Robert Gerard Sands
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Robert Gerard Sands ( ga, Roibeárd Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh; 9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) was a member (and leader in the Maze prison) of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison Maze in Northern Ireland. Sands helped to plan the 1976 bombing of the Balmoral Furniture Company in
Dunmurry Dunmurry (; ) is an urban townland in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dunmurry is in the Collin electoral ward for the local government district of Belfast City Council. History Until the end of the 18th century, Dunmurry was largely an agricultura ...
, which was followed by a gun battle with the
Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...
. Sands was arrested while trying to escape and sentenced to 14 years for firearms possession. He was the leader of the
1981 hunger strike The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Cat ...
in which
Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...
prisoners protested against the removal of Special Category Status. During Sands's strike, he was elected to the British Parliament as an
Anti H-Block Anti H-Block was the political label used in 1981 by supporters of the Irish republican hunger strike who were standing for election in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. "H-Block" was a metonym for the Maze Prison, within whos ...
candidate. His death and those of nine other hunger strikers was followed by a new surge of IRA recruitment and activity. International media coverage brought attention to the hunger strikers, and the republican movement in general, attracting both praise and criticism.


Early life

Sands was born in
Dunmurry Dunmurry (; ) is an urban townland in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dunmurry is in the Collin electoral ward for the local government district of Belfast City Council. History Until the end of the 18th century, Dunmurry was largely an agricultura ...
in 1954 to John and Rosaleen Sands. After marrying, they relocated to the new development of Abbots Cross, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, outside North Belfast. Sands was the eldest of four children. His younger sisters, Marcella and Bernadette, were born in 1955 and 1958, respectively. He also had a younger brother, John, born in 1962. In 1961, after experiencing harassment and intimidation from their neighbours, the family abandoned the development and moved in with friends for six months before being granted housing in the nearby
Rathcoole Rathcoole may refer to: * Rathcoole, County Dublin, a village in County Dublin, Ireland * Rathcoole (Newtownabbey), a large housing estate in Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland * Rathcoole, County Cork, a village in north west Cork * Rat ...
development. Rathcoole was 30% Catholic and featured Catholic schools as well as a nominally Catholic, but religiously mixed, youth
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club, an unusual circumstance in Northern Ireland, known as Stella Maris, the same as the school Sands attended and where the training was held. Sands was a member of this club and played left-back. There was another youth club in nearby Greencastle called Star of the Sea and many boys went there when the Stella Maris club closed. By 1966,
sectarian Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups which are often related to the form of government which they live under. Prejudice, discrimination, or hatred can arise in these conflicts, depending on the political status quo ...
violence in Rathcoole, along with the rest of the Belfast metropolitan area, had considerably worsened, and the minority Catholic population there found itself under siege. Despite always having had Protestant friends, Sands suddenly found that none of them would even speak to him, and he quickly learned to associate only with Catholics. He left school in 1969 at age 15, and enrolled in Newtownabbey Technical College, beginning an apprenticeship as a
coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...
builder at Alexander's Coach Works in 1970. He worked there for less than a year, enduring constant harassment from his Protestant co-workers, which according to several co-workers he ignored completely, as he wished to learn a meaningful trade. He was eventually confronted after leaving his shift in January 1971 by a number of his coworkers wearing the armbands of the local Ulster loyalist tartan gang. He was held at gunpoint and told that Alexander's was off-limits to " Fenian scum" and to never come back if he valued his life. He later said that this event was the point at which he decided that militancy was the only solution. In late 1971 while working as a barman at the Glen Inn (a pub in Glengormley), Sands approached a man who he knew to be connected to the IRA and told him he would like to join; the man told Bobby to think it over as things in Rathcoole were bad and Catholics in the area were very isolated. Later that year, the same man from the pub spotted Bobby playing football on a pitch near the Sands house. As an initiation, he asked Sands to transport a gun from Rathcoole to Glengormley because the local IRA volunteer who was supposed to do the job had failed to show up. Bobby left the game on the spot, changed clothes and took the gun. This is when Bobby's involvement with the IRA began in earnest, according to O'Hearn:
Sands soon recruited some of his mates into a small auxiliary unit of about six or seven volunteers. Bobby was their section leader. They were isolated, so they worked with other volunteers from surrounding areas.
In June 1972, Sands's parents' home was attacked and damaged by a loyalist mob and they were again forced to move, this time to the West Belfast Catholic area of Twinbrook, where Sands, now thoroughly embittered, rejoined them. By 1973, almost every Catholic family had been driven out of Rathcoole by violence and intimidation, although there were some who remained.


