The legacy of the 1981 H Block Hunger Strikes

national | rights, freedoms and repression | event notice Sunday August 21, 2011 18:48 by Saoirse - Republican Sinn Féin saoirse at iol dot ie Teach Dáithí Ó Conaill, 223 Parnell St, Dublin 1 01 8729747

To mark the 30th anniversary of the end of the 1981 hunger strikes Republican Sinn Féin are providing a unique opportunity to hear two people who played a central part in the events of 1981 both inside and outside the H Blocks of Long Kesh.

On Saturday October 8 in Wynn’s Hotel, 35-39 Lower Abbey St, Dublin Ruarí Ó Brádaigh and Richard O’Rawe will be talking about the events of this momentous and painful year in Irish Revolutionary history. Beginning at 12.30pm the afternoon symposium will also include music, song, poems and writings of the 1981 Hunger Strikes. Posters, leaflets, papers etc of the period will also be on display. Ruairí Ó Brádaigh was President of Sinn Féin at the time of the hunger strikes. He has been one of the leading Irish Republicans in Ireland for almost 60 years and is currently Patron of Republican Sinn Féin. Richard O’Rawe was the PRO of the Republican prisoners in the H Blocks of Long Kesh throughout the hunger strikes. He is the author of Blanketmen, an untold story of the H Block hunger strike (2005). and Afterlives, The Hunger Strike and the Secret Offer that changed Irish History (2010). The afternoon of reflection and commemoration will take place from 12.30pm to 5.pm. Críoch/Ends