| Did You Ever Know You'Re My Hero: Frances Black on Bobby Sands | |
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| Date: | 2006-04-09 |
| Source: | Sunday Tribune |
One of Ireland's favourite traditional singers on the 1981 hunger striker
THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
One of the most influential people to have ever touched my life is Bobby Sands, the Irish freedom fighter and hunger striker. Bobby died 25 years ago after 66 days on hunger strike, and the Bible saying, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” is very appropriate for this brave man, who sacrificed his life for his country and his beliefs.
When I was 18, I attended a lecture and slideshow about the “Blanket Protests,” that were underway in the H-Blocks at Long Kesh. The British government had introduced a policy in 1976 that any sentenced IRA volunteer would no longer be afforded the rights of a political prisoner. In protest at this, the prisoners refused to wear the prison uniform and carry out prison work, and wrapped themselves in blankets to keep warm. Bobby Sands became P.R.O. for the protesting Republican prisoners, and subsequently, their Commanding Officer. I remember feeling very angry at the way these brave men were being treated. It upset me that they were being criminalised, and denied political status, when everyone knew that they only ended up in prison because of their fight for their ideals.
I became involved in the H-Block Campaign, and I remember marching on the streets pushing my baby in the buggy and singing at local fundraisers, although I wasn’t really well-known then. Bobby Sands is a hero to me because of the fact that a young man of 27 years of age, with everything to live for, was prepared to sacrifice his life for his beliefs. I have talked to some of his fellow prisoners, and they all speak of his generosity, intelligence, wit, and total lack of ego. He knew when he was embarking on the hunger strike that he would probably die, and he made arrangements that even when he was near death, he would not be taken off the hunger strike. I was absolutely devastated when he died - I was in complete shock and kept thinking there must be some mistake.
As a mother myself, I can’t even imagine the pain and suffering his family, and especially his mother Rosaleen, went through. It must have been so heartbreaking for her to watch her son die like that. When I read the poem that he wrote to her, I feel really sad. “You prayed for me and loved me more. How could I ask for any more. And reared me up to be like you. But I haven’t a heart as kind as you. So forgive me Mum, just a little more. For not loving you so much before. For life and love you gave to me, I give my thanks for eternity.”
Nine other men heroicly gave their lives for this cause - Francis Hughes, Raymond McCreesh, Patsy O’Hara, Joe McDonnell, Thomas McElwee, Kevin Lynch, Mickey Devine, Kieran Doherty and Martin Hurson. The sad thing about this whole period in Irish history is that the bravery of the hunger strikers has been recognised all over the world, and streets have been named after them, in contrast to here, where their cause was ignored by many people, as the authorities here labelled support for their struggle as support for violence. I think it should never be forgotten that Bobby Sands was elected as an MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, with over 30,000 votes, three weeks before he died. This shows the level of support for the prisoners, but it made no difference to the British government.
Bobby’s bravery and dedication belongs to a time before the Celtic Tiger, and a whole generation has now grown up that perhaps doesn’t remember the sacrifices he made. I feel that the values and ideals of the hunger strikers are still very relevant today, and their legacy will always be with us. I am really honoured and privileged to have been invited to perform at the annual Bobby Sands Memorial Lecture in Belfast on May 5th, on the 25th anniversary of his death.
Bobby Sands has taught me so much in my life, and the main thing I’ve learned from him is that you have to be true to yourself and your beliefs. You have to stand up for what you believe in. The hunger strike changed the Republican struggle, and demonstrated the power of electoral intervention and mass political movement. I’m in total agreement with Bernadette McAliskey, when she summed up the sacrifices made by Bobby and the other hunger strikers as follows: “I think of the power of such love as will lay down its life so resolutely, and I am in awe and perhaps fear of it, and I wonder what transforms ordinary young people into such universal defenders of human integrity.”
I was recently invited to Long Kesh by Bik McFarlane, who was the mediator between the hunger strikers and the authorities. Visiting the prison was probably one of the most emotional things I’ve ever done - it was such a sad experience. They brought me into Bobby’s cell, and the prison hospital where he was when he was dying, and I felt a huge sense of sadness around it all. There was such a dark blackness in the place. Bobby wrote many moving poems while he was in prison, and I think his courage and conviction comes through in them. It lights the dark of this prison cell. It thunders forth its might. It is “the undauntable thought,” my friend. That thought that says, “I’m right!”
· Frances Black will perform at Vicar Street on Sunday April 30th.