Provisional IRA activity

Sands was arrested and charged in October 1972 with possession of four handguns found in the house where he was staying. Sands was convicted in April 1973, sentenced to five years imprisonment, and released in April 1976. Upon his release, he returned to his family home in West Belfast, and resumed his active role in the Provisional IRA. Sands and Joe McDonnell planned the bombing of the Balmoral Furniture Company in
Dunmurry Dunmurry (; ) is an urban townland in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dunmurry is in the Collin electoral ward for the local government district of Belfast City Council. History Until the end of the 18th century, Dunmurry was largely an agricultura ...
on 14 October 1976. The showroom was destroyed but as the IRA men left the scene there was a gun battle with the
Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...
. Leaving behind two wounded, Seamus Martin and Gabriel Corbett, the remaining four (Sands, McDonnell, Seamus Finucane, and Sean Lavery) tried to escape by car, but were arrested. One of the revolvers used in the attack was found in the car. On 7 September 1977, the four men were sentenced to 14 years for possession of the revolver. They were not charged with explosive offences. Immediately after his sentencing, Sands was implicated in a fight and sent to the punishment block in Crumlin Road Prison. The cells contained a bed, a mattress, a chamber pot and a water container. Books, radios and other personal items were not permitted, although a Bible and some Catholic pamphlets were provided. Sands refused to wear a prison uniform, so was kept naked in his cell for twenty-two days without access to bedding from 7.30 am to 8.30 pm each day.


Maze Prison years

In late 1980, Sands was chosen Officer Commanding of the Provisional IRA prisoners in the
Maze Prison Her Majesty's Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as The Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house alleged paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to Sept ...
, succeeding Brendan Hughes, who was participating in the first hunger strike. Republican prisoners organised a series of protests seeking to regain their previous Special Category Status, which would free them from some ordinary prison regulations. This began with the " blanket protest" in 1976, in which the prisoners refused to wear prison uniforms and wore blankets instead. In 1978, after a number of attacks on prisoners leaving their cells to "
slop out Slop or SLOP may refer to: * Slop (clothing) * Hose (clothing) *Slop is the common name for household food scraps * Strategic Lateral Offset Procedure, in aviation, a procedure for avoiding collisions * a popular term for Backlash (engineering) * ...
" (i.e., empty their chamber pots), this escalated into the " dirty protest", wherein prisoners refused to wash and smeared the walls of their cells with excrement.Taylo, ''Provos, The IRA and Sinn Féin'', pp. 251–52 Sands wrote about the brutality of Maze prison guards: "The screws
rison guards Rison may refer to: People * Andre Rison (born 1967), American football player *Mose Rison (born 1956), American football coach *Vera B. Rison (1939–2015), politician Places * Rison, Arkansas ** Rison High School *Rison, Maryland See also * * ...
removed me from my cell naked and I was conveyed to the punishment block in a blacked out van. As I stepped out of the van on arrival there they grabbed me from all sides and began punching and kicking me to the ground ... they dragged me by the hair across a stretch of hard core rubble to the gate of the punishment block. The full weight of my body recoiled forward again, smashing my head against the corrugated iron covering around the gate."


