The IRA prisoners in Northern Ireland engaged in protests starting in the 1970s to demand special political prisoner status be reinstated after it was removed. This led to a blanket and later dirty protest. Bobby Sands led two hunger strikes in 1980 and 1981 to pressure the British government, leading to his election as MP while on a hunger strike. Despite international pressure, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher refused to back down. Sands and nine other prisoners died from starvation, further polarizing nationalists and unionists and strengthening the IRA's position.

1. IRA Hunger Strikes
Leaving Cert History

2. The H-Block and its Protests.
• Until 1976 political prisoners in jail for terrorism had
“special category status” – this meant that they were
treated differently from other criminals.
– They were allowed wear their own clothes
– They got extra visits and more food parcels
– They were housed in huts instead of cells
– They didn’t have to do work like the other criminals
had to.
• Rees the Secretary of State for NI decided that they
should be treated like all other prisoners
• They were moved to H-Block in the Maze prison, had to
wear prison clothes and obey all prison rules.

3. Political Prisoners Protests
• The IRA prisoners protested that they were not criminals and
that they wanted their “special category status” back.
1. Blanket Protest:
• They refused to wear prison clothes so the prison officers
took everything from their cells except a blanket.
2. Dirty Protest:
• Blanket protest didn’t get the prisoners what they wanted so
they then refused to clean themselves or their cells – they
even began to spread their own excrement on the cell walls
• 300 prisoners involved in the “dirty protest”
• They didn’t get much notice or sympathy from the public

4. • Margaret Thatcher was the British Prime Minister at the
time
• Known as the Iron Lady – she had tough decisions to make.
• She felt that the IRA prisoners committed crimes against
many innocent people and should be treated as criminals.
• She refused to take any notice of the prisoner’s protests.
• She refused to let the IRA win; to support the strikers they
had killed 18 prison officers. This made her more angry and
she would not back down
• The IRA also continued to bomb and kill in Northern Ireland
and Britain which also angered her

5. Hunger Strike
• Oct 1980- the prisoners decided to go on hunger strike. They
lasted 53 days as they thought they had gotten what they
wanted. When nothing changed a second hunger strike took
place.
• March 1st 1981 Bobby Sands went on hunger strike. Many
followed his lead.
• The aim was to get as many newspapers to report on what was
happening, get public sympathy as they neared death and then
surely Thatcher would have to give in to their demands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtXCfLT9WdU&t=2035

6. • Then something unplanned and surprising happened. A
Nationalist MP for Fermanagh-South Tyrone died. Sands
was put forward for MP and he beat the Unionist nominee.
• Sands, while on hunger strike in prison in Ireland, was now
also a MP for Northern Ireland in London.
• This made the world pay attention to what was going on in
the prisons in Northern Ireland

7. • Thatcher and Sands were approached by Sands family, the
Red Cross, the Vatican and the Irish Government to end the
strike before someone died.
• Again Thatcher refused to back down and give in to the IRA
• Sands died on May 5th 1981 after 66 days
• Thatcher said: “Mr Sands was a convicted criminal. He
chose to take his own life. It was a choice his organisation
did not allow to many of its victims”
• There were riots in Belfast
• 100,000 attended his funeral.
• Another 10 died before the hunger strikes were called off.

8. Impacts of the hunger strikes
• The hunger strikes made the IRA stronger and more
people joined.
• Nationalists and Unionists were even more divided
• The way in Thatcher and the British handled the
hunger strikes damaged their reputation around the
world.
• After the hunger strikes Thatcher did not want to
back down to the IRA. She realised that power-
sharing was the best way to make peace.