#OTD in 1981 – Francis Hughes, Irish political prisoner, dies on hunger strike in Long Kesh Prison.

12/05/2021.Reading time 2 minutes.

Fuair siad bás ar son Saoirse na hÉireann! The death of Francis Hughes at the age of 25 after a 59 day hunger strike in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh. Hughes was such an effective guerrilla fighter that British authorities at one stage named him as the most wanted man in the north of Ireland. […]

#OTD in 1981 – Joe McDonnell begins his hunger strike at the H Blocks in Long Kesh prison.

08/05/2021.Reading time 2 minutes.

Fuair siad bás ar son Saoirse na hÉireann. McDonnell was born on Slate Street in the Falls Road of west Belfast on 14 Sept 1951, and was the fifth of 10 children and went to a nearby Roman Catholic school. McDonnell was arrested in Operation Demetrius and interned on the prison ship HMS Maidstone. He […]

#OTD in 1981 – Bobby Sands dies at Long Kesh prison on the 66th day of his hunger strike.

05/05/2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

Fuair siad bás ar son Saoirse na hÉireann. Bobby Sands dies in prison following a 66 day hunger strike. Sands would be the first of ten men to die in an effort to gain political status in a very public battle with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In the House of Commons Thatcher commented on […]

#OTD in Irish History | 5 May:

05/05/2021.Reading time 15 minutes.

1586 – Death of Lord Deputy of Ireland, Henry Sidney. Sidney was brought up at court as the companion of Prince Edward, afterwards King Edward VI, and he continued to enjoy the favour of the Crown, serving under Mary I of England and then particularly throughout the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He was instrumental in […]

#OTD in 1981 – Bobby Sands was elected to Westminster in the Fermanagh/South Tyrone by-election, while on hunger strike in Long Kesh Prison, as MP for the constituency.

09/04/2021.Reading time 3 minutes.

Shortly after the beginning of the strike, Frank Maguire, the Independent Republican MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, died suddenly of a heart attack, precipitating the April 1981 by-election. The sudden vacancy in a seat with a nationalist majority of about five thousand was a valuable opportunity for Bobby Sands’ supporters to unite the nationalist […]

#OTD in 1879 – Birth of Irish patriot and Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney, in Co Cork.

28/03/2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

Terence Joseph MacSwiney was a playwright, author and politician. He was elected as Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920 after the murder of his friend Tomás Mac Curtain, the Lord Mayor of Cork on 20 March 1920. Like Tomás Mac Curtain, he had been a member of […]

#OTD in 1981 – Day 17 | Final Entry | Bobby Sands recorded his diary for the first seventeen days of his hunger strike in which he detailed his thoughts and feelings on the momentous task that lay ahead of him.

17/03/2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

Lá Pádraig inniú ‘s mar is gnách níor thárla aon rud suntasach, bhí mé ar aifreann agus mo chuid gruaige gearrtha agam níos gaire, agus é i bhfad níos fearr freisin. Sagart nach raibh ar mo aithne abhí ag rá ran aifreann. Bhí na giollaí ag tabhairt an bhia amach do chách abhí ag teacht […]

#OTD in 1981 – Francis Hughes began his hunger strike in Long Kesh prison, two weeks after Bobby Sands.

15/03/2021.Reading time less than 1 minute.

The second republican to join the H-Block hunger-strike for political status – a fortnight after Bobby Sands – was twenty-five-year-old Francis Hughes, from Bellaghy in South Derry.

#OTD in 1981 – Day 11 | Bobby Sands recorded his diary for the first seventeen days of his hunger strike in which he detailed his thoughts and feelings on the momentous task that lay ahead of him.

11/03/2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

I received a large amount of birthday cards today. Some from people I do not know. In particular a Mass bouquet with fifty Masses on it from Mrs Burns from Sevastopol Street. We all know of her, she never forgets us and we shan’t forget her, bless her dear heart. I also received a card […]

#OTD in 1981 – Day 10 | Bobby Sands recorded his diary for the first seventeen days of his hunger strike in which he detailed his thoughts and feelings on the momentous task that lay ahead of him.

10/03/2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

It has been a fairly normal day in my present circumstances. My weight is 59. 3 kgs. and I have no medical problems. I have seen some birthday greetings from relatives and friends in yesterday’s paper which I got today. Also I received a bag of toiletries today. There is no priest in tonight, but […]

Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland

Tag: Hunger Strike

#OTD in 1981 – Francis Hughes, Irish political prisoner, dies on hunger strike in Long Kesh Prison.

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#OTD in 1981 – Joe McDonnell begins his hunger strike at the H Blocks in Long Kesh prison.

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#OTD in 1981 – Bobby Sands dies at Long Kesh prison on the 66th day of his hunger strike.

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#OTD in Irish History | 5 May:

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#OTD in 1981 – Bobby Sands was elected to Westminster in the Fermanagh/South Tyrone by-election, while on hunger strike in Long Kesh Prison, as MP for the constituency.

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#OTD in 1879 – Birth of Irish patriot and Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney, in Co Cork.

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#OTD in 1981 – Day 17 | Final Entry | Bobby Sands recorded his diary for the first seventeen days of his hunger strike in which he detailed his thoughts and feelings on the momentous task that lay ahead of him.

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#OTD in 1981 – Francis Hughes began his hunger strike in Long Kesh prison, two weeks after Bobby Sands.

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#OTD in 1981 – Day 11 | Bobby Sands recorded his diary for the first seventeen days of his hunger strike in which he detailed his thoughts and feelings on the momentous task that lay ahead of him.

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#OTD in 1981 – Day 10 | Bobby Sands recorded his diary for the first seventeen days of his hunger strike in which he detailed his thoughts and feelings on the momentous task that lay ahead of him.

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