Published works

While in prison, Sands had several letters and articles published in the Republican paper ''
An Phoblacht ''An Phoblacht'' (Irish pronunciation: ; en, "The Republic") is a formerly weekly, and currently monthly newspaper published by Sinn Féin in Ireland. From early 2018 onwards, ''An Phoblacht'' has moved to a magazine format while remaining an ...
'' under the pseudonym "Marcella" (his sister's name). Other writings attributed to him are: ''Skylark Sing Your Lonely Song'' and ''
One Day in My Life ''One Day in My Life'' is an autobiographical novel written by Bobby Sands while serving a fourteen-year sentence at Long Kesh, for possession of a gun as a member of the Irish Republican Army. The novel was originally written on "toilet paper ...
''. Sands also wrote the lyrics of "
Back Home in Derry ''Back Home in Derry'' is an Irish rebel song written by Bobby Sands while imprisoned in HM Maze. The song has been covered by multiple artists, most notably by Christy Moore in his 1984 album Ride On, who sang it to a melody inspired by Gordon ...
" and "McIlhatton", which were both later recorded by
Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...
, and "Sad Song For Susan", which was also later recorded. The melody of "Back Home in Derry" was borrowed from Gordon Lightfoot's 1976 song "
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald "The Wreck of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' is a 1976 hit song written, composed and performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot to commemorate the sinking of the bulk carrier SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' on Lake Superior on November 10, ...
". The song itself is about the
penal transportation Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their ...
of Irishmen in the 19th century to Van Diemen's Land (modern day Tasmania,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
).


Hunger strike

The
1981 Irish hunger strike The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Irish republicanism, Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government ...
started with Sands refusing food on 1 March 1981. Sands decided that other prisoners should join the strike at staggered intervals to maximise publicity, with prisoners steadily deteriorating successively over several months. The hunger strike centred on five demands: # the right not to wear a prison uniform; # the right not to do prison work; # the right of free association with other prisoners, and to organise educational and recreational pursuits; # the right to one visit, one letter, and one parcel per week; # full restoration of remission lost through the protest. The significance of the hunger strike was the prisoners' aim of being considered political prisoners as opposed to criminals. Shortly before Sands's death, '' The Washington Post'' reported that the primary aim of the hunger strike was to generate international publicity.


Member of Parliament

Shortly after the beginning of the strike, Frank Maguire, the Independent Republican Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, died suddenly of a heart attack, precipitating the April 1981 by-election. The sudden vacancy in a seat with a nationalist majority of about 5,000 was a valuable opportunity for Sands's supporters "to raise public consciousness". Pressure not to split the vote led other nationalist parties, notably the Social Democratic and Labour Party, to withdraw, and Sands was nominated on the label "
Anti H-Block Anti H-Block was the political label used in 1981 by supporters of the Irish republican hunger strike who were standing for election in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. "H-Block" was a metonym for the Maze Prison, within whos ...
/Armagh Political Prisoner". After a highly polarised campaign, Sands narrowly won the seat on 9 April 1981, with 30,493 votes to 29,046 for the Ulster Unionist Party candidate Harry West. Sands became the youngest MP at the time. Sands died in prison less than a month later, without ever having taken his seat in the Commons. Following Sands's election win, the British government introduced the Representation of the People Act 1981 which prevents prisoners serving jail terms of more than one year in either the UK or the Republic of Ireland from being nominated as candidates in British elections.Julian Haviland, "Bill to stop criminal candidates", ''The Times'', 13 June 1981, p. 2. The enactment of the law, as a response to the election of Sands, consequently prevented other hunger strikers from being elected to the House of Commons.


Death

Sands died on 5 May 1981 in the Maze's prison hospital after 66 days on hunger strike, aged 27. The original pathologist's report recorded the hunger strikers' causes of death as "self-imposed starvation", amended to simply "starvation" following protests by the dead strikers' families. The
coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
recorded verdicts of "starvation, self-imposed". Sands became a martyr to Irish republicans, and the announcement of his death prompted several days of rioting in nationalist areas of Northern Ireland. More than 100,000 people lined the route of Sands's funeral, and he was buried in the 'New Republican Plot' alongside 76 others. Their graves are maintained by the National Graves Association, Belfast.


