Fifty years ago on Monday, a young republican prisoner entered the newly built H-Blocks of Long Kesh and refused to accept the British government’s attempt to redefine him as a common criminal.
On September 14, 1976, Kieran Nugent became the first prisoner sentenced under the new regime to refuse prison clothing. He was stripped, beaten and put into a cell, where he wrapped himself in a blanket rather than put on the uniform. The act marked the beginning of the Blanket Protest, a prison struggle that would continue for almost five years and culminate in the 1981 hunger strike.
The protest was not simply about clothing. At its heart was the refusal by republican prisoners to accept criminalisation.
In March 1976, British Direct Ruler Merlyn Rees ended Special Category Status for people convicted after March 1 of offences connected to the armed struggle. Prisoners sentenced under the new system were to be treated as ordinary criminals, required to wear prison uniforms and undertake prison work. The purpose was clear: to deny the political nature of the conflict and present the British state as dealing merely with criminals.
The H-Blocks were purpose-built for that new regime. Unlike the compounds of Long Kesh, where prisoners had lived collectively, the new prison placed men in individual cells inside a heavily fortified complex. The architecture reflected the policy: isolation, discipline and the attempt to impose an ordinary criminal regime on men who regarded themselves as political prisoners engaged in a national struggle.
Nugent’s response was immediate and uncompromising. He would not wear the uniform.
He was followed onto the blanket by increasing numbers of republican prisoners. By Christmas 1976 more than 40 were refusing prison clothing, and the numbers continued to grow.
The blanket became a symbol of resistance.
The prisoners were effectively stripped of everything that distinguished them from ordinary prisoners, and they responded by refusing to cooperate with the regime. Their protest meant living naked except for the blankets, enduring punishment and isolation while refusing to concede the principle that they were criminals rather than political prisoners engaged in a national struggle.
The British government had believed that removing political status would remove the political problem. Instead, the prisons became another front in the conflict.
The struggle intensified in 1978 when the prisoners’ refusal to accept the prison regime developed into the no-wash or dirty protest. Prisoners refusing to leave their cells to wash were subjected to beatings and other punishment. Their chamber pots were emptied back into their cells, leading prisoners to smear their excrement on the walls in an attempt to prevent it being thrown back at them. By then hundreds of republican prisoners were involved.
The conditions were deliberately degrading, but the prisoners refused to surrender.
Their demands eventually crystallised around five basic rights: to wear their own clothes, to refuse prison work, to receive visits and parcels, to associate freely and have access to educational and recreational facilities, and to have restoration of remission lost through the protest.
Outside the prison, families and activists increasingly organised around the prisoners’ demands. The struggle that had begun with one young man’s refusal to put on a uniform was becoming a wider political campaign.
Yet the British government remained determined to maintain criminalisation.
That determination had consequences far beyond the prison walls. The protest exposed the fundamental political question behind the British government’s policy: whether the conflict in the north was to be treated as a criminal matter or recognised as a political and national struggle.
There was never any doubt. The prisoners were not seeking special treatment. They were refusing to accept the legitimacy of a British attempt to criminalise the republican struggle.
The Blanket Protest therefore became about something much larger than prison conditions. It was a confrontation over identity, political status and the authority of the British state.
The protest also changed the republican movement itself. The campaign gradually drew greater political participation outside the prisons and helped create the conditions in which the prisoners’ struggle could become a mass political issue.
By 1980, after years on the blanket and the dirty protest, the prisoners concluded that another escalation was necessary.
On October 27, 1980, seven republican prisoners began a hunger strike. The action was suspended in December after the British government appeared to offer a basis for resolving the dispute, but the prisoners subsequently concluded that the promises had not delivered the political status they sought.
The following year brought the final and most devastating stage of the struggle.
The 1981 hunger strike saw ten republican prisoners die rather than accept criminalisation. Bobby Sands was elected to the Westminster parliament during the strike, while the electoral successes of the Anti H-Block campaign demonstrated that the prisoners’ struggle had become a major political force outside the prison.
The British government eventually conceded many of the practical elements for which the prisoners had fought, including the right to wear their own clothes, free association and exemption from prison work.
But by then the political consequences of the prison struggle could not be reversed.
The Blanket Protest had begun on September 14, 1976 with one prisoner refusing a uniform.
It became a five-year confrontation involving hundreds of prisoners, their families and a growing movement outside the prison walls. It passed from the blanket to the dirty protest, from the dirty protest to hunger strike, and from the H-Blocks into the political life of Ireland.
Fifty years later, the significance of that first act of defiance remains.
