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Sunday World
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Sunday World
Bobby Sands statue unveiled to mark anniversary of IRA hunger striker's death
The statue of the hunger striker and former MP was revealed at the Republican Memorial Garden in Twinbrook Gerry Adams attended the unveiling of the Bobby Sands statue in Belfast (Brian Lawless/PA) A statue has been unveiled in memory of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands in Belfast, marking the 44th anniversary of his death. The statue of the hunger striker and former MP was revealed at the Republican Memorial Garden in Twinbrook. Sands, a father-of-one, died on May 5 during the 1981 hunger strike, when he was aged 27. Seven IRA prisoners and three from the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) died during the prison strike. Members of the pubic attend the unveiling of the Bobby Sands statue (Brian Lawless/PA) Their aim was to force then UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher's government to recognise them as political prisoners. Sands was the first to refuse food in March 1981 and the first to starve to death after 66 days. Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams was among those to attend the event to commemorate Sands. Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan, the main speaker at the event, said: 'By their heroism and sacrifice, Bobby and the other hunger strikers ensured that the cause of Irish freedom was renewed, and now in 2025 we are closer than ever to undoing the justice of partition and reuniting our country. Gerry Adams attended the unveiling of the Bobby Sands statue in Belfast (Brian Lawless/PA) Today's News in 90 Seconds - May 4th 'Their bravery set in motion a series of events that makes a momentum for political and social change unstoppable and irreversible. 'That momentum will carry us forward to the realisation of an Irish national democracy, a Republic where the rights and identity of all our people of whatever persuasion or background will be accommodated and cherished. 'Bobby didn't die just to prove he was right. He had a vision and a belief and an idea that his suffering and death would lead to a better world for the rest of us, and today, we are in a better place. 'We no longer need or expect our young men and women to risk their lives in liberty on active service or the hunger strike in prison cells. And that's not to say there isn't work to be done. 'We need to redouble our efforts, and all of us put our shoulders to the wheel. Irish unity is not inevitable. We need to make it happen. Gerry Adams attended the unveiling of the Bobby Sands statue in Belfast (Brian Lawless/PA) Watch: Statue of Bobby Sands unveiled in Twinbrook area of west Belfast 'Forty-four years after his death in the H-Blocks, Bobby Sands' name lives on.' The Belfast MLA said that Sands should not be remembered as a hunger striker only. 'Like all of us, he was multifaceted,' he added. 'He was a loving father of an eight-year-old son, and also a loving son and brother. Bobby was a friend and comrade to many. He was a community activist, particularly here in Twinbrook between his two periods of imprisonment. 'He was a musician, a songwriter, a poet and a prolific writer. He was a Gaeilgeoir. Bobby was a blanket man, a political prisoner of war, a socialist, a leader, a revolutionary, a volunteer of Oglaigh na hEireann. 'Bobby Sands was a young man who resisted until his last breath. He was our hunger striker. He is our hero.'
