Irish hunger strike in 1981

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Belfast hunger strike mural

The 1981 Irish hunger strike marked the culmination of five years of protests by Republican prisoners during the Northern Ireland conflict . Ten members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) died in this hunger strike , including Bobby Sands , who was elected to the British House of Commons shortly before his death .

The 1981 hunger strike was preceded by the Blanket Protest since 1976 , which later became the Dirty Protest . When this was unsuccessful, there was a first hunger strike in 1980. It ended with success as protesters received assurances that their five strike demands would be met. When it turned out that the central requirement, the wearing of civilian clothes, had not been fulfilled, and that their special status - the so-called Special Category Status - was not recognized as political prisoners, Republican prisoners went on hunger strike again in March 1981.

The hunger strike changed the political landscape in Northern Ireland : after 1981, the IRA-affiliated Sinn Féin party achieved considerable electoral successes. Internationally, the British government's unyielding stance met with criticism.

prehistory

background

Hunger strikes by captured Republicans in Ireland had been going on since 1917. By the first hunger strike in 1980, twelve prisoners had died, including Thomas Ashe (1885–1917), Terence MacSwiney (1879–1920), Seán McCaughey (1915–1946), Michael Gaughan (1949) –1974) and Frank Stagg (1942–1976).

In August 1971, no trial internment was introduced in Northern Ireland . People suspected of being members or sympathizers of paramilitary organizations were detained in Long Kesh Prison (later renamed HM Prison Maze ). There the internees lived like prisoners of war under their own military command structure; the prisoners paraded with counterfeit rifles and heard lectures on guerrilla tactics . In July 1972, 40 IRA internees, including Billy McKee , went on hunger strike and gained special category status . This special status meant that prisoners did not have to wear prison uniforms, did not have to do prison work, and had other privileges. This status can be compared to that of prisoners of war. In 1976 the British government lifted this special status and wanted to treat paramilitary prisoners like criminals. The denial of special status concerned prisoners convicted of crimes committed after March 1, 1976. The abolition of the special status is seen in part as part of a “criminalization policy” by the UK government to convey to the public that the Northern Ireland conflict is not a war but a law and order issue.

Blanket and dirty protest

In response to the change in status, the Blanket Protest began on September 14, 1976 when the newly imprisoned 19-year-old Kieran Nugent refused to wear a prison uniform. Other prisoners from the IRA and INLA joined the blanket protest . They lay down on the cell floor either naked or wrapped in blankets. After they were transferred to cells with no washing facilities or toilets, they were mistreated when they left the cells. As a result, the prisoners no longer left their cells and did not empty their urine- filled vessels, which was known as slop out . When these vessels were also taken away from them, the conflict escalated into the Dirty Protest , in which they smeared their cell walls with their excrement . The aim of these protests was to restore the special status in accordance with the five demands made in January 1980, the so-called “Five Demands”:

  • the right not to wear prison uniforms,
  • the right to refuse prison labor,
  • the right to establish free contacts with other prisoners and to organize educational and recreational events,
  • the right to one visit, one letter and one package per week,
  • full remission of those involved in the strike.

Initially, this protest outside the prison received little attention, and even the IRA considered it irrelevant, considering its armed campaign to be more important. The strike first received public attention in August 1978 when Tomás Ó Fiaich , the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh , visited the prisoners and condemned the conditions under which they lived as intolerable.

In the European elections in 1979 , the former lower house deputy candidate Bernadette Devlin McAliskey with a program that supported the protesting prisoners. It won 5.9% of the vote in Northern Ireland, despite Sinn Féin calling for an election boycott. Shortly thereafter, the broad-based National H-Block / Armagh Committee was formed, which supported the prisoners' Five Demands and which McAliskey appointed as their spokesperson.

The clashes in the prison were accompanied by attacks in which the IRA shot and killed 18 prison guards by January 1980. Many of them had been described as particularly brutal by the prisoners. Loyalist paramilitaries shot dead a number of National H-Block / Armagh Committee activists . In January 1981, Bernadette McAliskey and her husband were seriously injured in an attack blamed on the Ulster Defense Association .

Hunger strikes

First hunger strike in 1980

On October 27, 1980, Republican prisoners at HM Prison Maze began a hunger strike. Numerous prisoners took part in this strike for a short time and seven swore to hold out the strike on the constitution of Ireland proclaimed in the Easter Rising of 1916. This group consisted of IRA members Brendan Hughes , Tommy McKearney , Raymond McCartney , Tom McFeeley, Sean McKenna, Leo Green and INLA member John Nixon. On December 1, three prisoners from the women's prison and a few dozen prisoners from HM Prison Maze went on a brief hunger strike. During the war of nerves between the IRA leadership and the British government, McKenna was the first to fall into a coma as a result of his hunger strike .

