Issue 165, Saoirse: Irish Freedom (January, 2001)

              mcneela gaughan/stagg commemoration sunday february 11,2001 2.30pm 3 a 1 s i leiguecemeterv ballina co mayo r strike years on republican calendar feilire poblachtach 2001 20th anniversary i 9s0s ihtmaer strikes the year 2001 marks the 20th anniversary of the greatest hunger strike in irish history lasting over seven months and claiming the lives of ten republican political prisoners it occurred during the for the republican course of the longest sustained and unbroken active struggle in 800 years of resistance to foreign occupation the five demands of the h-block hunger strikers added up to prisoner of war status in the just war for irish freedom bobby sands and his nine comrades made the supreme sacrifice after the slow agony of the hunger strike the inspiration to young people provided by the hunger strikers has been rightly compared to the easter rising of 1 9 1 6 in that they politicised and awakened an entire new generation the election of bobby sands in the fermanagh south tyrone by-election on april 9 1981 in particular secured worldwide publicity prisoners struggle in this commemorative year it must be stated that the republican prisoners struggle for treatment as prisoners of war was and is today part of the liberation struggle for irish national independence and an end to british rule it was not endured for equality of treatment under british rule as those who have abandoned republicanism and accepted the british presence would have us believe equally the british government's 1 975 decision to end the political status won by republicans in crumlin road jail in 1972 was an attempt to wreck the liberation struggle during the coming year the hunger strikers memory must not be dishonoured to prop up english rule in ireland which they died to overthrow the sacrifice of the two mayo hunger strikers who died in the 1970s in english jails must be honoured also michael gaughan of ballina in 1974 and proinsias stagg of hollymount in 1976 each irish county is therefore called on to hold fitting commemorations during the year to mark the anniversary and to make it clear to the irish people what the hunger strikers died for this year also marks the 200th anniversary of the british act of union which came into force on january 1 1801 in order to forever join ireland to britain in the so-called united kingdom it abolished the irish colonial parliament at college green and irish representatives were summoned to westminster continued resistance to the act of union wore the british down and on two 1 bobby sands occasions in 1921 and the 1980s irish people were in reach of freedom for all 32 counties only to be betrayed by counter revolution in 1922-23 and 1986 to date one of these counter revolutionaries the provisional gerry adams said recently in a media interview that an imperfect peace was better than war why then did republicans not accept the sunningdale agreement of 1974 which constituted less of a surrender than the stormont deal of 1998 the price for nationalists in 1974 did not include the surrender of articles 2 & 3 of the 1937 constitution the coming year will provide opportunities to intensify this debate as the stormont agreement continues in deep crisis on the issues of policing demilitarisation and the surrender destruction of arms 20th anniversary of 1981 h-block hunger strike 3 each 4 including p&p order now from 223 parnell street dublin 1 telephone 872 9747 e-mail saoirse@iol.ie