The usual apes like CM and Flano just couldn’t leave things be.I too would like to leave my greatest respect to Bobby Sands for his efforts and sacrifice.
That was the ultimate legacy of the hunger strikers. They opened the notion to the IRA that a lot could be achieved by the ballot box, which ultimately led to the end of the war. According to Ed Maloney, Adams was speaking to the British through Fr Alec Reid almost directly after the hunger strikes to bring about an end to the war in a process which became the Good Friday Agreement. That was peace. But to bring an organisation with such ferocity in the 70s, coupled with the hunger strikers deaths in the early 80s, around to the notion of ending the war was always going to take a considerable length of time.
I am sure the likes of Martin McGuinness at the time could not have foreseen ever signing up to an agreement which recognised the border, yet he did. To discuss what Sands would have thought of the current situation is pointless.
he died a happy fan, villa won the league title 3 days before
sands committed suicide effectively and spawned an orgy of violence - similar effect as suicide bombers surely.
It might well be the legacy of the hunger strikers but it was certainly far from their intention as Il Duce was saying. Im only pointing out that there were other factors that had the IRA move away from the guns as the time delay indicates.
The IRA was practically non existent in Derry prior to 1972. From my reading of the situation, McGuinness didnt have anywhere near the same power in the IRA as Adams. His contribution to the Norn Iron civil war has been overstated I suspect
Bobby Sands was a terrorist lads, simple as. In regards the hunger strike, I can respect anyone that is willing to die for his convictions like that, but he was a terrorist first and foremost… and don’t give me this freedom fighter bollix. Blowing up and killing innocents does not deserve to be remembered.
a simpleton like sean south is remembered. to be fair sands was at least intelligent if misguided.
freedom is apparently a negotiated settlement and sharing devolved power from London with Paisley according to the republicans here. hardly worth murdering 600 civilians over. Could have been achieved with a campaign of civil disobedience Id argue and proper efforts to liaise with the moderate unionist community.
To be fair the murdering antics of the British army possibly put paid to that. How British society ever tolerated its army murdering 14 of its own citizens I’ll never understand to be honest.
You have mentioned on here in very recent times being in Vegas and Dublin. You must think we’re all fools. Your one year visa is up and you left because you made no friends. Thats grand, just admit it.
Anyway, yes i grew up in the 80’s, and yes i had a keen interest in Northern Politics from a young age, around about 8 or 9. The Hunger Strikes were not that long before it and was still very fresh in peoples minds. I had good teachers who explained things very well to me. I also have very clear memories of the funeral, i was 4 at the time. It is just one of those things that stuck in my head. Not sure why that is hard to grasp. Maybe you want to forget your childhood but i don’t block things out thank god.
I really hate this kind of argument, that is always trotted out in relation to the North.
Forget everything else that went on and bring it down to a simple yes or no answer.
What I would ask myself is what are the factors which made an extreme organisation such as the IRA so strong and popular?
I would say a lot of these factors are the cause of British and Unionist oppression, not that there were thousands of Nationalist psychopaths roaming the streets of the six counties during the period of the Troubles.
Whether you decide to pull the trigger or plant a bomb requires a simple yes or no… Plenty of other people protested without resorting to killing. Now I understand the social conditions of the time but you still had a choice… People like Sands let themselves be used by the money and power hungry upper echelons of the I.R.A