The seven prisoners ended their strike on December 18, 1980 after 53 days, when it could be resolved through negotiation. The British government accepted the Five Demands in a 30-page document negotiated by negotiator Hughes and delivered in Belfast . Through this agreement the strike ended and McKenna's life was saved. However, not all demands were met by the British government; this led to a second hunger strike in 1981.

Second hunger strike in 1981

A flag to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the hunger strike
The Hunger Strike Memorial in Milltown Cemetery in Belfast

In January 1981, the prisoners realized their demands were not being fully accepted when the prison guards distributed clothing. The prisoners demanded the right to wear their own clothing and issued a statement on February 4, 1981, accusing the British government of continuing the conflict. They announced that they would start a hunger strike again. Unlike the first hunger strike, the prisoners did not start it at a fixed point in time, but staggered it in order to achieve the greatest possible public impact. They also wanted to achieve maximum political pressure on the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher . The second hunger strike turned into a test of strength between the prisoners and Thatcher.

Course of the strike

The day before Bobby Sands began his hunger strike, 3,500 protestors of the Republican movement marched through west Belfast, significantly fewer than when the first hunger strike started four months earlier, when the number was around 10,000.

On March 5, Frank Maguire , who was an Independent Republican MP for the constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the British House of Commons, died. Austin Currie from the Social Democratic and Labor Party , Bernadette McAliskey and the deceased's brother, Noel Maguire , expressed interest in running for the necessary by-election . McAliskey announced that he would withdraw her candidacy in favor of a candidate chosen by the prisoners. The Sinn Fein leadership nominated Bobby Sands on March 26; all other nationalist applicants withdrew their candidacy. In the by-election on April 9, Sands prevailed with 30,492 to 29,046 votes against Harry West ( Ulster Unionist Party ).

After Sands' election victory, hopes of a negotiated solution arose, but Margaret Thatcher was not prepared to give a concession to the hunger strikers and reiterated this: “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. " ("We are not ready to give special status to certain groups of people who are serving sentences for criminal acts. Crime is crime and remains crime, and that is not a political issue.") The world press came to Belfast and several intermediaries sought out Sands find a negotiated solution to end the hunger strike; these included Síle de Valera (granddaughter of Éamon de Valera ), Bishop John Magee commissioned by Pope John Paul II and officials of the European Court of Human Rights . Sands was determined to starve to death, and the attitude of the British government remained unchanged. Humphrey Atkins , then Northern Ireland Minister, stated: “If Mr. Sands persisted in his wish to commit suicide, that was his choice. The Government would not force medical treatment upon him. " ("If Mr. Sands persists in his suicidal plan, that is his choice. The government will not force life support medical care on him.")

On May 5, Bobby Sands died in the prison hospital on the 66th day of his hunger strike. This was followed by riots in Northern Ireland. About 100,000 people attended his funeral in Milltown Cemetery , which took place in honor of the IRA.

Humphrey Atkins stated that Sands decided to commit suicide "under the instructions of those who felt it useful to their cause that he should die." ("Among the instructions of those who think it useful for him to die.") Margaret Thatcher, after announcing his death, expressed no regrets and said in the House of Commons: "Mr. Sands was a convicted criminal. He chose to take his own life. It was a choice that his organization did not allow to many of its victims. " ("Mr. Sands was a convicted criminal. He chose to take his life. It was a choice his organization did not allow many of its victims to do.")

After the death of Francis Hughes on May 12, unrest in the nationalist strongholds of Northern Ireland, particularly Belfast and Derry , increased. In Dublin, 2,000 demonstrators tried to storm the British embassy. More hunger strikers died in the two weeks after Sands died. After the deaths of the hunger strikers Raymond McCreesh and Patsy O'Hara on May 21, Archbishop Tomás Ó Fiaich criticized the British government's negotiating tactics on hunger strike because Margaret Thatcher had negated all proposed solutions.

In the choice of the Irish Parliament in June 1981 nine prisoners as candidates. Kieran Doherty and Paddy Agnew , who were not on hunger strike, were elected. Sinn Féin did not run in the local elections in Northern Ireland in May. A few small groups and independent candidates who supported the hunger strike won seats: the Irish Independence Party won 21 seats, while the Irish Republican Socialist Party , the INLA's political wing, and the People's Democracy , a Trotskyist group, won two seats each . Several independent politicians who supported the hunger strike also won seats. The British government accelerated the passage of a law in the House of Commons: the Representation of the People Act 1981 was intended to prevent another hunger striker from standing in the second by-election in Fermanagh and South Tyrone .

Memorial to the hunger striker Kieran Doherty .

