1981 Irish Hunger Strike

The 1981 Irish Hunger Strike was a campaign by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland for the British government to grant them political status. It was a seminal event in modern Irish history. It radicalised nationalist politics, and was the midwife to Sinn Féin as a serious political force, which ultimately led to it overtaking the SDLP as the main nationalist party in Northern Ireland.

Background

The process which led up to Hunger Strikes began in 1976. As part of the policy of Ulsterisation and "criminalisation", the British government ended its previous policy of giving Special Category Status to paramilitary prisoners in Northern Ireland prisons. Special Category, or political, status meant prisoners were treated very like prisoners of war, e.g. they did not have to wear prison uniforms or do prison work. The end to Special Category Status was a serious threat to the authority which the paramilitary leaderships inside prison had been able to exercise over their own men, as well as being a propaganda blow. The policy was not introduced for existing prisoners, but rather phased in for those newly convicted.

Related Topics:
1976 - Ulsterisation - Special Category Status

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