The Blanket Protest remains one of the defining chapters in the history of Irish republican resistance to British rule, in which prisoners endured years of punishment and degradation, rather than accept the British state’s claim that the republican struggle is a crime.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians will host their annual Gaelic Mass at St. Barnabas, this year honoring the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Martin Galvin
@IrishCentral
Sep 07, 2026
Bronx AOH President Martin Galvin,Deputy Irish Consul General Roisin Leonard, Fr. Brendan Fitzgerald, aide to Congressman Richie Torres Joseph McManus and New York State AOH President Thomas Beirne.Bronx AOH President Martin Galvin,Deputy Irish Consul General Roisin Leonard, Fr. Brendan Fitzgerald, aide to Congressman Richie Torres Joseph McManus and New York State AOH President Thomas Beirne. Nuala Purcell.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) will join with Gaelic Societies, Irish community groups, and parishioners in the strongly Irish Woodlawn-McLean area to host the ninth annual Irish language Mass at 2:30 pm on Sunday, September 13.
Fr. Brendan Fitzgerald will celebrate the Mass in Gaelic, which once again is symbolized by a Mass Rock, where Gaelic speakers gathered in secret to hear outlawed Masses said by outlawed priests in defiance of English penal laws.
This year, the Mass will also include special prayers remembering those tragically murdered 25 years ago on September 11, as well as prayers of thanksgiving for all of those from Ireland who, 250 years ago, helped win the freedom America continues to enjoy today.
The Bronx AOH Irish language Mass has become a national AOH event viewed by Hibernians across the US and viewers in Ireland via the St. Barnabas Facebook page and AOH YouTube. It has given thousands of viewers who were unfamiliar with Irish, to experience the beautiful language of our ancestors.
Irish-English translations of the liturgy will be available, so that anyone can follow the prayers in English as they hear the Mass said in Irish. A special musical program will be provided by the Dawn Doherty Academy of Irish Music.
The Mass will be held in the Main Church of St. Barnabas, located on Martha Avenue and East 241st Street in the Bronx. The Church is located near the Bronx River Parkway, Major Deegan Expressway, and Metro-North Railroad Woodlawn Station. Everyone is welcome.
Hibernians are asked to form up by 2:15 pm outside the Church, wearing Sashes and medallions, to be led in by members of the Kerry Pipers.
A reception will follow immediately afterwards at Eileen’s Country Kitchen, 960 McLean Avenue, Yonkers.
You can watch the Irish Language Mass live on the St. Barnabas Facebook Page or on the AOH YouTube page on September 13.
Bronx County AOH President Martin Galvin noted: “The Irish language is an important and indestructible part of our Irish heritage. Measures to wipe out the Irish language began even before penal laws to wipe out the Catholic religion in Ireland. Ireland’s cherished landmarks include Mass Rocks, where Gaelic speakers risked death or imprisonment simply to worship.
“As an organization formed to promote Irish ideals, culture, history and national freedom, we can think of no more fitting way for Hibernians to honor Irish heritage than an Irish Mass embodying all of these themes.”
Galvin added: “This year’s ninth annual Irish Mass coincides with two very important anniversaries. It is of course the 25th anniversary of the tragic attack of September 11th. The ceremony will include a special prayer for all of the victims and for those who continue to mourn them.
“It is also the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence. It is therefore fitting this year to include a special prayer of thanksgiving for those of whom Britain’s Lord Mountjoy said in reaction to Washington’s victory at Yorktown, ‘we have lost America through the Irish.”
“There has been a great response each year from AOH officers, Gaelic clubs, community groups and individuals who would just like to hear the Mass said in the language of our ancestors. We are especially grateful to everyone at St. Barnabas especially Fr. Fitzgerald.”
You can watch the Irish Language Mass live on the St. Barnabas Facebook Page or on the AOH YouTube page on September 13:
Hudson Valley Irish Fest to honor Irish American 9/11 FDNY hero this month.
The Hudson Valley Irish Fest 2026 will mark both the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and the 250th anniversary of the United States.
In Partnership With:
Hudson Valley Irish Fest
Sep 04, 2026
Hudson Valley Irish Fest returns to Peekskill Riverfront Green on Saturday, September 19.Hudson Valley Irish Fest returns to Peekskill Riverfront Green on Saturday, September 19.
The 17th Annual Hudson Valley Irish Fest, hosted by the Hudson Valley Irish Fest Inc. and Hudson Valley Irish Center, returns to Peekskill Riverfront Green Park on Saturday, September 19.
This year’s Festival carries particular significance, marking both the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks and the 250th anniversary of the United States.
In the aftermath of 9/11, Peekskill and Cortlandt’s Irish community played a central role in designing and building Peekskill’s WTC 9/11 Memorial, located adjacent to the Festival grounds.
