Blanketmen: An Untold Story of the H-block Hunger Strike

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In 1917 a form of blanket protest was carried out by a single Irish Republican internee Padraic Fleming in Maryborough (now Portlaoise Prison).

O'Rawe is speaking from his lived experience which I think makes him take some knowledge and understanding for granted that I did not necessarily have. Its ironic that the Republicans were blaming Maggie Thatcher, but it was her government who had offered a solution that was acceptable to the IRA prison leadership and would have saved six of their colleagues, but it was Gerry Adams who thought the Brits could be squeezed to give a little more and declined the deal. However, to the dismay of the prisoners, within days the atmosphere in the prison changed as soon as the spotlight shifted away from the jail.One of the "Blanketmen," he took part in the dirty protests that led to the hunger strikes of the early 1980s. A vivid and emotional first hand account of life in the H-Blocks on the blanket protest and during the hunger strikes.

This is one of the best books to be written about the 1981 Hunger Strikes and the after effects that we are beginning to feel only now, almost 30 years later.Bobby Sands himself publicly expressed satisfaction at the new era of cooperation inside the jail, unprecedented since the British government embarked upon its policy of criminalisation in March 1976. I was talking about British government offers and how the prison leadership had accepted an offer to end the hunger strike and of how our acceptance had been overruled by an outside IRA committee. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Over 80 prisoners were assaulted, beaten in wing shifts, left overnight without bedding or blankets or drinking water, refused toilet facilities and had meals interfered with or withdrawn altogether.

McCaughey was demanding political status, refusing to wear prison clothes and was kept naked (except for a blanket) in solitary confinement for nearly five years.We give people around the world the opportunity to contribute to the circular economy, earn money and protect the planet, by trading their unwanted books and media. Most purchases from business sellers are protected by the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 which give you the right to cancel the purchase within 14 days after the day you receive the item. After ten years, and the release of historical state and personal papers, Richard O'Rawe's explosive assertions in Blanketmen have been vindicated. I was fortunate enough to have the help of his sister, Ann McKernan, and his many friends including Johnny Depp, who wrote a magnificent foreword about their antics while holidaying in Kerry and Cork.

Now instead of internment the British had a legal-looking process of arrest, charge, remand, trial and sentence. He said: “Having spent the whole of Sunday in the prison, I was shocked at the inhuman conditions prevailing in H-Blocks 3,4 and 5 where over 300 prisoners were incarcerated.

Long Kesh, by name and appearance was known worldwide as a concentration camp and the large number of political prisoners drawn from all over the Six Counties enjoyed, through family, community and local connections, maximum support. At the centre of Blanketmen lies the declaration that six of the ten men on hunger strike in the H-Block unit of Long Kesh Prison starved themselves to death in vain, as an offer from the British Government was on the table that could have ended the strike after four of them had died. I also liked the strength in the name “Panzer O’Hare” (Panzer being a German WWII tank, Ructions’ uncle, and the head of the O’Hare family). This was to last for a full three years and arose essentially because the men were refused washing or toilet facilities or were beaten when they left their cells. The narration is often confusing because of unannounced time leaps and inconsistent usage of people's names and nicknames.