The Development of the IRA with special regard to the fate of Bobby Sands

However, there was disagreement in the IRA's ranks whether the use of terrorist tactics was the right way to achieve their aims. This led to a split into two groups: a radical group, the so-called Provisional IRA, which continued carrying out assassinations and other terrorist activities, and the Official IRA. 

The official wing tried to reach reunification by political means. They declared a cease-fire in the summer of 1972, and from then on the name IRA was used for the organisation that had developed from the Provisional IRA. This group developed from a small unit of young Ulster Catholics into a comparatively large, well-financed and well-equipped guerrilla organisation which has since claimed responsibility for a great number of violent attacks on Ulster Protestants, British institutions and civilians – not only in Northern Ireland but also on the British mainland. Their motivation was to put pressure on the British government and to reach the attention the British public. To minimise the risk of imprisonment the IRA established so-called ''sleepers'', i.e. units with a civilian existence in England. These sleeper-squads committed many attacks on English infrastructure and establishments.

According to Michael Hughes the IRA was responsible for the deaths of 1,755 people between July 1969 and December 1993. During the same period the IRA lost about 240 members.

Here are some typical examples of such violent IRA attacks:

• On 21 November 1974, bombs detonated in four pubs in Birmingham. 22 people lost their lives.
• On 12 October 1984, four people got killed in an explosion at the Grand Hotel in Brighton. The bomb went up during the Conservative Party Conference. The IRA wanted to kill the party leader, later Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
• On 8 November 1987, eleven people lost their lives and 63 were injured when an IRA bomb ripped through a crowd of people waiting for a remembrance ceremony to begin in Enniskillen, Ulster (see photo).
• On 22 September 1989, ten people were killed in an IRA bomb at the Royal Marines School of Music in Deal, Kent.
• The IRA even tried to hit the British government. On 7 February 1991, three mortars were launched at 10 Downing Street, the residence of the British Prime Minister, while the Cabinet was in session. There were no casualties.

On the other hand, the British Army and the police forces could arrest a great number of IRA volunteers. In 1972 alone, more than 200 IRA freedom fighters were imprisoned. From 1976 onwards these prisoners were denied the status of political prisoners. They were treated like ordinary criminals and kept in so-called "H-Blocks" (High Security Blocks). This is led to violent protests inside and outside the Northern Irish prisons. One of these prisoners was a young man by the name of Bobby Sands.

3. Bobby Sands

Bobby Sands was born in 1954 in Rathcoole, a predominantly Protestant district of north Belfast. He was the oldest of four children in the family. He had two younger sisters, Marcella and Bernadette, born 1955 and 1958, and a brother, John, born 1962. When Bobby was ten his family was forced to move home owing to loyalist intimidation. About this time Bobby himself later wrote:

"It is repression that creates the revolutionary spirit of freedom. I shall not settle until I achieve liberation of my country, until Ireland becomes a sovereign, independent socialist republic.''

Bobby's background, experiences and ambitions did not differ greatly from those of the average ghetto youth. When he was sixteen he started work as an apprentice coach builder. In a newspaper article he recalls:

''Starting work, although frightening at first, became alright, especially with the reward at the end of the week. Dances and clothes, girls and a few shillings to spend, opened up a whole new world to me.''

Then came 1968 and the events which were to change his life. Bobby had served two years of his apprenticeship when Protestant workmates threatened him out of his job. In June 1972, the Sands family were intimidated out of their home in Rathcoole and they moved into the newly built Twinbrook estate in West Belfast. It was at this point that Bobby joined the Republican movement and became an IRA volunteer.

"My life now centered around sleepless nights and stand-bys dodging the Brits and calming nerves to go out on operations. But the people stood by us. The people not only opened the doors of their homes to lend us a hand but they opened their hearts to us. I learned that without the people we could not survive and I knew that I owed them everything."

In October 1972, he was arrested. Four handguns were found in a house he was staying in and he was charged with possession. He spent the next three years in Long Kesh prison where he had political prisoner status. During this time he read widely. He taught himself Irish and started to write poetry, too.

Released in 1976 Bobby returned to his family in Twinbrook. He reported back to his local unit and went straight back into the continuing struggle. He committed himself to the social issues which affected the Twinbrook area and became a community activist. Only six months later Bobby was arrested again. There had been a bomb attack on the Balmoral Furniture Company at Dunmurry, followed by a gun-battle in which two men were wounded. Bobby was in a car near the scene with three other young men. The RUC captured them and found a revolver in the car.

