Sydney Hunger Strike commemoration
About 250 people packed into the Ashfield Catholic and Community Club in Sydney on Saturday, 13 May for the annual commemoration of the 1981 Hunger Strike. The crowd was welcomed by Eugene McCague, Australian Aid for Ireland New South Wales president, and the event was chaired by Paddy Gorman. A live phone hookup was held with former blanketman and hunger striker Raymond McCartney, who spoke to the hushed crowd about the significance of the 1980 and 1981 hunger strikes for the development of the freedom struggle, the fight by republicans to rescue the peace process from British and unionist intransigence, and the needs of current and former prisoners of war. A minute of silence was held for Kieran Nugent and the 11 other republicans who participated in the 1980 and 1981 hunger strikes and gave their lives directly and indirectly as a result.
The AAI (NSW) Annual General Meeting will be held on 28 May 2000 at 4pm at the city's Gaelic Club, and Clonakilty Sinn Féin Councillor Cionnaith Ó Súilleabháin will address a public meeting in Sydney on 8 June.
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