Why did the blanket protest happen?
At the end of April 1978 a fight occurred between a prisoner and a prison officer in H-Block 6. This resulted in the blanket protest escalating into the dirty protest, as the prisoners were unable to “slop out” (i.e., empty their chamber pots) so resorted to smearing excrement on the walls of their cells.
What was Bobby’s protesting?
He was the leader of the 1981 hunger strike in which Irish republican prisoners protested against the removal of Special Category Status. During Sands’ strike, he was elected to the British Parliament as an Anti H-Block candidate.
How many hunger strikers died in Ireland?
Although ten men died during the course of the hunger strike, thirteen others began refusing food but were taken off hunger strike, either due to medical reasons or after intervention by their families.
When was Bobby Sands Funeral?
May 7, 1981
Bobby Sands/Date of burial
How did the dirty protest end?
Hunger strikes With the document in transit to Belfast, Hughes took the decision to save McKenna’s life and end the strike after 53 days on 18 December. In January 1981 it became clear that the prisoners’ demands had not been conceded.
Has anyone died from a hunger strike?
The strike, however, was called off before any more deaths occurred. Michael Gaughan died after being force-fed in Parkhurst Prison in 1974. Frank Stagg, an IRA member being held in Wakefield Prison, died in 1976 after a 62-day hunger strike which he began as a campaign to be repatriated to Ireland.
How do you do a hunger strike?
Force-feeding is done against someone’s will, usually by inserting a plastic tube through the hunger striker’s nose into the stomach. While the goal might be to keep the protester alive, force-feeding is considered to be cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment.
Who died first in the hunger strike?
During the protest, seven prisoners from the Provisional Irish Republican Army and three from the Irish National Liberation Army starved themselves to death in the hunger strike. The first to die, Bobby Sands, was elected as a Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom during his hunger strike.
Who was the 11th hunger striker?
Sinn Féin chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said his death was “a great loss to Sinn Féin and the republican struggle”. McGeown was buried in the Republican plot at Belfast’s Milltown Cemetery, and since his death is often referred to as the “11th hunger striker”.
Is some mother’s son a true story?
Some Mother’s Son is a 1996 film written and directed by Irish filmmaker Terry George, co-written by Jim Sheridan, and based on the true story of the 1981 hunger strike in the Maze Prison, in Northern Ireland. Helen Mirren and John Lynch had already acted together in the 1984 Troubles-related film Cal.
When did Armagh Gaol close?
1986
Armagh Gaol closed in 1986, at which point all remaining prisoners were transferred to Maghaberry Prison.