Reactions


Britain

In response to a question in the House of Commons on 5 May 1981, the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher said, "Mr Sands was a convicted criminal. He chose to take his own life. It was a choice that his organisation did not allow to many of its victims". Cardinal Basil Hume, head of the
Catholic Church in England and Wales The Catholic Church in England and Wales ( la, Ecclesia Catholica in Anglia et Cambria; cy, Yr Eglwys Gatholig yng Nghymru a Lloegr) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. Its origins date from the 6th ce ...
, condemned Sands, describing the hunger strike as a form of violence. However, he noted that this was his personal view. The Roman Catholic Church's official stance was that ministrations should be provided to the hunger strikers who, believing their sacrifice to be for a higher good, were acting in good conscience. At Old Firm football matches in Glasgow, Scotland, some
Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
fans have been known to sing songs mocking Sands to taunt fans of
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
. Of those who identify with a particular religion, Rangers fans are mainly Protestant and predominantly sympathetic to unionists; Celtic fans are traditionally more likely to support nationalists. Celtic fans regularly sing the republican song "The Roll of Honour", which commemorates the 10 men who died in the 1981 hunger strike, amongst other songs in support of the IRA. Sands is mentioned in the line "They stood beside their leader – the gallant Bobby Sands." Rangers' taunts have since been adopted by the travelling support of other UK clubs, particularly those with strong
British nationalist British nationalism asserts that the British are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Britons,Guntram H. Herb, David H. Kaplan. Nations and Nationalism: A Global Historical Overview: A Global Historical Overview. Santa Barbara, Californi ...
ties, as a form of
anti-Irish Anti-Irish sentiment includes oppression, persecution, discrimination, or hatred of Irish people as an ethnic group or a nation. It can be directed against the island of Ireland in general, or directed against Irish emigrants and their descen ...
sentiment. The
1981 British Home Championship Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Fr ...
football tournament was cancelled following the refusal of teams from England and Wales to travel to Northern Ireland in the aftermath of his death, due to security concerns.


Europe

In Europe, there were widespread protests after Sands's death. 5,000 Milanese students burned the Union Flag and chanted "Freedom for Ulster" during a march. The British Consulate at Ghent was raided. In Paris, thousands marched "behind a huge portrait of Sands, to chants of 'the IRA will conquer'". In the
Portuguese Parliament The Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese: ''Assembleia da República'', ), commonly referred to as simply Parliament (Portuguese: ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral parliament of Portugal. According to the Constitution of Portugal, the parliament ...
, the opposition stood in a minute's silence for Sands. In Oslo, one demonstrator threw a tomato at Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, but missed. In the Soviet Union, '' Pravda'' described it as "another tragic page in the grim chronicle of oppression, discrimination, terror, and violence" in Ireland. Many French towns and cities have streets named after Sands, including
Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
,
Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...
,
Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...
, Vierzon, and Saint-Denis. According to Beresford, the conservative-aligned West German newspaper '' Die Welt'' took a negative view towards Sands saying "the British Government was right and andswas simply trying to blackmail the state with his life."


