Hungerstrike Exhibition In Jordanstown University
Onwards in memory of the Ten!
Hundreds of students and staff from the University of Ulster Jordanstown today (Tuesday 4th April) attended a hunger strike exhibition, organised and facilitated by the Ógra Shinn Fein cumann in Jordanstown.
Ógra activists pictured alongside Gerry McConville and Benny Lynch
The exhibition, which was compiled by the National 1981 Hungerstrike committee earlier this year, commemorates the 25th anniversary of the 1981 Hungerstrike which saw the death of 10 Irish Republicans in a protest initiated by Republican prisoners to secure their five demands and political status.
The exhibition has already visited many parts of the country although it is it’s first visit to a University. It details the
biographies of the 10 H-Block Martyrs who died in 1981 as well as Michael Gaughan and Frank Stagg who died on Hunger-Strike in the 1970’s.
Belfast Republican and former Blanket-Man, Gerry McConville, was the guest speaker at a special lecture. Gerry spoke about the conditions in the prison during his imprisonment and events which led up to the 1981 Hunger-Strike
which claimed the lives of 10 young men.
He told the large audience that momentum was soon rebuilt when the prisoners demands were met. Within three years of the ending of the strike, Republican prisoners were
effectively commanding the prison structure. Taking full advantage of this, IRA POWs organised a mass escape from Long Kesh in 1983 of 38 IRA volunteers, many of whom had been incarcerated in the prison during the Hungerstrike.
Gerry also refered to the fact that Bobby Sands, had lived in the Rathcoole area, which is just a short distance from the university and described this as very fitting.
Commenting on the event, Jordanstown Ogra Shinn Fein chair, Joe Donnelly said “This is an important event of commemorating the sacrifice of 1981 H Block Martyrs and it has given students, many of whom weren’t even born
in 1981, an opportunity to learn more about that phase of the republican struggle through the photographs, comms and a first hand account from Gerry.”
Joe concluded by saying “ There is a genuine level of interest by the young people about the H Block struggle and also a desire to continue their legacy of concluding the struggle for Irish Freedom.”
antrim |
rights, freedoms and repression |
news report
Tuesday April 04, 2006 19:07
by Lappalitis - Ógra Shinn Féin
osf6county at yahoo dot com
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Comments (5 of 5)
Jump To Comment: 5 4 3 2 1I was there all during the blanket protests. I don't just know who of our dead comrades would agree nor disagree with the present direction of the Republican Movement and neither do the present day Leadership, but that leadership should stop using their memory and sacrifice to further the lie that their ultimate goal is a 32 country socialist republic. We'll NEVER see a Socialist Republic in this country, WHY? Because Gerry and Martin's pals in the American Government would never allow it and well they know it. Adams and McGuinness would be happy to sit in Government with the Unionists and in time forget all about the WAR. We saw the historic surrender of arms and the historic removal of the IRA all to curry favour with the DUP fascists. The Movement has also moved in the direction of Fascism with the gradual erosion of the right to think for ones-self and criticize. 'We'll do the thinking and you back us up' politics. The path is getting stickier. [Ask the older ones what that means] As for the other so called IRAs the less said the better as they have more touts than a dead rat has maggots. SADLY IT WAS ALL IN VAIN!
i can't see how attacking a group of young people for visiting the goal of long kesh where thousands struggled and some died for their belief in their cause can be justified.
how can anyone attack young republicans for doing this? sure they may not agree totally with their politics but whould those who are quick to condemn them wish they turned their energies elesewhere?
into crime prehaps?
taking drugs?
stealing cars?
having nothing else to live for except supporting englsih soccer teams?
becoming hoods?
well?
i would really like to hear what those pessimists have to say. all some people seem to be able to do is whing, moan, criticise, and moan some more. if those people got out of that negative attitude and put their energies into something positive we would be well on our way to the Republic.
as for genuine republican prisoners incarcanated for actions motivated for their political beleifs, they are not be scorned upon. they belived what they were doing was right, but one must look at the realtiy of the situation
the dissident groups have nothing to offer. they are riddled with spies and are putting young republicans behind bars for no advance of the struggle. for their decade long campaign has yielded zero military casulties and has not generated any degree of mass support. they have forgotten the key rule of the guerilla - and without the sea the fish will drown.
there is currently no appetite for miliatary campaign. it can not be forced upon the republcian community, however, that is not to say the use of armed force is illegitimate - to the contary.
if conditions arise - no amount of physical decommisioning can deminish the will of the irish people to be free.
that is the stark reality of the siituation and i would challenbe anyone to dispute otherwise
comrade the comment by a supporter of the 32's is totally valid and attempting to diregard its truth by talking about how the poster is doing nothing for the prisoners (how would you know?) and offering the nonsense about debate, when debate within Provisional Sinn Fein has been stamped out, is not legitimate.
The comments by the supporters of the 32's was not attacking the commemoration of those gallant young men who gave their lives for political staus and the liberation of Ireland (note: not 'civil rights' and a new Stormont) but questioning the common sense and morality of a movement masquerading as a republican organisation while endorsing british rule in the 6 counties, a movement whose leadership signed away the rights of political prisoners to gain power and friends in high places.
Just let's not delude ourselves that PSF is something it is not, it gave up on the struggle many years ago, right or wrong, but that is just the fact. The struggle to end imperialist rule in any country is not acheieved by embracing that rule and claiming it as a clever strategy which people just don't understand and that only the leadership know! Most people woke up to the lie a few years ago but the morale of the population is at a such a low we toerate the situation at present, though everything changes and as sure as night follows day we will have justice after the long long night....
Attacking actions that commemorate the 1981 Hunger Strikers is not helpful to acheive the objective of the 32-county democratic socialist republic of Ireland.
If you have a problem with the actions of Ógra Shinn Féin then contact and debate with them.
Alternatively, you can ignore Sinn Féin's strategy and use a different form of struggle.
Ógra Shinn Féin's actions are helpful to acheive the objective of the 32-county democratic socialist republic of Ireland.
What are you doing to highlight past or present republican prisoners' struggle?
How can these little wannabes stage a memorial PR stunt about Republican prisoners who sacrifaced themselves for POW status when there are over a 100 prisoners out there at present doing the same again and OSF deny their existence,hypocrites