, the youngest of four brothers in a family of ten siblings. He grew up in the strongly republican area of Bellaghy, in County Londonderry. His father had been a member of the "Old IRA", long removed from IRA activity, and dedicated to farming. At age 15 he witnessed his brother Oliver being beaten and taken away to an internment camp. Two years later, Hughes experienced similar treatment as he was severely beaten by the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) on his way home from a dance. Hughes joined an Independent Republican Unit before switching to the Provisional Irish Republican Army.[1]
Moneymore shootings
In 1977 he was involved in the killing of two Royal Ulster Constabulary officers near Moneymore, after his car was stopped. He and two other IRA men escaped across the fields. See: The Troubles in Moneymore.
Hughes organised a series of attacks before his capture and became a wanted man after his fingerprints were found on a device used to attack the home of a policeman in County Tyrone. Hughes was eventually captured on 17 March 1978 near Maghera in County Londonderry after a gun battle with the SAS.[2] A member of the SAS, L/CPL David Jones,[3] was killed in the gun battle, and another SAS member was seriously wounded. Hughes was wounded in the leg. He managed to crawl away but was pursued and surrendered to British troops.
Prison
In February 1980 following his capture, he was sentenced to a total of 83 years in prison. Hughes was tried for, and found guilty of, the murder of one British Army soldier (for which he received a life sentence) and wounding of another (for which he received 14 years) in the incident which led to his capture, as well as a a series of gun and bomb attacks over a six-year period. Security sources described him as "an absolute fanatic" and "a ruthless killer". Fellow republicans described him as "fearless and active". Following his death, it emerged in court during the extradition proceedings against Dominic McGlinchey that Hughes' fingerprints had been found on a car used during the killing of a 77 year old Protestant woman, Hester McMullan, in Toomebridge in 1977.[4]
1981 Hunger strike
Hughes was invloved in the mass hunger strike in 1980, and was the second prisoner to go on the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike in the H-Blocks at HM Prison Maze. His hunger strike started on 15 March 1981,[5] two weeks after Bobby Sands became the first hunger striker. He was the second striker to die, at 5:43pm BST on 12 May, after 59 days without food.[6] His death led to an upsurge in rioting in nationalist areas of Northern Ireland.
His cousin, Thomas McElwee, was the ninth hunger striker to die. One of his brothers, Oliver Hughes now sits on Magherafelt Council.
The American city of Boston renamed the street the British consulate is on to Francis Hughes Street.[7]
References
- ^ a b Tírghrá. National Commemoration Centre. 2002. pp. p. 233. ISBN 0-9542946-0-2.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ Chronology of the Conflict 1978 — The University of Ulster's CAIN Project
- ^ Palace Parracks Memorial Garden
- ^ D McKittrick, Lost Lives, Mainstream Publishing, 2004. ISBN 184018504X
- ^ Chronology of the Conflict 1981 — The University of Ulster's CAIN Project
- ^ Second IRA protester dies in jail — BBC News "On This Day" report
- ^ "Legendary Volunteer dies on Hunger Strike". An Phoblact. Provisional Sinn Féin. 2006-06-11. Retrieved 2006-08-08.
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External links
- Hunger strike poster of Francis Hughes
- Video from the funeral of Francis Hughes
- Irish Hungerstrike Memorial Site
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