The Americas

A number of political, religious, union and fund-raising institutions chose to honour Sands in the United States. The International Longshoremen's Association in New York announced a 24-hour boycott of British ships. Over 1,000 people gathered in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral to hear
Cardinal Terence Cooke Terence James Cooke (March 1, 1921 – October 6, 1983) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1968 until his death, quietly battling leukemia throughout his tenure. He was named a cardina ...
offer a reconciliation Mass for Northern Ireland. Irish pubs in the city were closed for two hours in mourning. The New Jersey General Assembly, the
lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
of the
New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...
, voted 34–29 for a resolution honouring his "courage and commitment." The American media expressed a range of opinions on Sands's death. '' The Boston Globe'' commented, a few days before Sands's death, that " e slow suicide attempt of Bobby Sands has cast his land and his cause into another downward spiral of death and despair. There are no heroes in the saga of Bobby Sands". The '' Chicago Tribune'' wrote that " Mahatma Gandhi used the hunger strike to move his countrymen to abstain from fratricide. Bobby Sands's deliberate slow suicide is intended to precipitate civil war. The former deserved veneration and influence. The latter would be viewed, in a reasonable world, not as a charismatic martyr but as a fanatical suicide, whose regrettable death provides no sufficient occasion for killing others". In an editorial, '' The New York Times'' wrote that "Britain's prime minister Thatcher is right in refusing to yield political status to Bobby Sands, the Irish Republican Army hunger striker", but added that by appearing "unfeeling and unresponsive" the British Government was giving Sands "the crown of martyrdom". The '' San Francisco Chronicle'' argued that political belief should not exempt activists from criminal law:
Terrorism goes far beyond the expression of political belief. And dealing with it does not allow for compromise as many countries of Western Europe and United States have learned. The bombing of bars, hotels, restaurants, robbing of banks, abductions, and killings of prominent figures are all criminal acts and must be dealt with by criminal law.
Some American critics and journalists suggested that American press coverage was a "melodrama". Edward Langley of '' The Pittsburgh Press'' criticised the large pro-IRA Irish-American contingent which "swallow IRA propaganda as if it were taffy", and concluded that IRA "terrorist propaganda triumphs." Archbishop John R. Roach, president of the
US Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...
, called Sands's death "a useless sacrifice". '' The Ledger'' of 5 May 1981 claimed that the hunger strike made Sands "a hero among Irish Republicans, or nationalists, seeking the reunion of Protestant-dominated and British-ruled Northern Ireland with the independent and predominantly Catholic Irish Republic to the south". ''The Ledger'' quoted Sands as saying "If I die, God will understand" and "Tell everyone I'll see them somewhere, sometime". In
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, a memorial was dedicated to Bobby Sands and the other hunger strikers in 1997, the only one of its kind in the United States. Set up by the Irish Northern Aid Committee and local Irish-Americans, it stands in a traffic island known as Bobby Sands Circle at the bottom of Maple Avenue near Goodwin Park. In 2001, a memorial to Sands and the other hunger strikers was unveiled in Havana, Cuba.


Asia

* In Tehran, Iran, President Abolhassan Banisadr sent a message of condolence to the Sands family.''The Times'', 11 June 1981. The Iranian government renamed Winston Churchill Boulevard, the location of the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Tehran, to Bobby Sands Street, prompting the embassy to move its entrance door to Ferdowsi street to avoid using Bobby Sands Street on its letterhead. A street in the
Elahieh Elahieh (also spelt Elahiyeh; fa, الهیه) is an affluent and upper-class district in northern Tehran. The area is a residential and commercial locale and is filled with the homes and businesses of many politicians, diplomats, expatriates, ...
district is also named after Sands. Majd, Hooman. ''The Ayatollah Begs to Differ''. '' Doubleday''. 2008, pp. 244–45. An official blue and white street sign was affixed to the rear wall of the British embassy compound saying (in Persian) "Bobby Sands Street" with three words of explanation "militant Irish guerrilla". The official
Pars News Agency The Islamic Republic News Agency ( fa, خبرگزاری جمهوری اسلامی, ''Xebergâzari-ye Jimhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye''), or IRNA, is the official news agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Founded on 13 November 1934 as Pars News Agency ...
called Bobby Sands's death "heroic". There have been claims that the British pressured Iranian authorities to change the name of Bobby Sands Street but this was denied. A burger bar in Tehran is named in honour of Sands. * Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in the Israeli desert prison of Nafha sent a letter, which was smuggled out and reached Belfast in July 1981, which read: "To the families of Bobby Sands and his martyred comrades. We, revolutionaries of the Palestinian people...extend our salutes and solidarity with you in the confrontation against the oppressive terrorist rule enforced upon the Irish people by the British ruling elite. We salute the heroic struggle of Bobby Sands and his comrades, for they have sacrificed the most valuable possession of any human being. They gave their lives for freedom." * The '' Hindustan Times'' said Margaret Thatcher had allowed a fellow Member of Parliament to die of starvation, an incident which had never before occurred "in a civilised country". * In the Indian Parliament, opposition members in the upper house Rajya Sabha stood for a minute's silence in tribute. The ruling
Congress Party The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
did not participate. Protest marches were organised against the British government and in tribute to Sands and his fellow hunger strikers. * In Hong Kong, the '' Standard'' said it was "sad that successive British governments have failed to end the last of Europe's religious wars".


