A Letter from Ireland
a Chara,
This week marked the anniversary of the death of Bobby Sands on a hunger strike in Long Kesh Prison in 1981. Forty-four years later, his sacrifice continues to inspire. To mark the anniversary, the people of Twinbook unveiled a statue in his honor.
Bobby had moved to the estate in 1972 after his parents were intimidated out of a religiously mixed estate in North Belfast by unionist paramilitaries. Twinbrook was a sink estate built on the outskirts of West Belfast. At the time, the local unionist-controlled council refused to service the estate, there were no amenities, little by way of public transport, and unemployment was widespread.
He was 18 years old when they were forced to move and would subsequently join the Irish Republican Army. By the end of that year, he was arrested and imprisoned. As his conviction related to the conflict, he was granted political status. In gaol, he read widely and engaged in political education,
Released in April 1976, he returned to Twinbrook and threw himself into community organising, working with the local tenants association, securing public transport, and promoting Irish language classes and youth groups. He saw no difference between local campaigning and national liberation. He reorganised Sinn Féin in the area and continued as an active IRA volunteer.
By October 1976, he was back in gaol. This time, the British Government revoked political status and tried to present republican prisoners as criminals. Years of protests by the prisoners were met by brutality and an unbending British Government. Bobby Sands, then the Officer Commanding of the republican prisoners, volunteered to lead a hunger strike in the knowledge that he would likely die.
While on a hunger strike, he was elected as an MP, demonstrating the lie of Margaret Thatcher’s assertion that he and his fellow prisoners were criminals without popular support.
Throughout those brutal years of protest and starvation, he never gave way to bitterness. Famously saying that, “our revenge will be the laughter of our children.”
Bobby Sands died on May 5th, 1981, at the age of 27. He would be followed by nine other Hunger Strikers before it ended in October of that year.
The legacy of Bobby Sands is evident throughout Twinbrook. The estate and surrounding areas have developed with amenities and a thriving community. It is represented by Sinn Féin councillors, MLAs, and an MP. The party is the largest across Ireland, and the Good Friday Agreement secured a peaceful pathway to Irish Unity.
The sacrifice of the hunger strikers was immense. Their actions inspired thousands of others to act of resistance, becoming active in communities, driving change, and supporting Sinn Féin.
Bobby Sands wrote, “Everyone, Republican or otherwise, has their own particular part to play. No part is too great or too small, no one is too old or too young to do something.”
We have further to travel to achieve a new and united Ireland. We face opposition from the British and Irish governments. But we all have a role to play, that is why the upcoming Irish Unity Commission hearings in Nashville, Cincinnati, and Chicago are so important. That is why you are so important.
Have a great weekend.
Ciarán
Ciarán Quinn is the Sinn Féin Representative to North America. Each week he writes a letter from Ireland with news and analysis. It is featured in the weekly Friends of Sinn Féin USA Newsletter. Be sure you are subscribed to stay up to date.
