Hunger Strike Events
Tralee
Tralee, Co Kerry, had a busy week of Hunger Strike commemorative events, starting last Thursday, 10 May, at the Grand Hotel.
Former H-Block blanketman Gerry Hanratty gave a rousing speech at a meeting in the hotel, which was chaired by local Sinn Féin councillor, Martin Ferris, himself a former blanketman.
Hanratty asked those under the age of 22 to stand up and then reminded the audience that the majority of the hunger strikers were ``in that age bracket and were from working-class backgrounds''.
Hanratty said his abiding memory of the 1981 hunger strikes was of the anguish of families forced to watch their loved ones die. ``I also remember mothers, sisters and wives massaging the skin of the hunger strikers when it started to turn black,'' he said. ``The tremendous courage and dedication of the hunger strikers as their teeth started to fall out, their bones began to get brittle and they slowly started to go blind on their way to an agonizing death, is something that I will never forget.
``The hunger strikers were ordinary people, but their sacrifice was extraordinary. Let us never forget their commitment, dedication and courage.''
Two days later, on Saturday 12 May, a white-line vigil was held in Tralee Town Centre to pay tribute to the memory of Francis Hughes, who died on the same day, 20 years earlier. Hughes was aged just 25 years when he died after 59 days on hunger strike.
On Sunday 13 May, in wet conditions, republicans gathered at Gortaglanna, Knockanure, near Listowel in Co Kerry, to remember Lyons, Walsh and Dalton, assassinated by Black and Tans on 12 May 1921. Martin Ferris spoke at the event, at which he placed emphasis on the need for republicans to prepare to fight oncoming elections. ``As we face into elections,'' he said, ``let us all pay a fitting tribute to the memory of these great men and others like them.''
Waterford
In the Southwest, Waterford Sinn Féin held a very successful commemorative march and rally on Saturday in Waterford City, attracting over 500 people.
In the city centre, speeches were delivered to the crowd. Guest speaker, former blanketman Leo Greene, spoke of the magnitude of the struggle that took place in prisons in 1981. He remarked that that struggle was not in vain and that the hunger strikers succeeded in their efforts to defeat the British government.
On Sunday, 20 May, the play centring on the hunger strike period, ÔThe Laughter of Our Children', will be performed at the Forum Theatre, The Glen, at 8pm.
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