Political impact

Nine other IRA and
Irish National Liberation Army The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA, ga, Arm Saoirse Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group formed on 10 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as "the Troubles". The group seek ...
members who were involved in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike died after Sands. On the day of Sands's funeral, Unionist leader
Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and First ...
held a memorial service outside Belfast City Hall to commemorate the victims of the IRA. In the Irish general election held the same year, two anti H-block candidates won seats on an abstentionist basis. The death of Sands resulted in a new surge of IRA activity and an immediate escalation in the Troubles, with the group obtaining many more members and increasing its fund-raising capability. Both nationalists and unionists began to harden their attitudes and move towards political extremes.W.D. Flackes and Sydney Elliott, "Northern Ireland: A Political Directory" (Blackstaff Press, Belfast, 1999), at p. 550, notes that at the 1981 District Council elections on 20 May 1981, "the results showed a decline in support for centre parties". Sands's Westminster seat was taken by his election agent,
Owen Carron Owen Gerard Carron (born 9 February 1953) is an Irish republican activist who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 1981 to 1983. Early life Carron was born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. He qualified as a teache ...
, standing as 'Anti H-Block Proxy Political Prisoner' with an increased majority. Shortly after Sands's death, the Representation of the People Act 1981 was passed through parliament. As a result of the Act, other prisoners on hunger strike were unable to stand in the second 1981 by-election in Fermanagh and South Tyrone.