The six men were taken to Castlereagh and were subjected to brutal interrogations for six days. Bobby refused to answer any questions during his interrogation, except his name, age and address. In a poem written in 1980, entitled 'The Crime of Castlereagh', Bobby tells of his experiences, his fears and thoughts at the time:

'Just sign the line!' They shrieked each time
And beat me 'till I dropped.
They tortured me quite viciously
They threw me through the air.
It got so bad it seemed I had
Been beat beyond repair.'

He was kept in prison for eleven months until his trial in September 1977. The judge admitted there was no evidence to link Bobby, or the other three young men with him, to the bombing. So the four of them were sentenced to fourteen years each for possession of the one revolver.

Bobby spent the first twenty-two days of his sentence in solitary confinement in Crumlin Road jail. He was then moved to the H-Blocks.

"The days were long and lonely. The sudden and total deprivation of such basic human necessities as exercise and fresh air, association with other people, my own clothes and things like newspapers, radio, cigarettes, books and a host of other things, made my life very hard."

Since 1976 the H-Block prisoners had been in protest against systematic ill-treatment and the denial of the status of political prisoners. They had started a campaign with the following five demands:

1. The right not to wear a prison uniform;
2. The right not to do prison work;
3. The right of free association with other prisoners;
4. The right to organise their own educational and recreational facilities;
5. The right to one visit, one letter and one parcel per week.

Bobby became their spokesman and was in constant confrontation with the prison authorities. In the H-Blocks, beatings, long periods in the punishment cells, starvation diets and torture were commonplace and the prison authorities exercised a brutal terror regime to break the prisoners' resistance to criminalisation.

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1. The Hunger-Strike

In April 1978 the IRA prisoners in the H-Blocks of the Maze Prison started a protest against what they called "systematic ill-treatment". They refused to wear prison uniform but wore blankets instead. These blanketmen also refused to go to the toilet or take showers and smeared their cell walls with excreta. Despite these protests the government refused to give in to their demands. On 27 October 1980, seven IRA volunteers, led by Brendan Hughes, began a hunger strike. Although the IRA leadership opposed the strike, they could not ignore the prisoners' wishes. Bobby Sands, who did not take part in this first hunger strike, negotiated with the prison authorities in an attempt to gain Special Category Status for the IRA prisoners and to de-escalate the conflict. However, Bobby's talks with the prison authorities did not lead anywhere near a solution. On the 53rd day of the strike, on 18 December 1980, Brendan Hughes broke off the strike believing a government courier was on his way with a letter meeting the prisoners demands. It did not.

In a statement issued one day later, Bobby wrote:

"We discovered that our good will and flexibility were in vain. It was made abundantly clear during one of my co-operation meetings with prison officials that strict conformity was required, which in essence meant acceptance of criminal status."

It was in this dead-lock situation that Bobby volunteered to lead a new hunger strike. He realised that this new strike had to be more strategic. Bobby decided to run this new strike on a rolling basis, with one new prisoner starting to fast each week. That, he believed, would lead to a death a week and put increasing pressure on the government to meet prisoners' demands. He insisted on starting two weeks in front of the others so that perhaps his death could secure the five demands and save the other hunger strikers' lives.

From 1 March 1981 onwards Bobby Sands refused food. For the first seventeen days of the hunger strike Bobby kept a secret diary in which he wrote his thoughts and views. During those first seventeen days Bobby lost a total of sixteen pounds, and on 23 March he was moved to the prison hospital.

But his protest action only gained nation-wide attention, when the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Frank Maguire, died and Sinn Féin nominated Bobby Sands as their candidate for the seat in the forthcoming by-elections, which were to take place on 9 April.

Bobby's election agent, Owen Carron, wrote about a meeting with his candidate in the prison hospital on 31 March:

"Instead of meeting that young man of the poster with long hair and a fresh face, even at that time when Bobby wasn't too bad he was radically changed. He was very thin and bony and his hair was cut short."

The election campaign drew world-wide attention and when Bobby Sands gained a majority of 51.2% of the vote, this also demonstrated the popular support for the prisoners' demands.

