Robby Sands Research Paper
The life And Times of A Rebellious Irish Hero Bobby Sands
Sands was born into a Catholic family in Abbots Cross, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and lived there until 1960 where the family moved to Rathcoole, Newtownabbey. On his release from prison in 1976, he returned to his family home in West Belfast, and resumed his active role in the IRA's campaign. He was charged with involvement in the October 1976 bombing of the Balmoral Furniture Company in Dunmurry, although he was never convicted, with the presiding judge stating that there was no evidence to support the assertion that he had taken part. After the bombing, Sands and at least five others in the bomb team were alleged to have been involved in a gun battle with the Royal Ulster …show more content…
He then met with Stanley Hilditch, the prison governor, to try to negotiate a way of scaling back the protests gradually. However, these efforts to show flexibility produced no results from the officials. The prisoners were still expected to conform, which would mean allowing themselves to have criminal status imposed on them. But the prisoners recognized that by accepting criminal status they would be providing a precedent for the British to criminalize Irish freedom fighters and thus the IRA itself, and they refused to yield. Sands requested permission to lead a second hunger strike. Certain of his death, he insisted that he be allowed start two weeks before any other strikers - that way, perhaps his death could get the British to yield on the five demands and the others would survive. For the first seventeen days, Sands kept a secret diary in which he described not only the day-to-day results of the fast but also his views on the strike itself. He felt that the strike was for the sake of not only the five demands but also as a larger battle against British rule in
Sands was born into a Catholic family in Abbots Cross, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and lived there until 1960 where the family moved to Rathcoole, Newtownabbey. On his release from prison in 1976, he returned to his family home in West Belfast, and resumed his active role in the IRA's campaign. He was charged with involvement in the October 1976 bombing of the Balmoral Furniture Company in Dunmurry, although he was never convicted, with the presiding judge stating that there was no evidence to support the assertion that he had taken part. After the bombing, Sands and at least five others in the bomb team were alleged to have been involved in a gun battle with the Royal Ulster …show more content…
He then met with Stanley Hilditch, the prison governor, to try to negotiate a way of scaling back the protests gradually. However, these efforts to show flexibility produced no results from the officials. The prisoners were still expected to conform, which would mean allowing themselves to have criminal status imposed on them. But the prisoners recognized that by accepting criminal status they would be providing a precedent for the British to criminalize Irish freedom fighters and thus the IRA itself, and they refused to yield. Sands requested permission to lead a second hunger strike. Certain of his death, he insisted that he be allowed start two weeks before any other strikers - that way, perhaps his death could get the British to yield on the five demands and the others would survive. For the first seventeen days, Sands kept a secret diary in which he described not only the day-to-day results of the fast but also his views on the strike itself. He felt that the strike was for the sake of not only the five demands but also as a larger battle against British rule in