Changing Republican Strategy Flashcards
Unit 8 (18 cards)
When was the policy of criminalisation introduced?
March 1976
What was the policy of Ulsterisation?
Increasing the size of the RUC and UDR while reducing the amount of British army troops in NI
What was the policy of criminalisation?
The end of special category status for those convicted of terrorist crimes after March 1976
What was special category status?
A policy meaning those convicted of terrorist crimes could claim they had broken the law for political reasons and live as prisoners of war
What benefits did special category status give for those who had it?
- They could wear their own clothes
- They could freely associate with each other
- They got extra food parcels
- They could abstain from certain kinds of prison work
Where would those convicted of terrorist crimes be sent after March 1976?
The Maze Prison just outside Belfast
Why did Republican prisoners object ideologically to the end of special category status?
They saw themselves as freedom fighters fighting for Ireland’s independence
What was the blanket protest?
Prisoners refused to wear prison clothes and covered themselves with blankets instead
What was the dirty protest?
Prisoners refused to slop out and smeared their cell walls with excrement
What other actions did Republicans take against criminalisation before the hunger strikes?
Public protests and attacks on prison guards
What percentage of Republican prisoners were involved in protests against criminalisation by the end of 1980?
40%
When did the first hunger strike begin?
27th October 1980
How long did the first hunger strike last?
52 days
Why did the first hunger strike end?
The prisoners wrongly thought an agreement had been reached with the British government relating to wearing their own clothes
When did the second hunger strike begin?
1st March 1980
Who started the second hunger strike?
The IRA prisoners’ commanding officer Bobby Sands
What was different about the format of the second hunger strike compared to the first one?
A new prisoner would join the hunger strike every week in order to prolong it and maximise its effect
Whose seat in Westminister did Bobby Sands stand for and win, and when did he die?
Frank Maguire, the MP for Fermanagh-South Tyrone died on the 5th of March 1981