Yet, Bobby had no illusions with regard to his election victory. His reaction was not at all optimistic. After the result had been announced, Owen Carron visited him and Bobby said to him: 'In my position you can't afford to be optimistic.' And Carron concludes:

"In other words, he didn't take it that because he'd won an election that his life would be saved. He thought that the Brits would need their pound of flesh. I think he was always working on the premise that he would have to die."

Bobby Sands fell into a coma on 3 May. He died one hour after midnight on 5 May 1981, the 66th day of his strike. But the British government was determined not to give in to the prisoners' demands and the strike continued.

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The second striker, Francis Hughes, died on 12 May, which led to riots in many nationalist areas of the province. Nine days later two more prisoners, Patsy O'Hara and Raymond McCreech, died on the 61st day of their strike.

Families of the strikers began to lose faith that the strike could be won. On 31 July, the Quinn family took their son off his fast. Altogether, ten hunger strikers lost their lives. The last prisoner, Michael Devine, died on 20 August. The funerals were attended by huge crowds and drew world attention to the struggle for national liberation in Ireland.

The strike came to an end on 3 October 1981, 217 days after it had begun, because the families of the prisoners and the Church had intervened and appealed to the remaining hunger strikers. Even though the British government had stated earlier in 1981 that "if we conceded their demands, we would be handing over the prisons to the prisoners," right after the strike the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, James Prior, said that he would grant much of what the prisoners had been demanding. Prior announced reforms with the comment: "The Government has always said that once the hunger strike was out of the way, there were certain reforms that could be introduced." 

On 6 October 1981, Prior announced that all prisoners could wear their own clothes all day long. The only restrictions were that this clothing could not be a form of IRA uniform and should not resemble the guards' uniforms. Association between prisoners was reorganised according to their wishes. The demands concerning mail, parcels, and visiting privileges were also accepted. No concessions were made concerning prison work, but those prisoners who refused to work did not receive much of a penalty.

Officially, the British government claimed that they had never given in to the prisoners, for they never granted them political status.

Thus, at the end of the hunger strike both sides declared victory. It was a sad victory, but it gave the national liberation struggle of Sinn Féin and the IRA, and of other Irish nationalist organisations, a great boost. Large numbers of new recruits joined the IRA and international support for the Irish national liberation struggle grew considerably. All this had dramatic effects, both positive and negative, throughout the decade which followed the hunger strike.

1. Chances for Peace in Ireland

The decade following the hunger strike is characterised by two lines of development. On the one hand, IRA violence and counter-violence by the Ulster Unionists continued to rage, on the other hand, Sinn Féin as well as the British political establishment began a gradual, long and painful process of peace talks.

The following news report was issued on 14 November 1993. It illustrates the typical pattern of violence and revenge:

"October 23rd, 1993 brought a bloody demonstration of the capability of the Provisional IRA to wreck havoc on the unsuspecting Protestants of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The deadliest attack of the past six years was carried out by two men who carried a bomb into a "fish and chips" shop, where it detonated and killed ten people. Reportedly, fifty others were injured by flying debris or buried by collapsing buildings. The IRA acknowledged responsibility for the blast, which it said was aimed at an outlawed Protestant paramilitary organisation called the Ulster Defence Association. An IRA source, however, tried to justify the carnage by saying that the bomb had exploded prematurely, before they had an opportunity to warn area residents.

By October 26th, two Protestant gunmen, wearing yellow coveralls and disguised as workmen, took revenge for the fishshop bombing. They burst into a city-operated garbage depot and killed two Roman Catholic garbagemen outright and wounded five others. The Ulster Freedom Fighters, a Protestant right-wing military group, immediately claimed responsibility for the atrocity. Reportedly, they issued a statement saying that this killing was "direct revenge" for the October 23rd bombing in Belfast." 

In 1988 Sinn in leader Gerry Adams published the book ''A Pathway to Peace'' which intensified the discussion of a peaceful, democratic settlement of the conflict. While the IRA still attacked civilian and military objectives, Adams criticised these actions in public. Too many innocent civilians would die. This would destroy the Republican's credibility permanently. A Sinn Féin Convention in 1992 ratified a document entitled "Towards a Lasting Peace in Ireland".