Following the deaths of Joe McDonnell and Martin Hurson , families of the hunger strikers commissioned Catholic priest Denis Faul to intervene on July 28th. Lazy met with Gerry Adams on the same day . Faul put pressure on Adams to find a way to end the hunger strike. Adams assured him that he would consult the IRA leadership on their readiness to end the strike. The following day, Adams met with six men on hunger strike to explore an arrangement that would have been acceptable to both the British government and the strikers. The strikers rejected any agreement and said that they could not accept anything other than a full implementation of the “Five Demands”, because breaking it off would mean exposing the sacrifices made by Bobby Sands and the others who died on hunger strike.

Strikers

On July 31, the strike front began to crumble when Paddy Quinn's mother insisted on medical intervention to save his life. The following day, Kevin Lynch died on a hunger strike. He was followed by Kieran Doherty on August 2nd, Thomas McElwee on August 8th and Michael Devine on August 20th. On the day Devine died, Owen Carron , who had been campaign manager for Bobby Sands, won the by-election in Fermanagh and South Tyrone , adding to the Sands vote. On September 6, Laurence McKeown's family, the fourth family to seek medical attention for their family members , intervened . The Catholic Bishop Cahal Daly called on the prisoners to end the hunger strike.

A week later, James Prior succeeded Atkins Northern Ireland Minister. He met with prisoners to negotiate the terms to end the hunger strike. Liam McCloskey ended his hunger strike on September 26 after his family announced that they would seek medical attention if his life was in danger. This made it clear that the families would intervene as soon as the lives of their loved ones were in danger. The strike was declared over on October 3rd at 3.15am.

On October 6, Northern Ireland Minister Prior announced several changes to the conditions of detention, including irrevocably allowing prisoners to wear their own clothing. The only one of the five demands that was not met was the right to refuse prison labor. This would be equivalent to the factual recognition of the prisoner-of-war status of the Republican prisoners. After numerous prisoners broke out of the Maze Prison in 1983 and an act of sabotage, the prison workshop was closed and the fifth requirement was met without this amounting to a formal recognition of this right by the government.

Strike participants who died

Ten prisoners died in the summer of 1981. Their names, organizational affiliations, dates of death and the length of time they participated in the strike are listed below:

Surname organization Start of strike Date of death Strike length Reason for arrest
Bobby Sands IRA 1st March 5th of May 66 days Possession of small arms
Francis Hughes IRA March, 15 12th of May 59 days Various violations, including the murder of a soldier
Raymond McCreesh IRA March 22 May 21 61 days Attempted murder, possession of a gun, IRA membership
Patsy O'Hara INLA March 22 May 21 61 days Possession of a hand grenade
Joe McDonnell IRA 8th of May 8th of July 61 days Possession of small arms
Martin Hurson IRA 28th of May July 13th 46 days Attempted murder, involvement in bombing, IRA membership
Kevin Lynch INLA 23. May August 1st 71 days Theft of a shotgun, participation in a penalty shootout
Kieran Doherty IRA May 22 August 2nd 73 days Possession of small arms and explosives, kidnapping
Thomas McElwee IRA 8th June 8th August 62 days homicide
Michael Devine INLA June 22 20th of August 60 days Theft and possession of small arms

Official pathological reports stated that the cause of death was that it was caused by self-imposed starvation. This was later changed to “starvation” following objection from bereaved families. The coroner reported that judgments were also based on “starvation, self-imposed”.

Strike participants who survived

While ten men died on the hunger strike, another 13 refused to eat food on the strike and abandoned it for medical reasons after their families intervened. Many of them are still suffering from the effects of the hunger strike, such as impairment of their taste, visual, physical and neurological perception.

Surname organization Start of strike Strikers Strike length Reason for the end of the strike
Brendan McLaughlin IRA May 14th May 26 13 days Perforation of an ulcer with internal bleeding
Paddy Quinn IRA 15th June July 31 47 days Termination through family intervention
Laurence McKeown IRA June 29th September 6th 70 days Termination through family intervention
Pat McGeown IRA July 9 20th of August 42 days Termination through family intervention
Matt Devlin IRA July 14th September 4th 52 days Termination through family intervention
Liam McCloskey INLA 3rd August September 26th 55 days His family announced that he would intervene when he became unconscious.
Pat Sheehan IRA August 10 October 3 55 days End of the hunger strike
Jackie McMullan IRA 17th August October 3 48 days End of the hunger strike
Bernard Fox IRA August 24th September 24th 32 days Suffered kidney failure
Hugh Carville IRA August 31 October 3 34 days End of the hunger strike
John Pickering IRA 7th of September October 3 27 days End of the hunger strike
Gerard Hodgkins IRA September 14th October 3 20 days End of the hunger strike
James Devine IRA 21st September October 3 13 days End of the hunger strike

consequences

Immediately after the end of the hunger strike, the British press judged the outcome as a triumph for Thatcher: The Guardian conceded: "The Government had overcome the hunger strikes by a show of resolute determination not to be bullied." ("The government defeated the hunger strike by showing resolute determination not to be bullied.") However, it was a Pyrrhic victory for Thatcher and her British government. Thatcher became a Republican hatred figure the size and importance of Oliver Cromwell . Danny Morrison described her as "the biggest bastard we have ever known". Internationally, the attitude of the British government met with protests: Anglo-Irish relations were, similar to the internment policy in 1971 and after the Bloody Sunday of 1972, considerably strained. French Foreign Minister Claude Cheysson said the hunger strikers' courage deserved respect and described their deaths as "the greatest sacrifice". In addition, France offered the Irish government to boycott the royal wedding of Diana Spencer and Prince Charles , which Ireland refused. Fidel Castro compared the treatment of hunger strikers to the Spanish Inquisition .

