why did bobby sands go on hunger strike

... and Bobby Sands, starved to death in Long Kesh in 1981. On May 5, 1981, having completed 65 days on hunger strike, republican prisoner Bobby Sands died in the H-Block prison hospital at Long Kesh. A hero among his fellow nationalists, Sands was elected as a Member of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone. Unlike the first strike, prisoners joined at staggered intervals hoping to gain more public attention and support. Sands was the most famous of the strikers before his death, the most articulate of them and the most vocal. Read more: Bernie Sanders wrote to Margaret Thatcher about the IRA hunger strikers. Outside the prison in a major publicity coup, Sands was nominated for Parliament and won the Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election. By the time the prison hunger strike ended on October 3, 1981, 10 young men had starved themselves to death. “Crime is crime is crime, it is not political.". He took only water and … The people not only opened the doors of their homes to lend us a hand but they opened their hearts to us. He pushed hard for prison reforms, confronting authorities, and for his outspoken ways he was frequently given solitary confinement sentences. More than 100,000 people attended Bobby Sands' funeral in Belfast. Until his 1965 assassination, he vigorously supported Black nationalism. https://www.biography.com/activist/bobby-sands. Bobby Sands was 27 years old when he lost his life on May 5, 1981, during a hunger strike, protesting the end to “political prisoner” status for IRA prisoners… Sands was born on March 9, 1954, in Rathcoole in North Belfast, a majority loyalist area. He joined the Republican Movement when he was 18 and was soon arrested and imprisoned for possessing a firearm. Sands was the oldest of four children born to John and Rosaleen Sands, and the couple's first son. Bobby Seale is an African American political activist and co-founder and national chairman of the Black Panther Party. He was elected Member of Parliament during the strike. At the age of 10, he was forced to move with his family out of their neighborhood due to repeated intimidation by loyalists. Their demands ranged from allowing prisoners to wear their own clothes to permitting visits and mail, all of which were central in improving the inmates' way of life. Over the next seven months, nine other IRA supporters died on a hunger strike. Sands' final days were depicted in the 2008 Steve McQueen film Hunger, with actor Michael Fassbender portraying Sands. Plan to hold 10,000 strong parade in honor of the 1981 Hunger Strikers seen as sick and insulting to some locals. (He had joined the National Union of Vehicle Builders just two years before.) After a short while, this gesture sparked an alarming amount of support from the Irish people. His sacrifice was to inspire a new generation of republicans and the whole world was to see how Britain behaved towards those who would not bow down to her will. Bobby Sands - The first of 10 republican prisoners to die in the Maze prison in Northern Ireland in 1981. The family of Patrick McGeown agreed to medically intervene to save his life after 42 days on hunger strike. But the British government was still resisting and on 5 May, after 66 days on hunger strike, Sands died. He was 27 years old and had refused to eat for 66 days. The long history of the Irish hunger strike New exhibition in Kilmainham Gaol tells the story from Thomas Ashe to Bobby Sands Thu, Sep 21, 2017, 01:00 Bobby Sands, who had served five years of a 14-year sentence for possessing a gun, began his hunger strike … When it became apparent that the British Government had no intention of upholding their commitment to meeting these demands, a second hunger protest began. Bobby Fischer was a record-setting chess master who became the youngest player to win the U.S. Thatcher still refused to negotiate. By this time, the “political prisoner” status of those charged with acts of terrorism had been removed, sparking five years of protest by convicted paramilitary prisoners. Bobby Sands, byname of Robert Gerard Sands, Irish Roibeard Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh, (born March 9, 1954, Rathcoole, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland—died May 5, 1981, HM Prison Maze, near Lisburn, Northern Ireland), officer of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who rose to international prominence in 1981 when he embarked on a fatal hunger strike while imprisoned for activities related to the IRA’s armed campaign … Although unable to prove Sands’ involvement in the bomb attack, he and the other three passengers in the car at the time of his arrest were each sentenced to 14 years in prison for the presence of a handgun involved in the gun-battle in the car. He'd become so fragile over his final weeks, he spent his final days on a water bed to protect his deteriorating and fragile body. Why Bobby Sands starved to death By Hazel Croft TWENTY YEARS ago, on 5 May 1981, Bobby Sands died after 66 days on hunger strike in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh prison in Northern Ireland. He led the strike. He was held on remand for 11 months. ... UK-EU trade talks to resume with one day to go… The withdrawal of “Special Category Status” meant that these prisoners were no longer treated similarly to prisoners of war – they now had to wear prison uniforms and carry out prison work. Sands, 27, has served four years of a 14-year sentence for possessing firearms. "We