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Despite their contrary positions secret connections were established between the IRA headquarter and the British government as a base for peace negotiations. On 15 December 1993 the British and Irish prime-ministers, Major and Reynolds, signed the so-called "Downing Street Declaration" which says that the question of Irish unity will have to be solved by the population of the whole of Ireland, north and south. After almost all parties had shown their willingness for negotiations, the IRA declared a cease-fire on 31 August 1994. "We believe that [the Downing Street Agreement is] an opportunity to create a just and lasting peace," the statement said.  Six weeks later, on 13 October, the Protestant paramilitaries made a similar declaration. Both sides broke these cease-fire declarations several times, but after Tony Blair became British Prime Minister in 1997 the peace talks made some progress.

An important next breakthrough was the "Good Friday Agreement" of April 1998 negotiated between the British and the Irish governments, which – among others - foresaw the establishment of a Northern Ireland Assembly representing all political parties.

This Agreement was put to a referendum in Northern Ireland on 22 May 1998. A similar referendum was also held in the Irish Republic. The result was overwhelmingly in favour of the Agreement: 71.2% of people in Northern Ireland and 94.4% in the Republic voted for the Agreement. 

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The Northern Ireland Assembly was elected in September 1998. The Ulster Unionists won the largest share of the vote and 28 seats. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) took 24 and Sinn Féin won 18 seats.

Despite all optimism about these recent developments, there are still a great number of disagreements. On the Unionist side, there is especially Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party and the Protestant Orange Order who strongly oppose the Good Friday Agreement. On the Republican side, the question of decommissioning of paramilitary weapons also remains problematic because the IRA is still not prepared to hand over all their weapons.

Today it is hard to predict how the long-lasting conflict will finally be settled. Many solutions have been suggested:

• a united Ireland
• joint authority over Northern Ireland between London and Dublin
• full integration of the whole of Ireland into the United Kingdom
• an independent Northern Ireland
• a federal Ireland

It may well last another ten or fifteen years until a solution will be found that satisfies all parties involved. But I am convinced that in spite of possible drawbacks the peace process will be successful. The most important condition for this is that both sides refrain from using violence.

Bobby Sands died nearly 20 years ago. But he is not forgotten. His hunger strike and his death as well as the deaths of his fellow-prisoners, attracted world-wide attention and brought the Irish question into the front-page headlines of the media. Let us hope that his death was not in vain, that his dream of a free and united Ireland will one day soon come true.

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2. Used Literature

Books:

Adams, Gerry, A Pathway to Peace, Cork 1988

Adams, Gerry, Falls Memories: A Belfast Life, Belfast 1993

Beresford, David, Ten Men Dead: The Story of the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike, London 1987

English, Richard, "Northern Ireland: Peace or Stalemate", in: Hutchinson History Reference Suite, Helicon Publishing Ltd. 1999

Grundmann / Schairer / Weinzierl (editors), The conflict in Northern Ireland, München 1978

Hughes, Michael, Ireland divided: the roots of the modern Irish problem, Cardiff 1994

Knox, Oliver, Rebels and Informers: Stirrings of Irish Independence, London 1998

Sands, Bobby, Ein Tag in meinem Leben, Unrast-Verlag, Münster 1998

World and Press Special, Northern Ireland - Background to the 'Troubles' and the conflict today, Eilers & Schünemann Verlag, Bremen without year

Internet sources:

Clark Staten, EmergencyNet NEWS Service, Chicago, 14 November 1993, at: http://www.emergency.com/ira1193.htm

Richard Ford, "Prior flies to talks on Maze reforms", Times (London) 5 October 1981, quoted in: "The end of the hunger strike" at:

Erin Clarke and Peter Urban, War in the Streets, Struggle in the Prisons, at: http://www.irsm.org/general/history/beyondthepale.htm

IRIS, Vol. 1, No. 2, Nov 1981 (a Sinn Féin publication) at:

Other used websites:

http://inac.org/history/strikes.html

 

http://larkspirit.com/hungerstrikes/5demands.html

http://larkspirit.com/hungerstrikes/index.html

http://www.ireland.com/special/peace/index.htm

http://www.larkspirit.com

http://wwwvms.utexas.edu/~jdana/irehist.html

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I declare that I wrote this Facharbeit all by myself and that I only used the sources I stated above.

Duisburg, 5 March 2001

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