Brendan Hughes

Brendan Hughes (1948 – 16 February 2008cite web | title = Former hunger striker Hughes dies | author = | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7249225.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 17 February 2008 | accessdate = 2008-02-17] ), also known as "The Dark", was an Irish republican and former Officer Commanding (OC) of the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA),cite book | last = Taylor | first = Peter | authorlink = Peter Taylor (Journalist) | title = Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin | publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing | date = 1997 | pages = pp. 156-157 | doi = | isbn = 0-7475-3818-2 ] who was mainly known as the leader of the 1980 Irish hunger strike.

Background

Hughes was born into a republican family from the Lower Falls Road area of Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was a cousin of Charles Hughes, who was the OC of D Company in the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade during the Falls Curfew, and was shot and killed in March 1971 by the Official Irish Republican Army during the feud between the Provisional and Official IRA. ["Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin", pp. 58, 79.]

Republican activity

Hughes joined the IRA in 1969 and was "on the run" in Belfast by 1970. From 1970-1972 Hughes was involved in a number of attacks on British soldiers and bank robberies in order to raise funds for the republican movement.

Hughes described his normal day during that period as "you would have had a call house" [a safe meeting place] "and you might have robbed a bank in the morning, done a float" [gone out in a car looking for British soldier] "in the afternoon, stuck a bomb and a booby trap out after that, and then maybe had a gun battle or two later that night." [ Unknown. [http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=9819 “Brendan Hughes”] Socialist Review 2006-09-01. Retrieved on 2007-02-11.]

Initial prison escape

On 19 July, 1973 Hughes was arrested on the Falls Road along with Gerry Adams (now President of Sinn Fein) and Tom Cahill. They were interrogated for in excess of 12 hours at the Springfield Road Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) barracks and later Castlereagh before being transported to Long Kesh.cite web | author=Joe O'Neill | title="The Brendan Hughes Interview" | work=G21 Alumnus | url=http://g21.net/irish27.htm | accessdate=5 February | accessyear=2008]

On 8 December Hughes escaped inside a rolled up mattress in the back of a dustcart, and fled across the border to Dublin. After ten days he had returned to Belfast after assuming a new identity, becoming a travelling toy salesman named "Arthur McAllister". For five months Hughes lived in Myrtlefield Park near Malone Road, and was believed to be the new O/C of the IRA in Belfast following the arrest of Ivor Bell in February.cite book | last = Taylor | first = Peter | authorlink = | title = Brits | publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing | date = 2001 | pages = pp. 157-159 | doi = | isbn = 0-7475-5806-X]

On 10 May 1974 Hughes was arrested following a tip-off, and the house was found to contain a submachine gun, four rifles, two pistols and several thousand rounds of ammunition. Hughes was subsequently sentenced to fifteen years in prison. ["Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin", pp. 160-162.] Three years after his arrest Hughes was involved in a fracas, and received an additional five year sentence for assaulting a prison officer. As he was convicted after 1 March, 1976 Hughes was transferred from the compounds to the H-Blocks and lost his Special Category Status. He refused to wear prison uniform and joined the blanket protest. Shortly after arriving in the H-Blocks Hughes became the OC of the IRA prisoners, and in March 1978 ordered the prisoners to begin the dirty protest."Brits", pp. 228-229]

Hunger strike

Hughes was the Officer Commanding during the 1980 hunger strike. Against the wishes of the IRA Army Council, on 27 October, 1980, Hughes along with six other republican prisoners, including John Nixon, Sean McKenna, Tommy McKearney and Raymond McCartney, refused food and started a hunger strike."Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin", pp. 230-235.]

During the second month of the hunger strike the British Government led by Margaret Thatcher, sent an intermediary to inform Hughes of a possible compromise, despite previously having publicly rejecting any compromise.

Hughes had promised one of the hunger strikers, Sean McKenna, that if he slipped into a coma that he would end the hunger strike and as McKenna was on the verge of death, Hughes found himself in a dilemma. Hughes assumed that the compromise was in good faith and ended the hunger strike after 53 days. However, when the document arrived at the prison there was disappointment at the final position of the British Government. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/troubles/hungerstrikes/hunger.shtml Hunger Strikes and Death of Bobby Sands] BBC Website. Retrieved on 2007-02-11.] [Brendan Hughes. [http://www.phoblacht.net/BH19070612g.html “Risking the Lives of Volunteers is Not the IRA Way”] Irish News 2006-07-13. Retrieved on 2007-02-11.]

Bobby Sands took over as leader of the republican prisoners in the Maze, and, starting 1 March 1981, led the second hunger strike. [cite web | title = How the IRA manufactured a new martyr | author = John Cunningham | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/fromthearchive/story/0,,1209993,00.html | publisher = "The Guardian" | date = 6 May, 1981 | accessdate = 2007-02-19]

Release

Hughes was released from prison in 1986, and returned to live in Belfast. In 1990, Hughes appeared at a press conference in Bilbao organised by Batasuna, the political wing of the Basque nationalist paramilitary group ETA, to support an amnesty for ETA prisoners. [cite web | title = Basque bombers top up IRA's terror arsenal | author = David Bamber | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/06/30/nira30.xml | publisher = "The Daily Telegraph" | date = 4 March, 2000 | accessdate = 2007-09-27]

At the start of the 21st century, he became rather critical of the political direction of the Sinn Féin leadership.

In 2000, he criticised the Sinn Féin leadership for allowing building firms in west Belfast to pay low wages to former prisoners and that the republican leadership had sold out on their ideals in order to achieve peace in Northern Ireland. [cite web | title = Ex-IRA leader attacks Adams | author = David Sharrock | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/2000/03/04/nuls04.html | publisher = "The Daily Telegraph" | date = 4 March, 2000 | accessdate = 2007-02-11] [cite web | title = Hungry for a new Republican agenda | author = Malachi O'Doherty | url = http://lark.phoblacht.net/volreview.html | publisher = "Belfast Telegraph" | date = 6 February, 2001 | accessdate = 2007-02-11] In October 2006, Hughes was pictured on the front page of the "Irish News" wearing an eye patch, after he underwent an operation to save his sight which had been badly damaged due to his hunger strike. [cite web | title = What the papers say | author = Tony Macaulay | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/5412072.stm | publisher = "BBC" | date = 6 October, 2006 | accessdate = 2007-03-19] Many former prisoners also experience health problems upon release.

Hughes died in hospital aged 59 on 16 February 2008.

References

External links

* [http://indiamond6.ulib.iupui.edu:81/BH0208.html Archive of material by Brendan Hughes] , containing interviews, transcripts and articles he had written over the years from "The Blanket".

Obituaries

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/feb/19/northernireland "The Guardian"]
* [http://www.socialistdemocracy.org/RecentArticles/RecentBrendanHughesAnAppreciation.html Socialist Democracy]
* [http://www.argia.com/irlanda-iparraldea/swf/brendan/ Audio slide show on Brendan Hughes' funeral ("Argia")]
* [http://www.revolutionarycommunist.org/frfipages/202/202_obi.html FRFI/RCG]