The final days of Bobby Sands

Posted by Jim on May 4, 2019

A contemporaneous account of the last-ditch efforts to save the life
of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands, who died this week 38 years ago.



On 5 May 1981 IRA Volunteer, Hunger Striker and Fermanagh South/Tyrone
MP Bobby Sands died in the H-Block prison hospital at Long Kesh. He had
endured 65 days without food, and had spent his last two days in a coma.
Sands’ emaciated body, lying in state at his home in Belfast’s Twinbrook
estate, told the story of the torment and suffering which he had
endured.

Sands’ condition had deteriorated steadily until he finally fell into a
coma the previous Sunday morning from which he never regained
consciousness. Lying in another cell in the prison hospital, South Derry
Hunger Striker, Francis Hughes was reported to be periodically slipping
into unconsciousness also. And there was increasing fear that he too was
close to death.

In the weeks and days before Bobby Sands died there were two major
attempts to unconditionally end the Hunger Strike. The first was an
intervention by the European Commission on Human Rights. This was
supported by the Dublin Government and the SDLP as a way to alleviate
nationalist pressure on them to take Britain to task by supporting the
prisoners demands. The second was the visit to Sands from the Pope’s
Private Secretary Fr John Magee. Both interventions ended in failure
following re-affirmations to their relatives by Bobby Sands, Francis
Hughes, Raymond McCressh and Patsy O’Hara that they would not settle for
less than the Five Demands.

For over a week before his death Bobby Sands had been in a critical
condition with death a possibility at any moment. Several times he had
reported that he had felt himself slipping into unconsciousness but
managed to pull himslef back.

His skin had become so thin that he was placed on a water bed to prevent
his bones breaking through and a week before he died, he was so weak
that his conversation with the Pope’s envoy, left him totally exhausted.

By Thursday he had lost all feeling in his mouth and gums and was having
great difficulty talking. He was also suffering great pain and medical
staff indicated that he was on the point of death.

Of all the interventions in the Hunger Strike, possibly the most
despicable came from British Labour Party opposition spokesperson on the
North Don Concannon who, on Friday, 1 May arrived in Ireland and went to
the H-Block prison hospital where he told a dying Bobby Sands that he
and his party did not support the huinger strikers’ demands.

Concannon’s ghoulish visit- to tell a dying man that he did not support
him- caused consternation among elements of the British Labour party, 28
of whose MPs had signed a parliamentary motion calling on the British
Government to negotiate with the prisoners.

By Saturday, Sands had lost his eyesight completely and had no feeling
in one side of his face, and then in the early hours of Sunday morning
even his powerful determination could no longer keep him conscious and
he slipped into a coma.

From this point on Sands’ death could have come at any moment and his
family remained constantly at his bedside. His breathing became more
laboured as his body struggled to stay alive but finally at 1.17am on
Tuesday, 5 May, Bobby Sands died.

However prepared people may have thought they were for Sands’s death,
the news came as a profound shock to the Irish nation, outraging people
North and South. It also caused a huge international reaction.

On the streets of the Six Counties crowds gathered and prayed while
others built barricades or fought fierce running battles with the
British army and RUC.

Thousands of people in the 26 counties reacted immediately to the news
with widespread marches and vigils. Dublin’s O’Connell Street was
brought to a standstill as hundreds gathered in silent vigil throughout
the morning.

The body of Bobby Sands was brought to his Twinbrook home in Belfast on
Tuesday evening where a steady stream of thousands of mourners filed
past his open coffin which was alternatively flanked by guards of honour
from Óglaigh na hÉireann, Na Fianna Éireann and Cumann na mBan.

On Wednesday Sands’ remains, flanked by an IRA Guard of Honour, made the
short journey to St Luke’s chapel.

At around 2pm the following day, Thursday, the funeral set out for the
four-mile journey to the cemetery. Men, women and youths wept as the
cortege passed by. A piper played the tune of the H-Block song the words
of which are:

“I’ll wear no convict’s uniform,

‘Nor meekly serve my time,

That Britain might call Ireland’s fight

Eight hundred years of crime.”

The funeral stopped close to the Busy Bee shopping centre and Sands’
coffin was removed from the hearse and placed on tressels.

Then, from among the crowd of people emerged three IRA Volunteers who
fired three volleys from rifles over the coffin.

Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams officiated at the graveside ceremony which began
with the playing of the Last Post. The Tricolour was removed from the
coffin, and along with a beret and gloves was presented to Sands’
mother.

The coffin was finally carried to the grave by the IRA Guard of Honour.

In poignant scenes Bobby Sands’ seven-year-old son Gerald helped to
spade the soil that buried his father.

The funeral oration was delivered by Fermanagh republican Owen carron,
who had been Bobby Sands’ election agent. During the course of the
oration he said: “They tried to compromise Bobby Sands, they tried to
compromise his supporters, but they failed. Around the world Bobby Sands
has humiliated the British Government. In Bobby Sands’ death they have
sown the seeds of their own destruction.”

It was later estimated that over 100,000 people attended what was the
biggest IRA funeral since that of hunger-striker Terence McSwiney in
1920.