‘Ringland and the Hunger Strike’ by Joe McVeigh

A letter appeared  in a Belfast morning newspaper(Aug 29) from a regular writer to that paper, Trevor Ringland. As a unionist he is pro-monarchy and anti-republican. He clearly does not like republicans or republicanism. He describes republicanism as a ‘flawed ideology.’ Mr Ringland began the letter by stating “I probably won’t watch 66 Days…” Such a negative approach was intended as an insult. He goes on in his  letter to condemn the hunger-strikers for ‘taking their own lives for a political cause’.  And he condemned the rest of us who supported them.

The use of hungerstrike as a weapon to obtain justice has a long history in Ireland and indeed in other countries like India where it was used by Mahatma Gandhi. InIreland it was used as a means of protesting against injustice in Celtic times and was known as troscadh (fasting on or against a person) and cealachan (achieving justice by starvation).

If you ever want to understand the difference in the psyche between the Irish and the English you have only to look at the disrespectful way Thatcher treated Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich, the leading Churchman in Ireland before and during the 1980 and 1981 hunger-strikes. You might also look at the different attitudes of Cardinal Hume and Cardinal Ó Fiaich to the hungerstrike to get an understanding of the different psyches of the British and Irish.

The idea of fasting for a cause until death is deep in the Irish psyche. One of the most famous people to die on hungerstrile was the Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney who died in Brixtion jail in London after 73 days fasting. Others had died on hungerstrike in the south in 1940 and 1946 and then in English jails in the 1970s. In 1974, Michael Gaughan died on hungerstrike and then in 1976 Frank Stagg died on hungerstrike. They were both Irish republicans and both from County Mayo.

It had been used in Long Kesh in June 1972 by a number of senior republicans, led by Billy McKee, to achieve political status which was granted then and continued until it was phased out in 1976.

In 1976 the British Labour government introduced a new policy of criminalisation. From then onwards prisoners sentenced would be required to wear prison uniform and conform to new prison rules. When the prisoners refused to conform to this new regime they went on a protest of wrapping themselves in a blanket and then refusing to be forcibly taken to the toilets.

In August 1978, Cardinal Tomás O’Fiaich, the leader of the Irish Catholic church since 1977, visited the H Blocks in Long Kesh prison to see the situation for himself. Afterwards, he made a strong statement: “I was shocked by the inhuman conditions prevailing in H Blocks 3, 4, and 5, where over 300 prisoners are incarcerated. One would hardly allow an animal to remain in such conditions, let alone a human being…The stench and filth in some of the cells, with the remains of rotten food and human excreta around the walls, was almost unbearable. In two of them I was unable to speak for fear of vomiting…The nearest approach to it that I have seen was the spectacle of hundreds of homeless people living in sewer pipes in the slums of Calcutta….From talking to them it is evident that they intend to continue their protest indefinitely and it seems they prefer to face death rather than submit to being classed as criminals. Anyone with the least knowledge of Irish history knows how deeply rooted this attitude is in our country’s past.”

The British condemned the Cardinal’s remarks. The Cardinal was ridiculed in the British press where it was often noted that he came from Crossmaglen in South Armagh, regarded by the British media as ‘Bandit Country’. Cardinal Ó Fiaich abhorred the use of violence for political purposes. The refusal by Prime Minister Thatcher and the British government to respond to the Cardinal’s appeal for justice and mercy led to the first hunger-strike in 1980. When it ended with the promise from the British to introduce reforms a second hunger strike began which was led by Bobby Sands. In his Diary, he outlined the reasons why they resorted to the second hunger strike. They hoped that the British would be forced to change their attitude as a result of world opinion. We know now that the Iron lady was not for changing. The prisoners were acting in solidarity and in the context of republican history. Mr Ringland would not understand  that. I think Mr Ringland should go to see 66 Days. He might learn something and he might learn to be a little more respectful of others who differ from him politically.