are not prepared to consider special category status for certain groups of people serving sentences for crime,” she said. On 1 March 1981, Bobby Sands began the first day of his hunger strike … By Danny Morrison. Christy Brown was a writer with cerebral palsy who penned the autobiography My Left Foot, which was adapted into a film starring Daniel Day-Lewis. The protest against the withdrawal of the “Special Category Status” began with a blanket protest in 1976 in which prisoners refused to wear prison uniforms. Bobby Sands was the first of 10 Northern Irish Republican hunger strikers who lost their lives in a bid … Unable to move authorities to give in to his requests, and unwilling himself to end his hunger strike, Sands's health began to deteriorate. Read the Introduction to ‘Hunger Strike’, a book of essays published by the Bobby Sands Trust on the 25th anniversary of the 1981 hunger strike. It is axiomatic that anyone lacking in knowledge of the times or the event would only remember Bobby Sands. Only when Bobby Sands was elected to a vacant parliamentary seat in Fermanagh and South Tyrone while on the 39th day of his hunger strike did the British press wake up. *Originally published in May 2017, updated in May 2020. They were seeking political prisoner status. Bernie Sanders wrote to Margaret Thatcher about the IRA hunger strikers. Despite the apparent initial failure of the hunger strike and the hunger strike's main figures, especially Sands, became heroes among the Republican movement and led to further support for Sinn Féin as a mainstream political party. He was the first of ten Republican hunger strikers the British government allowed to die. His family had succeeded in living reasonably peacefully in the area by keeping their own religion under wraps. Just five days after Sands began his strike the independent Republican MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Frank Maguire, died, which resulted in a by-election for the constituency. At time of his death, Sands was married to Geraldine Noade, with whom he had one son, Gerard. On the apparent concession of the British Government to their Five Demands, the hunger strike ended after 53 days on December 18, 1980. Bobby Riggs was an American tennis champion best known for facing women's star Billie Jean King in the 1973 'Battle of the Sexes.'. Prisoners refused to wash and covered the walls of their cells with excrement. In 1980, seven prisoners p… Seven men were selected to take part. Owen Carron, Bobby Sands campaign manager for the … Despite hopes of a compromise, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was unwilling to negotiate. In 1978, the dispute escalated into the dirty protest, where prisoners refused to leave their cells to wash and covered the walls of their cells with excrement. We strive for accuracy and fairness. He began his hunger strike 41 days ago to press the republican prisoners' claim to be treated as prisoners of war. Sands's contention was that he and others like him, who were serving prison sentences, were actually prisoners of war, not criminals as the British government insisted. © Copyright 2020 Irish Studio LLC All rights reserved. After weathering a brutal interrogation and then a court proceeding that offered up questionable evidence connecting Sands and three others to the attack, a judge sentenced Sands to 14 years in prison at Her Majesty's Prison's Maze, a facility used to house Republican prisoners from 1971 until 2000, located just outside of Belfast. Robert Gerard "Bobby" Sands was born in Belfast, Ireland on March 9, 1954. Upon his release, Sands immediately returned to the Republican Movement. He joined the Republican Movement when he was 18 and was … Sands, jailed for possessing a handgun, died in May 1981 after 66 days on hunger strike, the first of ten prisoners to die over the course of the following four months. The strike was planned to last for 66 days. After 66 days on hunger strike, Bobby Sands lost his life on May 5, 1981. He spent the next three years of his life in prison. The demands he sought were: To be exempt from wearing prison clothes. The withdrawal of this special status as part of a policy undertaken by the British government to criminalize such prisoners. This Irish hunger strike began with Bobby Sands, who had been the chief negotiator between the first hunger strikers and prison officials, being the first prisoner to refuse food. At the age of 18, he was forced out of his job as an apprentice car builder. "But it is repression that creates the revolutionary spirit of freedom.". Bobby Sands was an Irish nationalist who supported the IRA and was sent to prison, where he led a hunger strike. Within six months Sands had been arrested again. More deaths followed: Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty, Thomas McElwee, and Michael Devine. As more families announced their intent to allow medical intervention to save their sons, the strike was officially called off on October 3 but not before a total of ten hunger strikers lost their lives. Ten of those hunger strikers died -- one, Bobby Sands, was elected to Parliament on his deathbed -- while 13 others survived, including one man who fasted for 70 days. Chess Championship at 14, and the first American-born player to win the World Chess Championship. Bobby Sands dies • Demonstration in Paris on the day that Bobby Sands died. Not long after, he and his family had to move again, as a result of political trouble. Although Thatcher seemed to have defeated the strike, she