Irish Independent
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Bobby Sands statue unveiled to mark anniversary of IRA hunger striker's death
The statue of the hunger striker and former MP was revealed at the Republican Memorial Garden in Twinbrook. Sands, a father-of-one, died on May 5 during the 1981 hunger strike, when he was aged 27. Seven IRA prisoners and three from the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) died during the prison strike. Their aim was to force then UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher's government to recognise them as political prisoners. Sands was the first to refuse food in March 1981 and the first to starve to death after 66 days. Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams was among those to attend the event to commemorate Sands. Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan, the main speaker at the event, said: 'By their heroism and sacrifice, Bobby and the other hunger strikers ensured that the cause of Irish freedom was renewed, and now in 2025 we are closer than ever to undoing the justice of partition and reuniting our country. 'Their bravery set in motion a series of events that makes a momentum for political and social change unstoppable and irreversible. 'That momentum will carry us forward to the realisation of an Irish national democracy, a Republic where the rights and identity of all our people of whatever persuasion or background will be accommodated and cherished. 'Bobby didn't die just to prove he was right. He had a vision and a belief and an idea that his suffering and death would lead to a better world for the rest of us, and today, we are in a better place. 'We no longer need or expect our young men and women to risk their lives in liberty on active service or the hunger strike in prison cells. And that's not to say there isn't work to be done. ADVERTISEMENT 'We need to redouble our efforts, and all of us put our shoulders to the wheel. Irish unity is not inevitable. We need to make it happen. 'Forty-four years after his death in the H-Blocks, Bobby Sands' name lives on.' The Belfast MLA said that Sands should not be remembered as a hunger striker only. 'Like all of us, he was multifaceted,' he added. 'He was a loving father of an eight-year-old son, and also a loving son and brother. Bobby was a friend and comrade to many. He was a community activist, particularly here in Twinbrook between his two periods of imprisonment. 'He was a musician, a songwriter, a poet and a prolific writer. He was a Gaeilgeoir. Bobby was a blanket man, a political prisoner of war, a socialist, a leader, a revolutionary, a volunteer of Oglaigh na hEireann. 'Bobby Sands was a young man who resisted until his last breath. He was our hunger striker. He is our hero.'
Belfast Telegraph
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Bobby Sands statue unveiled to mark anniversary of IRA hunger striker's death
A statue has been unveiled in memory of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands in Belfast, marking the 44th anniversary of his death. The statue of the hunger striker and former MP was revealed at the Republican Memorial Garden in Twinbrook. Sands, a father-of-one, died on May 5 during the 1981 hunger strike, when he was aged 27. Seven IRA prisoners and three from the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) died during the prison strike. Their aim was to force then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher's government to recognise them as political prisoners. Sands was the first to refuse food in March 1981 and the first to starve to death after 66 days. Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams was among those to attend the event to commemorate Sands. Sinn Fein MLA Pat Sheehan, the main speaker at the event, said: 'By their heroism and sacrifice, Bobby and the other hunger strikers ensured that the cause of Irish freedom was renewed, and now in 2025 we are closer than ever to undoing the justice of partition and reuniting our country. 'Their bravery set in motion a series of events that makes a momentum for political and social change unstoppable and irreversible. 'That momentum will carry us forward to the realisation of an Irish national democracy, a Republic where the rights and identity of all our people of whatever persuasion or background will be accommodated and cherished. 'Bobby didn't die just to prove he was right. He had a vision and a belief and an idea that his suffering and death would lead to a better world for the rest of us, and today, we are in a better place. 'We no longer need or expect our young men and women to risk their lives in liberty on active service or the hunger strike in prison cells. And that's not to say there isn't work to be done. 'We need to redouble our efforts, and all of us put our shoulders to the wheel. Irish unity is not inevitable. We need to make it happen. 'Forty-four years after his death in the H-Blocks, Bobby Sands' name lives on.' The Belfast MLA said that Sands should not be remembered as a hunger striker only. 'Like all of us, he was multifaceted,' he added. 'He was a loving father of an eight-year-old son, and also a loving son and brother. Bobby was a friend and comrade to many. He was a community activist, particularly here in Twinbrook between his two periods of imprisonment. 'He was a musician, a songwriter, a poet and a prolific writer. He was a Gaeilgeoir. Bobby was a blanket man, a political prisoner of war, a socialist, a leader, a revolutionary, a volunteer of Oglaigh na hEireann. 'Bobby Sands was a young man who resisted until his last breath. He was our hunger striker. He is our hero.'
