Defiance as republicans mark 45th anniversary of Bobby Sands

Posted by Jim on May 7, 2026

A Bobby Sands statue in Twinbrook in west Belfast is “going nowhere, not now and not ever”, Sinn Féin Assembly member Danny Baker has said, as republicans across Ireland marked the 45th anniversary of the hunger striker’s death with large and determined commemorations.

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The statement comes in the wake of a political controversy at Belfast City Council, where unionist parties, supported by Alliance, pushed through a motion to reconsider the presence of the memorial – erected last year in the Republican Memorial Garden without planning permission. A Sinn Féin amendment calling for equal scrutiny of all similar structures was rejected, while the SDLP abstained, a move that led to the resignation of one of its own councillors, who acknowledged the statue’s deep significance.

Despite these manoeuvres, the message from Twinbrook was unequivocal. Addressing a crowd gathered in Bobby Sands’ home community, Mr Baker said the attempt to challenge the memorial would fail just as previous efforts to suppress the republican struggle had failed.

“The spirit of the prisoners and our communities can never be broken,” he said.

“Our opponents were shook to their core last year and will continue to be because we are on a path, a path to Irish unity, based on equality and rights.

“There’s one very simple message I was asked to give today: the statue is going nowhere, not now and not ever.”

His colleague Pat Sheehan reinforced that position, describing Sands as “an icon and legend for freedom-loving people throughout the world” and condemning what he called ongoing efforts to distort or diminish his legacy.

Drawing a direct line between past and present, Sheehan compared current unionist opposition to the policies of Margaret Thatcher during the hunger strikes, stating that attempts to criminalise or erase Sands had failed then and would fail again.

“When all of us here today are gone, Bobby Sands will still be remembered,” he said. “He and his comrades will remain a beacon of light for freedom-loving people everywhere.”

The Twinbrook commemoration formed part of a series of events across the country.

In Dublin, activists and supporters of the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association (IRPWA) gathered at Kilmainham Jail, paying tribute to Óglach Bobby Sands and reaffirming their support for republican prisoners.

Speakers emphasised that the issues at the heart of the hunger strike remain unresolved. IRPWA activist Brian Kenna told those assembled that “decades on from the Hunger Strikes, men and women remain incarcerated as a direct result of their involvement in the ongoing struggle for Irish liberation.”

He called for renewed determination, stating that the current generation “owe it to Bobby Sands” to continue the struggle.

Elsewhere in Dublin, the 1916 Societies, alongside Éirígí, held a vigil at O’Connell Bridge, joining republicans in remembering the courage and conviction shown by Sands and his comrades in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh.

Their commemoration placed particular emphasis on Sands’ writings, which continue to inspire. His words – written under the harshest conditions – were recalled as a testament to the unbreakable will of those who resisted British policy in Ireland.

And in Twinbrook, where that legacy is most keenly felt, the message was unmistakable – neither political pressure nor administrative challenge will remove the memory, or the monument, of Bobby Sands.

A white line picket organised by the IRPWA drew a strong turnout, with local people lining the road in a visible show of solidarity. An oration delivered at the statue highlighted Sands not only as a hunger striker, but as a community activist rooted in the life of his area.

IRPWA Belfast activist Séamus Fitzsimons underscored the continuity of the struggle, linking the sacrifice of the hunger strikers to the situation of present-day republican prisoners.

“Let us be clear about what Bobby and the ten (hunger strikers) died for, and what they did not die for,” he told those gathered.

“They did not die so that former Republicans could take their seats in Stormont and administer British rule. They did not die so that the struggle could be packaged up, sold off, and called a peace.

“Bobby Sands and the ten brave men did not give their lives so that former Republicans could usher in a capitalist united Ireland.

“That is not the Republic they died for. And it is not the Republic we will ever accept.”