Our 82-year-old mother Peggy was able to meet comrades of Patsy for the first time and to sit again with the families of the other hunger strikers. But the amazing thing about it was that party politics was left outside and we all became united again, albeit for those few hours.

For what? Five rights: not to have to wear prison uniform, not to do prison work, to have free association among themselves, to receive weekly parcels/ visits and unlimited letters and to have their remission returned. The prisoners carried a tremendous authority and symbolism for the Republican struggle, however, and their determination to fight could not be so easily sidelined. The Irish Republican Socialist Movement was also split over whether to prioritise mass political struggle or force of arms. The British government’s attitude would only harden after 1979, with the election of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government. She would refuse any concession of political status, insisting, “crime is crime is crime, it is not political”. Her government would go on to obstinately blame the IRA for the prisoners’ tragic deaths, while also labelling them all terrorists. Escalation We need to know about the big issues - the economy, health, the environment. I agree with unionists when they say about the potential to lose the National Health Service in a united Ireland. I'd love to see NHS being part of 32-county Ireland but we need to answer questions about funding beforehand."

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The youngest to die were Patsy O’Hara (Irish National Liberation Army, ‘INLA’) and Thomas McElwee (Provisional Irish Republican Army, ‘PIRA’), both at the age of 23. Like many others, they had joined the Republican cause so young because they saw no way out of the oppressive sectarian Six County state other than through struggle. The 67-year-old's 2005 book Blanketmen led to schism in the republican movement over its claim the IRA leadership overruled a deal to end the 1981 hunger strike that prisoners had agreed to because it was politically advantageous. Only a few years earlier, Republican prisoners Michael Gaughan (d.1974) and Frank Stagg (d.1976) had died in English jails while on hunger strike for political status and repatriation to Ireland – the former as a consequence of brutal attempts to force-feed him. It is a considerably dangerous form of protest, and having Volunteers slowly die in prison after years of fighting had the potential to depress the movement rather than inspire it. Stakeknife's Dirty War: The Inside Story of Scappaticci, the IRA's Nutting Squad and the British Spooks Who Ran the War. Merrion Press. The right of free association with other prisoners, and to organise educational and recreational pursuits;

Much of the Irish left found it difficult to connect with the anger surrounding the hunger strikes. They tended to view support for the hunger strike as support for the PIRA and reactionary sectarian violence, and rejected the idea that the movement could have broad working-class support beyond Northern Catholics. O’Rawe’s account of the organisation of the hunger strikes displays an unsurprising disconnect between the Army Council on the outside and the inmate leaders. Blanketman" redirects here. For the homeless man known as "Blanketman" or "Blanket man", see Ben Hana.Blanketmen is a brave book written by a man who is passionate not just about his “ten dead comrades, who gave their lives for the Republic” but one who cherishes republicanism.

A FORMER IRA prisoner who has agreed to be part of the SDLP's New Ireland Commission has said the party's historical opposition to violence has been vindicated by the north's continued place in the United Kingdom. The atmosphere was electric on the night, I’m getting comments from everyone saying how much they enjoyed it. There were people who hadn’t seen each other in 30 years, everyone was hugging each other, it was just amazing. When I was first approached and heard the names of those involved, it was like woah, this is something very different that I haven’t seen before," he told The Irish News.. After the death of a second hunger striker, Francis Hughes, on 12 May, a crowd of 8,000 people stormed and burned the British Embassy in Dublin. Two hunger strikers were elected to the Dáil Éireann in June, causing a hung parliament. The relationship between the British and Southern Irish Governments reportedly deteriorated to new lows as Thatcher refused to relent. Many of the leaders of Sinn Féin and the PIRA had drawn the conclusion that the tactics of armed struggle had failed. Instead of encouraging a political reassessment within Republicanism and a return to the revolutionary socialist ideas of James Connolly, these leaders attempted to nudge the movement towards electoralism.The Official IRA line is that Gerry Adams and his colleagues had been awaiting a second, better, but undelivered, offer from the ‘Mountain Climber’. In relation to linking up with a party that was historically critical of the IRA, Mr O'Rawe said he believed the "SDLP were right and demonstrably so". Communication was difficult; additionally vehement disagreements and strict enforcement of “need to know” contributed to the chaos. The ten hunger strikers got their medals presented first. Nine families were there, Bobby Sands’ family asked Colm Scullion to accept the medal for Bobby and he will pass it on as Colm had shared a cell with Bobby.