Telegraph
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Blair administration failed to extradite Irish terrorist wanted over MP's murder
The Blair government moved too slowly to extradite a fugitive Republican terrorist wanted in connection with the murder of an MP, newly declassified documents reveal. Officials admitted 'the bird has flown' after failing to act quickly enough to extradite Harry 'Basher' Flynn, the convicted terrorist gunrunner. Flynn was named in court in the 1980s as chief of staff for the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), and is believed to have been a member since its creation in 1975 as a rival to the IRA. He has been wanted in relation to the assassination of Airey Neave, one of Margaret Thatcher's closest confidantes. Neave was Margaret Thatcher's shadow secretary for Northern Ireland and during the Second World War had been the first British prisoner of war escapee from Colditz Castle. The 63-year-old was killed on March 30 1979, when a bomb planted under his Vauxhall Cavalier exploded as it left the House of Commons underground car park. In 1975, Flynn was charged with stealing £3,500 in an armed bank robbery in Belfast but he tunnelled out of jail before his trial and continued to be listed as 'unlawfully at large' by Northern Ireland's prison service into the 21st-century. After escaping from Maze Prison, he was caught five years later while rioting about hunger strikes outside the British Embassy in Dublin. However, an extradition attempt failed. In 1986, Flynn was jailed for five years in France for illegally importing £70,000 of weapons including 100 light anti-tank weapons, 40 Kalashnikov rifles, three machine-guns and two mortars. Britain tried to extradite him again in 1987, but failed as his crime was deemed 'political'. Flynn, 71, now runs the Celts Well pub in Santa Ponsa, Majorca, where the INLA's emblem and memorabilia glorifying republican terrorists are on display. Foreign Office papers released at the National Archives show that officials missed a third chance to drag him back to face justice from the Balearic island in the late 1990s. Flynn was arrested in mid-July 1997, prompting an urgent missive to the Foreign Office from Madrid-based diplomat John Dew, who received the news from the consulate in Palma. On July 15, he wrote: 'Flynn came to the consulate's attention recently when he was arrested after hitting a musician on the hand (drink having been taken). 'He is still in custody awaiting trial. The local police regard him as somewhat unstable. He allegedly hangs around an Irish haunt in Majorca called the Celts Bar in Calvia.' Crown solicitors and the DPP in Northern Ireland were consulted, and officials found no theoretical barrier to extradition or statute of limitations on the robbery or escape offences, but the process did not move quickly enough. David Brighty, Britain's ambassador in Madrid, wrote to the Foreign Office again on Aug 13, in a somewhat exasperated tone, to say that Flynn had been released after paying a large surety. He said Flynn had been released ten days previously, after paying a Palma court some two million pesetas, about £10,000 after the money was brought to the island by a bagman from Dublin. 'The bird has flown' Brighty said the consul in Palma had 'not felt able to make too many direct inquiries, since Flynn was using an Irish passport and was seen by the Spanish as being an Irish National'. He added: 'It looks as if the bird has flown. If there were thought that we wished to take advantage of his detention, then we seem to have reacted pretty slowly to John Dew's teleletter of 15 July, which clearly signalled the opportunity.' A memo circulated in London said that officials would have to ask the secretary of state if they wished to 'seek extradition given that we have already lost on two occasions and that a further court hearing may be an occasion for us to be accused of terrible things with little chance of rebuttal.' 'Assuming that we agree we should seek the return of Flynn,' an official wrote. 'I attach a draft submission to the secretary of state.' A handwritten note then added: 'Not issued. Harry Flynn left the jurisdiction on 3 August. NFA for the moment.' The identity of the musician and the outcome of the trial are not contained in the papers. Flynn still runs the Celts Well bar and in 2019 declined to comment when approached by the Telegraph at his pub in Majorca. The same year Flynn was named in a book by Patrick Bishop, a historian, as a founding member of the INLA who would probably 'never be brought to justice' for acts committed during the Troubles. Flynn is believed to have lived in Santa Ponsa since the 90s in an apartment near the Celts Well. At the height of fighting between the IRA and INLA he became a target of the former as a 'godfather' of the latter. He survived an assassination attempt in Dublin in 1983 and another later shooting. The INLA, which Flynn was thought to have joined in 1975, declared a ceasefire after the Good Friday Agreement.
