Patsy O'Hara (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: Peatsaí Ó hEadhra; 11 July 1957 – 21 May 1981) was an Irish republican

hunger striker A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

and member of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).

Biography

O'Hara was born in Bishop Street, Derry,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. He joined Na

Fianna Éireann Na Fianna Éireann (The Fianna of Ireland), known as the Fianna, is an Irish nationalist youth organisation founded by Constance Markievicz in 1909, with later help from Bulmer Hobson. Fianna members were involved in setting up the Irish Volun ...

in 1970, and in 1971, one of his brothers Sean was

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

Long Kesh Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

. In late 1971, at the age of 14, he was shot and wounded by a soldier while manning a barricade. Due to his injuries, he was unable to attend the civil rights march on

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...

but watched it go by him in the

Brandywell The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium ( ga, Tobar an Fhíoruisce ) is a municipal football stadium with an adjoining greyhound racing track in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of League of Ireland team Derry City F.C. and (temporari ...

, and the events of the day had a lasting effect on him. In October 1974, O'Hara was interned in

, and on his release in April 1975 he joined the

Irish Republican Socialist Party The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP ( ga, Páirtí Poblachtach Sóisialach na hÉireann) is a Marxist-Leninist and republican party in Ireland. It is often referred to as the "political wing" of the Irish National Liberation Army (I ...

(IRSP) and INLA. He was arrested in Derry in June 1975 and held on remand for six months. In September 1976, he was arrested again and once more held on remand for four months. On 10 May 1978, he was arrested on

O'Connell Street O'Connell Street () is a street in the centre of Dublin, Ireland, running north from the River Liffey. It connects the O'Connell Bridge to the south with Parnell Street to the north and is roughly split into two sections bisected by Henry S ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

under section 30 of the

Offences Against the State Act Offense or offence may refer to: Common meanings * Offense or crime, a violation of penal law * An insult, or negative feeling in response to a perceived insult * An attack, a proactive offensive engagement * Sin, an act that violates a known m ...

, and was released 18 hours later. He returned to Derry in January 1979 and was active in the INLA. On 14 May 1979, he was arrested and was convicted of possessing a hand grenade. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in January 1980. He became

Officer Commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, t ...

of the INLA prisoners at the beginning of the first hunger strike in 1980, and he joined the 1981 strike on 22 March. On Thursday, 21 May, at 11:29 pm, he died after 61 days on hunger strike, at the age of 23. In accordance with his wishes, his parents did not get him the medical intervention needed to save his life. His corpse was found to be mysteriously disfigured prior to its departure from prison and before the funeral, including signs of his face being beaten, a broken nose, and cigarette burns on his body.

Family

His mother Peggy O'Hara, was an independent candidate in the

2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election The 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Wednesday, 7 March 2007. It was the third election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two ...

in the Foyle constituency. She was not elected, but she was one of the more successful

dissident republican Dissident republicans, renegade republicans, anti-Agreement republicans or anti-ceasefire republicans ( ga, poblachtach easaontach) are Irish republicans who do not support the current peace agreements in Northern Ireland. The agreements follow ...

candidates opposed to the new policy of the

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

leadership of working with the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ') is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...

(PSNI), and won 1,789 votes. On the eve of the election, over 330 former republican prisoners wrote a letter to the ''

Derry Journal The ''Derry Journal'' is a newspaper based in Derry, Northern Ireland, serving Derry as well as County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. It is operated by a Johnston Press holding company entitled Derry Journal Newspapers. The paper is publis ...

'' endorsing her campaign.

References

External links

*
Biography from the Irish Republican Socialist Movement

Stailc 81 Hunger Strike Commemoration Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohara, Patsy 1957 births 1981 deaths Irish National Liberation Army members Irish people who died in prison custody People of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) from Derry (city) Irish republicans interned without trial Irish Republican Socialist Party politicians People who died on the 1981 Irish hunger strike