banjobutch:Happy birthday, Bobby Sands! (March 9, 1954)An Irish Republican militant and martyr, Bobb
banjobutch:Happy birthday, Bobby Sands! (March 9, 1954)An Irish Republican militant and martyr, Bobby Sands grew up Catholic in the north of Ireland in the 1960s, and 70s, experiencing harassment and persecution for his faith as the Troubles unfolded. After being held at gunpoint by an Ulster Loyalist mob, Sands became convinced that militance was the only solution, and joined the IRA. Arrested in 1976 for a bombing, Sands was sent to the Maze Prison, where he became a leader of the IRA prisoners of war, helping to organize and lead the 1981 hunger strike of the IRA members. Sands would be elected to Parliament during the strike, which contributed to the increasing radicalization of the Irish Republican movement, and would die before it finished. -- source link