Bobby Sands Irish Republican Army Patriot MP Long Kesh Maze Hunger Strike Poster

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Bobby Sands Irish Republican Army Patriot MP Long Kesh Maze Hunger Strike Poster:
$17.50

BOBBY SANDS POSTER 16\" X 12\"

Bobby Sands (1954 - 1981) was an Irish volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and member of the British Parliament who died on hunger strike while imprisoned in HM Prison Maze.

\"They won\'t break me because the desire for freedom, and the
freedom of the Irish people, is in my heart. The day will dawn
when all the people of Ireland will have the desire for freedom to show.
It is then that we will see the rising of the moon\".
- Bobby Sands.

Brief Background - Bobby Sands was born into a Catholic family in Abbots Cross 1954.
- On leaving school, he became an apprentice coach-builder until he was forced out at gunpoint by loyalists.
- In June 1972, at the age of 18, Bobby moved with his family to the Twinbrook housing estate in west Belfast, being obliged to leave previous home due to loyalist intimidation.
- In 1972, Sands joined the Provisional IRA. He was arrested and charged in October 1972 with possession of four handguns which were found in the house where he was staying. Sands was convicted in April 1973 sentenced to five years\' imprisonment.
- He was released from prison in 1976, he returned to his family home in West Belfast, and resumed his active role in the Provisional IRA\'s campaign.
- September 1977 saw him being convicted of possession of firearms and Sands was sentenced to 14 years\' imprisonment
- In prison, Sands became a writer both of journalism and poetry—being published in the Irish republican newspaper An Phoblacht.
- In late 1980 Sands was chosen as Officer Commanding of the Provisional IRA prisoners in Long Kesh
- The 1981 Irish hunger strike started with Sands refusing food on 1 March 1981. This was to support the prisoners\' aim of being declared as political prisoners (or prisoners of war) and not to be classed as criminals.
- Shortly after the beginning of the strike, Frank Maguire, the Independent Republican MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, died suddenly of a heart attack, precipitating the April 1981 by-election. After a highly polarised campaign, Sands narrowly won the seat on 9 April 1981 and became the youngest MP at the time.
- Following Sands\' success, the British Government introduced the Representation of the People Act 1981 which prevents prisoners serving jail terms of more than one year in either the UK or the Republic of Ireland from being nominated as candidates in British elections. This law was introduced so as to prevent the other hunger strikers from being elected to the British parliament.
- Despite now being a fellow elected member of parliament the British Government refused to intervene in the Hunger Strike or discuss the possibility of political status for prisoners. Sands died in the prison hospital after 66 days of hunger-striking, aged just 27. - Shortly before his death, Sands told comrades: “If I die, God will understand,\" and one of his last messages to them being, “Tell everyone I’ll see them somewhere, sometime.”RIP Bobby SandsNOTE:The image used in this listing has been de-pixelated and features a watermark for image protection.
This will not appear on your purchased print.Faithful Reproduction of Original Print.
Dimensions: 16 X 12 Inches Approx

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