Two join Hunger Strike
THE two H-Block blanket men due to join the Hunger Strike for political status this Sunday, 22 March, are Raymond McCreesh and Patsy O'Hara, both aged 24.
Raymond McCreesh was born in the village of Camlough in South Armagh on 25 February 1957. He is the youngest in a family of four brothers and three sisters. After leaving school Ray attended Newry technical college and served two years apprenticeship as a sheet metal worker. At 19 Ray was arrested after an IRA ambush on soldiers near Beleek in South Armagh in June 1976. After nine months on remand he was sentenced in a non-jury court in March 1977. Ray refused to recognise the court. Next Tuesday he will have been four years on the blanket, and during that time he has forfeited his visits rather than wear the prison uniform for that short half-hour per month. He only took his first visit recently with his parents, to inform them he was going on hunger strike.
Patsy O'Hara was born in Derry City on 11 February 1957. He was only eleven years of age when, along with his parents, he took part in the big civil rights march in Derry on 5 October 1968, which was batoned by the RUC. A year later he again witnessed one of the milestones in the present troubles when the RUC invaded, and were defeated, during the Battle of the Bogside in August 1969.
Patsy joined Na Fianna h-Éireann in 1970 and, although under age, he joined Sinn Féin in 1971. Later in the year he joined the Sticky Republican Clubs but quickly became disillusioned with them increasingly ignoring the national question. He was frequently harassed and beaten up by the Brits before being interned in April 1975. After his release he joined the Irish Republican Socialist Party. Patsy was arrested once more in May 1979. He was charged with possession of a hand grenade and was convicted on the basis of accusations made by two British soldiers. He was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment in January 1980 and immerdiately went on the blanket.
Blanket men harassed
Up until last Wednesday 18 March H-Block Hunger Striker Bobby Sands had lost almost 16lbs weight. He has also suffered petty harassment by warders, which has intensified since the ending of the no wash protest and since warders lost their big bonus for working in such `intolerable conditions'. As a result of this the warders are on an unofficial `go slow', of which the blanket men have been for the most part the victims. Meanwhile, the other hunger striker, Frankie Hughes, in H5, received cell furniture last Monday night and was also given two newspapers for which he did not have to sign. He takes salt, and like Bobby Sands, drinks between five and six pints of water daily.
Phoblacht, Saturday 21 March 1981
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