The book saw its author ostracised by mainstream republicans, including many of Mr O'Rawe's former friends and comrades. Richard O'Rawe was born in 1956 and spent the first fourteen years of his life in the Lower Falls district of Belfast. His home was at the corner of Peel Street and Mary Street. Nearby lived Gerry Conlon. In 1970, his home in Peel Street was demolished as part of the redevelopment of the area and he and his family moved to Ballymurphy, a new housing estate. At this time, The Troubles was developing. In 1971, the Ballymurphy massacre occurred in which eleven civilians were killed by the British Army. The following year, there was the Battle at Springmartin nearby. As a result of the heightened conflict in the area, O'Rawe got involved in Irish republican politics. [1] He was later arrested and imprisoned in Crumlin Road gaol and then in Long Kesh prison. [2] Role in the hunger strikes [ edit ] So present day N.Ireland, still a part of the UK, and I don’t see the country doing that badly. The republic of Ireland just went bankrupt and got bailed out by Germany…and N.Ireland didn’t. Much of the Irish left found it difficult to connect with the anger surrounding the hunger strikes. They tended to view support for the hunger strike as support for the PIRA and reactionary sectarian violence, and rejected the idea that the movement could have broad working-class support beyond Northern Catholics.

English, Richard (2003). Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA. Pan Books. pp.195–196. ISBN 0-330-49388-4. The tremendous gathering of republican socialists who stood together against everything the British government tried to break them in those fateful years from 1976 to 1981 was an emotional but happy occasion for us,” said the family. However, the Army Council of the IRA rejected the offer and six more men died, the last one on August 20. The strike ended, partly due to the strikers’ families intervening, on October 30 and, soon after, most of the rights demanded were granted. Across the sectarian divide the working class had an honest desire for peace. This does not mean it was ‘neutral’ in the conflict or passive, but tired of tit-for-tat sectarian bombings and killings that led nowhere. Only a genuine Marxist revolutionary tendency could have explained the way forward then, as now.

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Since 1976 some Republican prisoners, furious at being classed as criminals rather than politicals, refused to conform to prison rules, wearing blankets instead of “monkey suits”. The prisoners carried a tremendous authority and symbolism for the Republican struggle, however, and their determination to fight could not be so easily sidelined. The Irish Republican Socialist Movement was also split over whether to prioritise mass political struggle or force of arms. Many of the leaders of Sinn Féin and the PIRA had drawn the conclusion that the tactics of armed struggle had failed. Instead of encouraging a political reassessment within Republicanism and a return to the revolutionary socialist ideas of James Connolly, these leaders attempted to nudge the movement towards electoralism. Communication was difficult; additionally vehement disagreements and strict enforcement of “need to know” contributed to the chaos.

The symptoms of starvation include hallucinations and delirium, diminished sight and speech, and unbearable headaches and stomach pains.I don't get involved in political parties and I'm very much my own man but this initiative appealed to me because there was no prearranged agenda and no predetermined outcome." Asked if republicans would disapprove of his association with the SDLP, the author said he hoped any criticism would be constructive. Brendan Hughes’s family was there and Brendan was honoured on the night as he was the OC on the first blanket; Kieran Nugent’s family was there too, Kieran was the first blanketman. The right of free association with other prisoners, and to organise educational and recreational pursuits;