became a figure of Republican hatred and IRA recruitment was boosted by the heroic nationalism of the strike’s martyrs. The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. Loyalist intimidation proved to be a theme in Sands' life. Malcolm X was an African American civil rights leader prominent in the Nation of Islam. The further deaths of Joe McDonnell and Martin Hurson caused concern amongst the hunger strikers' families and ratcheting up the pressure to find a way to end the strike. Intimidation followed Sands throughout his life and, at 18, he was forced out of his apprenticeship as a bus builder because of threats. At 18 years of age, Sands joined the Republican movement, writing, “My life now centered around sleepless nights and standbys dodging the Brits and calming nerves to go out on operations. A second arrest in 1976 led to a 14-year-sentence. While loyalists dismissed Sands's death, others were quick to recognize its significance. In October 1972 he was arrested for the first time for the possession of four handguns and spent the next three years in Long Kesh prison where he was regarded as a political prisoner. And 20 days later a second person would go on. Sands grows up in Belfast under the cloud of nationalist … During the first 17 days of the strike alone, he lost 16 pounds. Sands’ election, in particular, was seen as a massive propaganda victory for the movement. By day 15 of his own hunger strike Sands was meditating on what he was doing: while he wanted to eat, he did not want the British Government to rob those resisting them of … In late 1976, authorities arrested Sands again, this time in connection with a bombing that had taken place at a large furniture company and an ensuing gun battle. Get an answer for 'Why did political nationalists in Ireland go on a hunger strike in 1981?' Three other republican prisoners at the Maze prison remain on hunger strike. © Copyright 2020 Irish Studio LLC All rights reserved. Three further strikers were to die in the next two weeks: Francis Hughes, Raymond McCreesh and Patsy O’Hara. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! you will never be forgotten Tiocfaidh ar la To … Beginning on March 1, 1981, Sands led nine other Republican prisoners into the H Block section of the Maze prison, on a hunger strike that would last until death. Once again, the family was threatened out of their home in 1972 and after 18 months of pressure, they relocated to the newly built Twinbrook estate on the fringe of nationalist West Belfast. INTRODUCTION. Irish republican Bobby Sands leads the inmates of a Northern Irish prison in a hunger strike. Determined not to be double-crossed again, the new Officer Commanding (OC) of the republican prisoners, 27-year-old Bobby Sands, launched a second hunger strike with a crucial difference … His funeral was attended by 100,000 people. 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The steady number of conflicts pushed Sands to join the Republican Movement in 1972. As a prisoner, Sands's stature only grew. • 1980 hunger strike march, Belfast • 1980 hunger strike march, Dublin. There is grave concern for 25-year-old convicted murderer Francis Hughes, who began his strike 15 days after Sands. Sands decided that other prisoners should join the strike at staggered intervals to maximise publicity, with prisoners steadily deteriorating successively over several months. HIS death in 1981 after 66 days on a prison hunger strike made headlines around the world. Directed by Steve McQueen. Eventually, the British government gave proper political recognition to the prisoners, many of them earning their release under the 1998 Good Friday agreement. Only days after slipping into a coma, on the morning of May 5, 1981, Sands died from malnutrition due to starvation. Robert Gerard Sands, commonly known as Bobby Sands, Irish nationalist and member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, dies on hunger strike while imprisoned at Long Kesh Prison on May 5, 1981.. Born in Belfast on March 9, 1954, Sands is the oldest of four children born to John and Rosaleen Sands, and the couple’s first son. The number seven was chosen as it matched the number of signatories on the 1916 Irish Proclamation of Independence. Bobby Sands was to last 66 days on hunger strike. The government must now decide how to respond to Bobby Sands' victory. Captured by the RUC following a bomb attack and a gun-battle, Sands and six others were taken to Castlereagh Detention Centre and brutally interrogated, but Sands refused to give any information other than his name and address. His strike sparked international scrutiny in how the British Government treated prisoners in Northern Ireland: at the time, Mayor of Vermont, Bernie Sanders, even wrote a letter to Margaret Thatcher urging her to "stop the abuse, humiliation and degrading treatment of the Irish prisoners now on hunger strikes in Northern Ireland". Bobby Sands grew up in Belfast under the cloud of nationalist and loyalist divisions. During this time, Sands used his imprisonment to learn Irish and read widely. He signed on as a community activist in Belfast's rough Twinbrook area, quickly becoming a popular go-to person for a range of issues affecting the neighborhood. The 1981 Hunger Strike. King Edward VII took over the British throne after the death of Queen Victoria. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status (prisoner of war rather than criminal status) for convicted paramilitary prisoners. 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