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05/05/2006
Events mark 25th anniversary of Sands' death
Events held across Northern Ireland today will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the death of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands.
The 27-year-old lost his life after embarking on 66 days of the hunger strike at the Maze prison in 1981.
Around 100,000 people attended the funeral of the first of 10 republican prisoners to die as part of the campaign to gain political status in the jail.
On his death, thousands of people took to the streets of Northern Ireland to protest and to offer support to the remaining nine hunger strikers.
Before his death, Bobby Sands was elected MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone while on hunger strike.
Sinn Féin leaders and former cell mates will hold a memorial service at the site of the former Maze prison, where he died 25-years-ago.
Speaking at a memorial service held in Hackballscross, County Louth, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said that the determination of the men in the H Blocks and the women prisoners in Armagh ultimately defeated the British government's criminalisation strategy.
He said: "The enduring legacy of the hunger strikers is to be found all around us. Like the Easter Rising 65 years earlier it is a watershed in modern Irish history.
"The political growth of Sinn Féin and of Irish republicanism is in no small measure a result of their courage."
Mr Adams also stated that the peace process and changes in Irish society were a legacy of the 1981 hunger strikes.
"For many, the 25th anniversary of the deaths of the H Block hunger strikers will be a personal as well as a political time of remembrance. But for everyone interested in freedom and justice and peace in Ireland it is a time to reflect on the lessons of the past and to commit to continuing the struggle to achieve a free, democratic and united Ireland.
"And I believe that we will succeed in doing that - not least because of the example set by Bobby Sands and his comrades," he said.
The hunger strike ended in October 1981 after the death of ten men: Bobby Sands, Francis Hughes, Patsy O'Hara, Raymond McCreesh, Joe McDonnell, Martin Hurson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty, Tom McElwee and Michael Devine.
Throughout today, a number of memorial events will take place. In Belfast a group of Bobby Sands' former prison comrades along with members of the Relatives Action Committees and Sinn Féin members will visit the Maze prison hospital for a short memorial.
A Black Flag vigil will be held on the Falls, Andersonstown, and Stewartstown Roads and candlelit vigils will take place in Nationalist areas. In Kilcoo, South Down this evening, a monument will be unveiled by former Hunger Striker Leo Green.
In Derry City a parade led by former prisoners will commence in the Creegan this evening and make its way to the home of former hunger striker Mickey Devine.
The Sands family are expected to hold their own private memorial.
(EF/SP)
The 27-year-old lost his life after embarking on 66 days of the hunger strike at the Maze prison in 1981.
Around 100,000 people attended the funeral of the first of 10 republican prisoners to die as part of the campaign to gain political status in the jail.
On his death, thousands of people took to the streets of Northern Ireland to protest and to offer support to the remaining nine hunger strikers.
Before his death, Bobby Sands was elected MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone while on hunger strike.
Sinn Féin leaders and former cell mates will hold a memorial service at the site of the former Maze prison, where he died 25-years-ago.
Speaking at a memorial service held in Hackballscross, County Louth, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said that the determination of the men in the H Blocks and the women prisoners in Armagh ultimately defeated the British government's criminalisation strategy.
He said: "The enduring legacy of the hunger strikers is to be found all around us. Like the Easter Rising 65 years earlier it is a watershed in modern Irish history.
"The political growth of Sinn Féin and of Irish republicanism is in no small measure a result of their courage."
Mr Adams also stated that the peace process and changes in Irish society were a legacy of the 1981 hunger strikes.
"For many, the 25th anniversary of the deaths of the H Block hunger strikers will be a personal as well as a political time of remembrance. But for everyone interested in freedom and justice and peace in Ireland it is a time to reflect on the lessons of the past and to commit to continuing the struggle to achieve a free, democratic and united Ireland.
"And I believe that we will succeed in doing that - not least because of the example set by Bobby Sands and his comrades," he said.
The hunger strike ended in October 1981 after the death of ten men: Bobby Sands, Francis Hughes, Patsy O'Hara, Raymond McCreesh, Joe McDonnell, Martin Hurson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty, Tom McElwee and Michael Devine.
Throughout today, a number of memorial events will take place. In Belfast a group of Bobby Sands' former prison comrades along with members of the Relatives Action Committees and Sinn Féin members will visit the Maze prison hospital for a short memorial.
A Black Flag vigil will be held on the Falls, Andersonstown, and Stewartstown Roads and candlelit vigils will take place in Nationalist areas. In Kilcoo, South Down this evening, a monument will be unveiled by former Hunger Striker Leo Green.
In Derry City a parade led by former prisoners will commence in the Creegan this evening and make its way to the home of former hunger striker Mickey Devine.
The Sands family are expected to hold their own private memorial.
(EF/SP)
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