HUNGER STRIKE COMMEMORATIVE WEB PROJECT


	In 1981, Irish republican volunteers in a British jail on Irish soil undertook a fast to the death to retain their status as political prisoners. The British government, led by Margaret Thatcher, demanded they be classified as criminals. Ten men died on the doorstep of the British government in one of the most turbulent periods in the tragic history of Anglo-Irish relations.

In Support Of Palestine Action Activists,
Engaged on Hunger Strike Against Detention in England,
2 November 2025- onging

Top Row: Qesser Zuhrah, Amu Gib, Heba Muraisi. Bottom Row: Teuta Hoxha, Kamran Ahmed and Lewie Chiaramello [Courtesy: Prisoners for Palestine]

For more info on this historic strike, visit Prisoners for Palestine

[Amu Gib explains why they are on strike]

[Palestine Coalition statement on hunger strikes]

In tribute to the ten men who gave their lives on hungerstrike:
Vol. Bobby Sands, IRA Vol. Francis Hughes, IRA Vol. Patsy O'Hara, INLA Vol. Raymond McCreesh, IRA Vol. Joe McDonnell, IRA	Vol. Martin Hurson, IRA Vol. Kevin Lynch, INLA Vol. Kieran Doherty, IRA Vol. Thomas McElwee, IRA Vol. Michael Devine, INLA


Sands 5 May 81 66 days	Hughes 12 May 81 59 days	O'Hara 21 May 81 61 days	McCreesh 21 May 81 61 days	McDonnell 8 July 81 61 days

Hurson 13 July 81 46 days	Lynch 1 Aug 81 71 days	Doherty 2 Aug 81 73 days	McElwee 8 Aug 81 62 days	Devine 20 Aug 81 60 days

Historical information:
The 10 Who Died
Background
The 1980 Hunger Strike | The Participants
The 1981 Hunger Strike | The Survivors
The 5 Demands
The Diary of Bobby Sands
Statement at Start of Strike
Statement on 4 July 1981
Statement at End of Strike
The Forgotten Hunger Strikes
Scenes from the Funerals

Hunger Strike Era Documents:
Relatives Action Committee/H-Block/Armagh Committee History
The IRSP Announcement of the Start of the 1981 Hunger Strike (March 1981)
More Join Hunger Strike (Starry Plough, June 1981)
Why it is murder.... (Starry Plough, June 1981)
Solidarity Statement to the Hunger Strikers By Palestinian Prisoners in Nafha Prison

Hunger Strike Related Texts:
The Women Hunger Strikers of Armagh Prison (from Ireland's Own)
The 1981 Irish Hunger Strike: Struggle For Legitimacy or Pathology Of Terrorism?
Irish Political Prisoners and Post Hunger-Strike Resistance to Criminalisation

Other Hunger Strike Pages:
Derry IRSP's Hunger Strike Page
July 1981
The Chicago Hunger Strike Commemoration Committee
Bobby Sands Trust
The Irish Hunger Strikers (from Ireland's Own)

Sadly, many of the other hungerstrike sites that sprang up to commemorate the 20th and 25th anniversaries have disappeared from the web. If you are a webmaster of a hunger strike site (Irish or other), or you know of any other sites that are not listed here, please send us the url and we'll take a look at them.

HUNGER STRIKE NEWS

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Books on the Hungerstrikes:

Below are books specifically on the 1981 Hunger Strikes -- some of these may currently be out of print but check with Amazon, as 3rd-party vendors may sell used copies from time to time. This is NOT meant to be an all-inclusive list, so if you know of books that should be listed, contact us at ehp@hungerstrikes.org.

Ten Men Dead - The Story of the 1981 Irish Hunger strike
by David Beresford

Biting at the Grave: The Irish Hunger Strikes and the Politics of Despair
by Padraig O'Malley

Skylark Sing Your Lonely Song
by Bobby Sands

Bobby Sands and the Tragedy of Northern Ireland
by John M. Feehan

One Day in My Life
by Bobby Sands

Writings of Bobby Sands: A Collection of Prison Writings

The Irish Hunger Strike
by Tom Collins

Bobby Sands: Writings from Prison

Bobby Sands: Irish Rebel: A Self-Portrait in Poetry and Polemics Issued on the 10th Anniversary of His Death
edited by Robert West

Blanketmen and Afterlives, both by Richard O'Rawe

MARTYRS OF THE 1996 DEATH FAST IN TURKEY:

Around the world, people know the names of Bobby Sands, Patsy O'Hara, Mickey Devine, etc. Songs are written about the hunger strikers, and plays and movies are produced to keep their memory alive. But who knows the name Ayce Idil Erkmen, or the fact that she became the first woman internationally to die on hunger strike?

As others have said, Bobby Sands is alive, wherever a hunger strike for justice takes place. He lives on in people like Ayce and Aygun Ugur and Ilginc Ozkeskin. The struggle is truly international.

Prisoners from ten revolutionary organisations participated in the Death Fast of 1996 in Turkey, which lasted for 69 days, and 12 prisoners died: Aygun Ugur (TKP(ML)), Altan Berdan Kerimgiller (DHKP-C), Ilginc Ozkeskin (DHKP-C), Huseyin Demircioglu (MLKP), Ali Ayata (TKP(ML)), Mujdat Yanat (DHKP-C), Tahsin Yilmaz (TIKB), Ayce Idil Erkmen (DHKP-C), Hicabi Kucuk (TIKB), Yemliha Kaya (DHKP-C), Osman Akgun (TIKB) and Hayati Can (TKP(ML)).

We salute these 12 who died and the many who participated in the strike, both inside and outside Turkish prisons. The Kurdish struggle continues, and more than 30 have given their lives in furtherance of their goals.

You can read more about the Turkish hungerstrikes in 1996 and 2000 by checking out F-type Prisons, Hunger Strikes and Deaths

Are you using this site as a tool for researching for articles, plays, books, movies or other projects? If so, we'd love to know. Comments, suggestions, critiques, etc, are all welcomed. Drop me a line at ehp@hungerstrikes.org.

This page was initially unveiled 1 March 1996, the 15th anniversary of the start of the 1981 hunger strike, at the now-defunct larkspirit.org. Check out the history of this page.

All of the content created at this site is considered copyleft -- feel free to lift bits and pieces with acknowledgement, but wholesale copy/pasting or content-farming is discouraged and not appreciated. Photos and content NOT created at this site remain the property of their creators and are used here under the "fair use" doctrine. If you are the owner/creator of content found here, please contact us for attribution purposes.