The IRA gained more and more new members and was able to increase the number of its attacks. There was a wave of violence after it had been relatively quiet since the late 1970s. There was widespread unrest in Northern Ireland. The security forces fired 29,695 rubber bullets in 1981, causing seven deaths. In the eight years after the hunger strike ended, around 16,000 rubber bullets were fired, resulting in four deaths. The IRA continued its armed campaign: during the seven-month strike it shot and killed 13 police officers, eight soldiers, five members of the Ulster Defense Regiment and five civilians. The seven months marked the climax of the Northern Ireland conflict; in which a total of 61 people were killed, including 34 civilians. Three years later, the IRA wanted revenge on Prime Minister Thatcher by bombing the Brighton Hotel when a Conservative Party conference was being held there. Five people were killed; Thatcher narrowly escaped the attack.

The election successes during the hunger strike encouraged Sinn Féin to take part in elections and were the hour of birth of the armalite and ballot box strategy (strategy with rifle and ballot paper). Gerry Adams stated: "His [Sands] victory exposed the lie that the hunger strikers - and by extension the IRA and the whole republican movement - had no popular support." ("His [Sands] victory refuted the lie that the hunger strikers - and thus the IRA and the entire Republican movement - did not find public support.") The electoral successes in the Republic of Ireland contributed to the defeat of the Fianna Fáil government under Charles Haughey at. In 1982, Sinn Féin won five seats in the Northern Irish House of Representatives election; in the British general election in 1983 , Gerry Adams was a Sinn Féin MP for West Belfast . After the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, Sinn Féin became the strongest nationalist party in Northern Ireland in 2001.

In 2005, Gerry Adams ' role was questioned by ex-prisoner Richard O'Rawe, who was in charge of public relations during the strike. According to O'Rawes book Blanketmen Adams had extended hunger strike to use it for Sinn Fein. That's why Owen Carron managed to win the seat of parliament from Bobby Sands. This claim has been denied by several hunger strikers and Brendan McFarlane . McFarlane stated that O'Rawe's version was confused and fragmentary and said, “We were desperate for a solution. Any deal that went some way to meet 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. ” ("We were desperately looking for a solution. Any offer that would have done something to fulfill the 'Five Demands' would have been accepted. If it had been assured in writing, we would have taken it [...] There was never an offer, it there was no option 'take it or leave it' ")

Memorials

Mural of the hunger strike: Remember the hunger strike

There are numerous memorials and murals in memory of the hunger strikers in Ireland and Northern Ireland, including Belfast , Dublin , Derry , Crossmaglen and Camlough . Annual memorial services for the deceased are held across Ireland; a memorial march is held every year in Belfast with a final tribute to Bobby Sands. Some towns and cities in France named streets after Bobby Sands, including Saint-Denis and Le Mans . The government of Iran named the road after Bobby Sands, which passes the British Embassy in Tehran ; it was previously named after Winston Churchill .

A memorial to men who died during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 , Easter Rising, and hunger strike is located in Waverley Cemetery in Sydney , Australia , which is also the burial place of Michael Dwyer of the Society of United Irishmen . In 1997, the people of Hartford , Connecticut , USA decided to erect a monument to Bobby Sands and the other dead hunger strikers. The monument is on Bobby Sands Circle , at the beginning of Maple Avenue by Goodwin Park . On March 20, 2001, the chairman of Sinn Féin , Mitchel McLaughlin , of the National Hunger Strike Commemoration Committee, opened an exhibition at the Europa Hotel in Belfast showing three works of art related to the hunger strike by Belfast artists. The exhibition also took place in Derry the following month.

Several films were made based on the events of the hunger strike: Some Mother's Son with Helen Mirren , the film H3 , co-authored by former hunger striker Laurence McKeown, and Hunger by Steve McQueen .

Web links

Commons : Hunger Strike 1981  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

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  64. ^ Irish struggle long backed in Hartford . In: The Hartford Courant . August 5, 2005.
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  66. ↑ Hunger strike exhibition launched. (No longer available online.) To Phoblacht , April 19, 2001, archived from the original on October 23, 2007 ; Retrieved June 1, 2007 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / republican-news.org