Bobby Sands - Family and early life, Prisoner, Political status protests, Death, Published works, See Also

Irish revolutionary, born in Belfast, NE Northern Ireland, UK. He joined the IRA in 1972, and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for possession of guns (1973). In 1977 he was sentenced to 14 years after the bombing of a furniture factory. In 1981, while at Long Kesh prison, Northern Ireland, he went on hunger-strike in protest against the authorities' refusal to treat himself and his fellow-IRA prisoners as political. He died after 66 days, the first of 10 to die on hunger-strike that summer.

Bobby Sands
Roibeard Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh


Paramilitary organisation	PIRA
Date of birth	9 March 1954
Place of birth	Abbots Cross, Newtownabbey
Hungerstrike started	1 March 1981
Died	5 May 1981
Days on strike	66

Robert Gerard Sands, (Irish name: Roibeard Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh), commonly known as Bobby Sands (9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981), was an Irish republican who died on hunger strike in the prison officially called HM Prison Maze but formerly known as Long Kesh (a name still used by Irish Republicans). Sands was the leader of the hunger strike and had been elected as a Member of Parliament during his fast.

Family and early life

Bobby Sands was born in Abbots Cross, Newtownabbey and lived there until 1960 and then moved to Rathcoole, Newtownabbey. His family had moved due to intimidation by loyalists, although it was not clear that the Sands were Roman Catholics as their last name derived from his paternal grandfather who was a Protestant.

Sands' sister Bernadette Sands McKevitt is a prominent Republican who is no longer aligned with the Provisional movement. Later that year, Sands was arrested and convicted of firearms possession. After the bombing, Sands and at least 5 others in the bomb team, were allegedly involved in a gun battle with the police, although he was also never convicted of this, for lack of evidence.

Prisoner

He served his prison term at HM Prison Maze, also known by Irish republicans as Long Kesh.

In prison, Sands became a writer both of journalism and poetry which was published in the Irish republican newspaper An Phoblacht. In late 1980 Sands was chosen as Officer Commanding IRA prisoners in Long Kesh.

Political status protests

Republican prisoners had organised a series of protests seeking to regain their previous status of political prisoners and not be subject to ordinary prison regulations.

Hunger strike

The Second Hunger Strike started with Sands refusing food on 1 March 1981. Sands decided that other prisoners should join the strike at staggered intervals in order to maximise publicity with prisoners steadily deteriorating and dying successively over several months.

The hunger strike centred around "Five Demands":

The right not to wear a prison uniform; Pressure not to split the vote led other nationalist parties, notably the Social Democratic and Labour Party, to withdraw and Sands was nominated on an "Anti H-Block/Armagh Political Prisoner" ticket. 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, incidentally also becoming the youngest MP at the time .

Following Sands' success the Government rushed through Parliament the Representation of the People Act 1983 which prevents convicted prisoners serving jail terms of more than one year in either the UK or the Republic of Ireland, or unlawfully at large when they should be serving such a sentence, from being nominated as candidates in elections .

Death

Three weeks later, Bobby Sands MP died from starvation in the prison hospital after 66 days of hunger-striking. Sands was a Member of the Westminster Parliament for twenty-five days, though he never took his seat or oath.

Political impact

Nine other IRA and INLA members who were involved in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike also died after Bobby Sands. Many Irish Republicans and IRA sympathisers regard Bobby Sands and the other nine men as being martyrs who stood firm against the intransigence of the British Government, and many Irish nationalists who abhorred the IRA were outraged at the British government's stance.

The media coverage that surrounded the death of Bobby 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 fundraising capability. fans have been known to sing songs mocking Bobby Sands to taunt fans of Celtic F.C. The graffiti "Bobby Sands - Slimmer of the year" appeared. In Hartford, Connecticut a monument was dedicated to Bobby Sands and the other hunger strikers in 1997. The monument stands in a traffic circle known as "Bobby Sands Circle", at the bottom of Maple Avenue near Goodwin Park. The New Jersey State legislature voted 34-29 for a resolution honouring his 'courage and commitment.' In 2001 a memorial to Sands and the other hunger strikers was unveiled in Havana, Cuba.. The Grateful Dead played the Nassau Colliseum on the night Sands died and guitarist Bob Weir dedicated the song "He's Gone" to Sands.

Asia and Oceania

In Tehran, Iran revolutionaries sympathizing with Sands renamed the street on which the British embassy was located on from Winston Churchill street to Bobby Sands street. The Hong Kong Standard said it was 'sad that successive British governments have failed to end the last of Europe's religious wars.'

Music

Songs written in response to the hunger strikes and Sands death include;

The Ballad of Joe McDonnell- The Wolfe Tones It's gonna happen - The Undertones The Roll of Honour - Gerry O'Glacain (The Irish Brigade) 10 Years On - Blaggers I.T.A. Bobby Sands - Kretens The Sign - Eric Bogle Bobby Untitled - Nicky Wire of the Manic Street Preachers on his solo album "I Killed The Zeitgeist" The People's Own MP - Christy Moore The Time Has Come - Christy Moore (although written specifically after the death of Patsy O'Hara) Bobby Sands MP - Black 47 Bobby Sands - Christy Moore Inspiration - Easterhouse The Ghosts of Long Kesh - Crimson Spectre

Whilst in prison, Sands wrote the song "Back Home In Derry" which would be later recorded by Christy Moore.

Film

Bobby Sands was played by John Lynch in the 1996 film Some Mother's Son.

Published works

While in prison Sands had several letters and articles published in the Republican paper An Phoblact/Republican News under a pseudonym.

Other writings attributed to him include:

Skylark Sing Your Lonely Song, 1989, Mercier Press, ISBN 0853427267 One Day in My Life, 2001, Mercier Press, ISBN 1856353494

Sands also wrote the song "Back Home In Derry" which was later recorded by Christy Moore.