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1 March 2001
Peace process is part of 1981 hunger strike legacy
The current peace process is a legacy of the 1981 H-Block hunger strike in which ten republican prisoners died, Sinn Fein TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said in Dublin today (Thursday) at the launch of a series of commemorative events.
The press conference to announce the commemorative events was also addressed by South Tipperary Independent TD Seamus Healy. It was being held on the 20th anniversary of the day that Bobby Sands embarked on hunger strike in the campaign to win back political status which was arbitrarily withdrawn by the then British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher.
Deputy Ó Caoláin, who was the director of elections for Cavan/Monaghan TD and H-Block hunger striker Kieran Doherty in 1981, said:
``Part of the legacy of the hunger strikers is, without doubt, the current peace process. I believe that the peace process has helped to bridge many of the divisions within Ireland and between Britain and Ireland but much more remains to be done. The intransigence which we saw in its extreme form in the refusal of the Thatcher government to move in 1981 can be still be seen in some sections of the British establishment. Thatcher's legacy is to be seen in the securocrats and others who wield an influence on British government policy and delay progress on issues like demilitarisation and policing.
``I believe that the peace process has helped to bridge many of the divisions within Ireland and between Britain and Ireland but much more remains to be done. The intransigence which we saw in its extreme form in the refusal of the Thatcher government to move in 1981 can still be seen in some sections of the British establishment. Thatcher's legacy is to be seen in the securocrats and others who wield an influence on British Government policy and delay progress on issues like demilitarisation and policing.''
Deputy Ó Caoláin said:
``It is too often forgotten that two republican prisoners were elected as TDs during the hunger strike - Kieran Doherty in Cavan/Monaghan and Paddy Agnew in Louth. Kieran Doherty TD was the third Irish elected representative to die on hunger strike, after Terence McSwiney TD, Mayor of Cork, in 1920, and Bobby Sands MP in May 1981.''
The Cavan/Monaghan TD urged ``people from diverse political traditions and none'' to participate in events commemorating the hunger strike ``which focus on a history that is the common legacy of all who share this island''.
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