Popular culture

The Grateful Dead played the
Nassau Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, east of New York City. The Long Island venue is approximately east of the eastern limits of the New York City Borough of ...
the following night after Sands died and guitarist
Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...
dedicated the song "He's Gone" to Sands. The concert was later released as ''
Dick's Picks Volume 13 ''Dick's Picks Volume 13'' is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete show recorded on May 6, 1981 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Bob Weir dedicated "He's Gone" to Bobby Sands, a m ...
'', part of the Grateful Dead's programme of live concert releases. Songs written in response to the hunger strikes and Sands's death include songs by
Easterhouse Easterhouse is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, east of the city centre on land gained from the county of Lanarkshire as part of an expansion of Glasgow before the Second World War. The area is on high ground north of the River Clyde and south ...
, Black 47,
Nicky Wire Nicholas Allen Jones (born 20 January 1969), known as Nicky Wire, is a Welsh musician and songwriter, best known as lyricist, bassist and secondary vocalist of the Welsh alternative rock band, Manic Street Preachers. Prior to the group, Wire s ...
, Meic Stevens, The Undertones, Eric Bogle,
Soldat Louis Soldat Louis are a French rock group originally from Lorient, who mix the traditional music of Brittany with typical rock music instruments - electric and acoustic guitar, drum kit, etc. - as well as the traditional bagpipes ( ''biniou braz'' in ...
and
Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...
. Moore's song, "
The People's Own MP ''The People's Own MP'' is an Irish rebel song about Bobby Sands, one of the Irish hunger strikers. The song was written by Bruce Scott and recorded by Christy Moore on the latter's 1984 EP ''Back Home in Derry'' and his 1986 album, ''The Spirit ...
", has been described as an example of a rebel song of the "hero-martyr" genre in which Sands's "intellectual, artistic and moral qualities" are eulogised.Boyle, Mark. "Edifying the Rebellious Gael", ''Celtic Geographies: Old Culture, New Times'' (David Harvey, ed). Routledge, 2002, p. 190; The U.S. rock band Rage Against the Machine listed Sands as an inspiration in the sleeve notes of their self-titled debut album and as a "political hero" in media interviews. Celtic F.C., a Scottish football club, received a €50,000 fine from UEFA over banners depicting Sands with a political message, which were displayed during a game on 26 November 2013 by Green Brigade fans. Bobby Sands has been portrayed in the following films: * Sands was played by John Lynch in the 1996 film ''
Some Mother's Son ''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. Provisional Irish Republican A ...
''. It was directed by
Terry George Terence George (born 20 December 1952) is an Irish screenwriter and director. Much of his film work (e.g. ''The Boxer'', ''Some Mother's Son'', and ''In the Name of the Father'') involves "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland. He was nominated fo ...
and written by George and Jim Sheridan. * Sands was played by Mark O'Halloran in the 2001 film '' H3''. *
Michael Fassbender Michael Fassbender (born 2 April 1977) is an Irish actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Award ...
played Sands in '' Hunger'', a 2008 film by
Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...
about the last six weeks of Sands's life in the context of the
1981 Irish hunger strike The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Irish republicanism, Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government ...
. It premiered at the
2008 Cannes Film Festival The 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2008. The President of the Official Jury was American actor and director Sean Penn. Twenty two films from fourteen countries were selected to compete for the ''Palme d'Or''. The awards ...
and won McQueen the prestigious Caméra d'Or award for first-time filmmakers. It was broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK for the first time on 15 December 2009. *The 2016 documentary film '' Bobby Sands: 66 Days''.


Family

Sands married Geraldine Noade while in prison on robbery charges on 3March1973. His son, Gerard, was born 8 May 1973. Noade soon left to live in England with their son. Sands's sister,
Bernadette Sands McKevitt Bernadette Sands McKevitt (born in November 1958) is an Irish republicanism, Irish republican, and a founding member of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement. Early life She lived in the mainly Ulster loyalism, loyalist Rathcoole area of Newtownabb ...
, is also a prominent
Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...
. She was a founding member of the
32 County Sovereignty Movement The 32 County Sovereignty Movement, often abbreviated to 32CSM or 32csm, is an Irish republican group that was founded by Bernadette Sands McKevitt. It does not contest elections but acts as a pressure group, with branches or ''cumainn'' org ...
in 1997. She opposed the Good Friday Agreement, stating that "Bobby did not die for cross-border bodies with executive powers. He did not die for nationalists to be equal British citizens within the Northern Ireland state."


See also

* List of United Kingdom MPs with the shortest service * Terence MacSwiney – Lord Mayor of
Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
in 1920 who died in Brixton Prison after a hunger strike lasting 74 days.


References


Works cited

* * * *


External links


Bobby Sands Trust official website
contains poetry and writings by Sands * *

* ttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0723864/ ''Timewatch: Hunger Strike – a Hidden History''(Otmoor Productions/BBC 1993), imdb.com * Secret diary written during the first seventeen days of his hunger strike, before being moved to the prison hospital. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sands, Bobby 1954 births 1981 deaths Anti H-Block MPs Deaths by starvation Irish nationalists Irish republicans Irish revolutionaries Irish socialists Irish songwriters Irish writers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fermanagh and South Tyrone (since 1950) Northern Ireland politicians convicted of crimes People from Newtownabbey People who died on the 1981 Irish hunger strike Prisoners accorded Special Category Status Provisional Irish Republican Army members UK MPs 1979–1983