Hunger strikes of 1981

E18011

event in The Troubles hunger strike political protest protest

The Hunger Strikes of 1981 were a pivotal protest by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland, during which several died while refusing food to demand political status and which dramatically intensified international attention on the conflict.

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All labels observed (4)

Label	Occurrences
1981 Irish hunger strike	12
1981 Maze Prison hunger strike	1
H-Blocks protest	1
Hunger strikes of 1981 canonical	1

Statements (70)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	event in The Troubles ⓘ hunger strike ⓘ political protest ⓘ protest ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Hunger strikes of 1981 ⓘ surface form: 1981 Irish hunger strike 1981 hunger strike ⓘ
cause	criminalisation policy of the British government ⓘ withdrawal of political status for paramilitary prisoners ⓘ
commemoratedBy	annual commemorations by Irish republicans ⓘ
conflictContext	The Troubles ⓘ surface form: Northern Ireland conflict The Troubles ⓘ
country	United Kingdom ⓘ
demand	political status for paramilitary prisoners ⓘ restoration of Special Category Status ⓘ right not to do prison work ⓘ right not to wear prison uniforms ⓘ right of free association with other prisoners ⓘ right to one visit, one letter and one parcel per week ⓘ right to organize their own educational and recreational activities ⓘ
electoralImpact	election of Bobby Sands as MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone ⓘ election of Owen Carron as MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone ⓘ
endDate	1981-10-03 ⓘ
legacy	catalyst for Sinn Féin’s electoral rise in the 1980s ⓘ subject of numerous books, films and songs ⓘ symbol of Irish republican resistance ⓘ
location	Northern Ireland ⓘ
mainLocation	HM Prison Maze ⓘ Long Kesh ⓘ HM Prison Maze ⓘ surface form: Maze Prison
mediaCoverage	extensive international media attention ⓘ
notableDeath	Bobby Sands ⓘ Francis Hughes ⓘ Joe McDonnell ⓘ Kevin Lynch ⓘ Kieran Doherty ⓘ Martin Hurson ⓘ Michael Devine ⓘ Patsy O’Hara ⓘ Raymond McCreesh ⓘ Thomas McElwee ⓘ
notableParticipant	Bobby Sands ⓘ Brendan McFarlane ⓘ Laurence McKeown ⓘ Richard O’Rawe ⓘ
numberOfDeaths	10 ⓘ
opposedBy	UK government ⓘ surface form: British government Margaret Thatcher ⓘ surface form: UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
opposedPolicy	British policy of criminalisation of paramilitary prisoners ⓘ
organizedBy	Irish National Liberation Army prisoners ⓘ Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoners ⓘ
participant	INLA prisoners ⓘ Irish republican prisoners ⓘ Provisional IRA prisoners ⓘ
partOf	history of the Irish National Liberation Army ⓘ history of the Provisional Irish Republican Army ⓘ
politicalImpact	boosted electoral strategy of Irish republican movement ⓘ increased support for Sinn Féin ⓘ intensified international attention on Northern Ireland conflict ⓘ radicalized segments of nationalist community in Northern Ireland ⓘ
precededBy	1976 removal of Special Category Status ⓘ 1980 hunger strike ⓘ blanket protest ⓘ dirty protest ⓘ
relatedTo	British–Irish relations ⓘ surface form: Anglo-Irish relations Anglo-Irish Agreement ⓘ surface form: Northern Ireland peace process
result	no formal recognition of political status ⓘ partial concessions on prison conditions ⓘ
startDate	1981-03-01 ⓘ
timePeriod	20th century ⓘ Cold War era ⓘ