During the Irish Fest on September 19, a bench honoring Mike O’Hanlon — a Hudson Valley Irish Fest member, All-Ireland accordion champion, and FDNY firefighter — will be dedicated at the Memorial in his memory and in memory of all who were lost.
Born to Irish parents and raised in the Bronx, O’Hanlon participated extensively with his fellow FDNY firefighters in the rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero.
In August 2017, at the age of 59, he passed away from 9/11-related cancer.
Michael O’Hanlon was to the “House on the Hill,” E68/L49 in the Highbridge section of the Bronx.2Gallery
Michael O’Hanlon was to the “House on the Hill,” E68/L49 in the Highbridge section of the Bronx.
Hudson Valley Irish Fest 2026 lineup
Running from 11 am to 7 pm, the Irish Fest will officially open at 12 pm with a Civic Opening ceremony on the main stage. Participation from the Irish Consulate General and several elected legislators is expected.
The lineup for the Irish Festival’s main stage this year includes Shilelagh Law, Amadans, and Phineas & Lonely Leaves, The T Mccann Band, Donie Carroll, and Mary Courtney.
Attendees can also expect Irish dancers, bagpipers, a spoken word tent, fine crafts, 18th-century toys and crafts, and a Hibernian Tent hosted by the Fighting 69th, Division 18 Hibernians.
Food and beverages will be available throughout the grounds, including a beer garden.
How to get to the Hudson Valley Irish Fest
The Irish Fest is easily reached via the MTA Metro-North Hudson Line, with the Peekskill train station immediately adjacent to Riverfront Green.
Free parking is also available on site.
Tickets for the Hudson Valley Irish Fest 2026 are available online via Eventbrite.
About the Hudson Valley Irish Fest
Founded in 2009, Hudson Valley Irish Fest grew out of a community vision for a riverfront festival that could give rise to a lasting cultural organization.
Today, with support from Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs Emigrant Support Programme, the Westchester County Board of Legislators, and an all-volunteer base of residents and business owners across the City of Peekskill, the Town of Cortlandt, and surrounding towns in Westchester and Putnam Counties, the Festival has grown into one of the region’s signature celebrations of Irish heritage — funding the Hudson Valley Irish Center and Library at Assumption Church in Peekskill.
You can learn more about the Hudson Valley Irish Fest on its website, Facebook, and Instagram pages.
Program-Altering Openers, Wisconsin And Jack SnowThe upcoming Shamrock Series game in Lambeau Field against Wisconsin reminds me of a legendary Notre Dame football season opener against the Badgers.
I have always been fascinated by Ara Parseghian’s first game as head coach at Notre Dame in 1964. The Irish were coming off a 2-7 season in 1963 that included five consecutive losses to end the year. That first game in 1964, however, the Irish routed Wisconsin in Camp Randall Stadium 31-7 while unveiling a devastating passing attack. The only modern equivalent, which might stretch the definition of equivalent, was the debut for Charlie Weis at Notre Dame in 2005 when the Irish offense put up 42 points in a season debut victory at Pittsburgh. The program had only scored 30 points three times in 2004 and never broke 40 points once in ‘04.
Notre Dame fans walked away from the 1964 and 2005 openers knowing that something was different. The 1964 season ended in a heartbreaking loss at Southern Cal that denied Parseghian and the team a national title in his first year. The 2005 team might have been two plays (an overtime loss to Michigan State, the infamous Bush Push game against Southern Cal) from playing for a national title in 2005. Most informed Irish football historical fanatics know that the 1964 Wisconsin game also saw the debut of John Huarte, the eventual Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback and Jack Snow, who would finish fifth in Heisman voting, at wide receiver. The Huarte tale has been told many times, seldom used before Parseghian’s arrival, he took the college football world by storm in 1964.Ara had a particular ability to take misused or underused players and transform them into stars when he took over the Irish program. A series of rule changes helped as well. Modern football fans are accustomed to liberal substitutions on each play but that has not always been the case.Here is an attempt at a ‘quick’ NCAA football substitution history.Before World War II, if you came out of the game in the first half, you could not return until the second half. If you came out of the game in the second half, you were done for the game. During World War II the NCAA allowed unlimited dead-ball substitutions due to the war-depleted rosters. This prompted the first version of what we see today, which is players who specialize on one side of the ball or the other (i.e. the two-platoon system). In 1953 the NCAA stepped in and effectively banned the two-platoon system passing a rule that a player can only enter the game once per quarter. After the 1953 change, the rules got increasingly more complex as they allowed more substitutions but only at very specific times. There were such things as ‘wild card’ substitutions that allowed a sub on first or fourth down. Other than those wild cards, a team could only sub on second and third down if the clock was stopped. The 1964 season allowed for unlimited free substitutions when the clock was stopped and two players could be subbed in when the clock was running.Confused? I don’t blame you but the key take away is that Ara had a unique eye for talent and a key rule change allowed that eye for talent to be unleashed. Jack Snow is the perfect example of the upgraded version of Notre Dame football in 1964 to begin the ‘Era of Ara.’ Let’s look back at that first game of the 1963 season first. Snow, forced by the rules at the time to play both ways, starred on both sides of the ball against Wisconsin. He had three carries for 26 yards and Notre Dame’s only touchdown in a 14-9 loss. He caught a pass for 15 yards, he punted six times for a 38.0 average and ended up second on the team with nine tackles.It is a pretty remarkable performance in an otherwise unremarkable game in Irish football history. Free to focus on offense in 1964 Snow helped lead the Irish to victory over Wisconsin with nine catches for then school-record 217 yards and two touchdowns. The 217-yard effort is still ranked the third-best in school history for a single game. Looking forward to seeing if the incredible talent on the 2026 Notre Dame football roster can provide another remarkable – or legendary – season-opening performance on Sunday night.
If you want to see more of that 1964 game against Wisconsin, here is a full highlight recap:Irish Items☘️ The Men’s Soccer team has a group of talented freshmen making plays early this season, including a thrilling 84th-minute equalizer goal on on Friday night against No. 8 Saint Louis in Alumni Stadium. Notre Dame faces Harvard tonight (Monday, Aug. 31) at Alumni Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET on ACCNX).☘️ The Women’s Soccer team has earned four draws in five matches this season as the group is working through several injuries. The Irish will also have two key players competing in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup this week and next. The Irish are back in action at home this Thursday when local Fighting Irish fans can bring their furry friends to Pups at the Pitch versus No. 3 Michigan State (7:00 p.m. ET at Alumni Stadium).☘️ Notre Dame Football has won 10 games in a row by double-digits entering the season opener with Wisconsin. That is the longest such streak for the program since 1944-43 when Frank Leahy’s teams won 11 straight. ☘️ A common refrain this time of year is that preseason college football polls are meaningless. There is a bit of truth to that, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t take a historical look at Notre Dame’s No. 4 Associated Press preseason ranking. It is the first time since the AP preseason poll debuted in 1950 that Notre Dame has ranked No. 4. It is the 20th time that the Irish have been in the preseason AP top five. In 1953, 1954, 1967, 1968, 1977, 1989 and 1992 Notre Dame was in the top five to begin and end the season. SUBSCRIBE TO THE 42ND DEGREE
The stance of powerful landowners in the north of Ireland and its origins in the 17th century settler-colonisation of the island have come into focus this week.
The opposition to the upgrade of the key A5 primary route through the northwest of the island has been directly linked to the historical position of landowners along the route.
The £1.7 billion A5 scheme would upgrade around 58 miles of road from Derry to Aughnacloy. More significantly, it would open a key route and boost economic activity between the deprived northwest of the island and Dublin.
The route, much of which remains single carriageway, is the most dangerous road in Ireland, with almost 60 people killed in collisions since the project was first announced in 2007.
The project has faced repeated legal challenges.
Asked why the project of the A5 and Casement Park had not been delivered, former local Sinn Féin MP said: “In the A5 you have an obstruction from the landowners, the people who have got this land originally under strange circumstances in some cases, they’re the people who are now blocking any development.”
He made the remarks during an appearance on the BBC’s Stephen Nolan programme. Asked to explain, Mr Molloy said:
“Remember this all goes back to the Plantation of Ulster if you want to go back into the history of it.”
The Plantation redrew the map of land ownership in Ireland following the British confiscation of large areas of land from the Gaelic population and their redistribution among English and Scottish settlers, Crown officials, and others.
Native Irish people were fully dispossessed and many forced to take to the roads; others remained on the land, but as ‘tenants’ rather than legally recognised owners.
When Mr Molloy was accused by broadcaster Nolan, known for his efforts to generate controversy, that he was making a sectarian statement, he replied:
“It’s not a sectarian statement at all. It’s a statement that actually was given to me by a DUP member at one stage.”
However, unionists seized on both the question and response, including TUV leader Jim Allister, who claimed that “Sinn Féin’s sectarian mask slipped”.
Former DUP First Minister Arlene Foster said: “Sinn Féin likes to blame the DUP, the Brits, securocrats, the institutions, etc etc for their own failures, but this is a new one.”
Sinn Féin distanced itself from the comments. “Francie Molloy does not represent Sinn Féin,” a spokesperson said.
