1981 NATIONAL HUNGER STRIKE COMMEMORATION | CAMLOUGH, SOUTH ARMAGH

The republican strategy is making progress

Gerry Adams addresses the estimated 20,000 attendance at the rally

THE PRISON STRUGGLE, like the struggle outside the prisons, has been “a battle of wills”, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD said at the national march and commemoration in Camlough, in South Armagh, on Sunday 14th August to mark the 30 anniversary of the 1981 Hunger Strike.
It was about the right of the Irish people to self-determination and independence and freedom, the Sinn Féin leader said. The struggle “was about uniting Ireland and that struggle continues today”, he said.
“And core republican objectives are at the heart of everything we do today.
“The Sinn Féin political strategy is about achieving these objectives.
“And let there be no doubt about it. We have a viable project and we have made, are making, and we will continue to make significant progress.”
The Sinn Féin leader told the several thousand people attending the rally:

"It is entirely proper that we meet here, not far from the graveside of Raymond McCreesh, set among the hills of South Armagh.
I want to extend my solidarity to Raymond’s family and to the families of Bobby, Francie, Patsy, Joe, Martin, Kevin, Kieran, Tom and Mickey, and to all of our patriot dead.
And I want to thank all of you for attending.
Buíochas mór daoibh as bheith anseo ar an lá starúil seo.
Along the lanes and in the fields and hills of South Armagh, the decades of war saw a resilient IRA take on the might of the British Army. That determination and audacity and heroism is evident in the life and death of IRA hunger striker Raymond McCreesh and in the love of his parents and family.
The Hunger Strike was 30 years ago. It was a watershed moment in Irish history. In the summer of 1981, over 50 people were killed and many hundreds more were injured. Thirty thousand plastic bullets were fired mostly in republican Belfast and Derry. Seven people died as a result, three of them children and countless hundreds injured.
The Hunger Strike came at the end of a decade in which the British Government had employed every conceivable weapon in its substantial military and political arsenal. Internment, torture, shoot-to-kill actions, rubber and plastic and lead bullets, CS and CR gas, curfews and mass arrests, black propaganda, special courts and special laws and an orange judiciary, sectarian attacks and collusion, and the withdrawal of political status for the prisoners in the H-Blocks and Armagh women’s prison, were all part of a concerted British strategy.
So too were its efforts to build political alliances with the SDLP and the Irish Government.
The British aim was simple - to protect British interests, and to defeat Irish republicanism and the struggle for Irish unity and independence.
Despite its propaganda and lies the British Government, knew that republicans enjoyed a substantial level of support.
So, severing the connection between the republican struggle and the people was key and criminalisation was a central part of this strategy. Breaking the prisoners was crucial.
Chreid na Sasanaigh gurbh fhéidir príosúnaí poblachtacha a bhuaileadh agus a sceimhliú chun éide coirpigh a chaitheamh, chun obair príosún a dhéanamh agus a gcuid poblachtachas a thréigeadh.
They were supported in this by the Northern and Southern political establishment. But, as was so often the case throughout the centuries, the British and their local allies misjudged the tenacity and resolve of Irish republicans, and in particular of the prisoners.
The account of that period has often been told:-
» Of Kieran Nugent refusing to wear a prison uniform and saying they would have to nail it to his back.
» Of the hundreds of prisoners in the H Blocks - naked, beaten, starved, denied proper medical care or toilet facilities, forced frequently to run the gauntlet of riot clad screws or subjected to the brutality of the mirror search.
» Of the women in Armagh - isolated and beaten and strip-searched who were also denied adequate medical and toilet facilities.
» Of the families who organised and campaigned through the Relatives Action Committees and then through the National Smash H-Block Campaign.
» And of the tens of thousands who marched and protested in support of the prisoners.
The Hunger Strike changed the political landscape in Ireland. The political gains that have been made since then owe much to the men and women political prisoners and to the sacrifice, resolve and perseverance of the Hunger Strikers and their families.
Bhí feachtas na bpriosúnaí dírithe ar 5 éileamh chun leasuithe príosúin ach i ndairíre bhí an streachailt ibhfad níos doimhne ná sin.
The prison struggle, like the struggle on the outside, became a battle of will about the right of the Irish people to self-determination and independence and freedom. The prisoners knew that. So did the Brits.
It was about uniting Ireland. That struggle continues today. And core republican objectives are at the heart of everything we do today.
The Sinn Féin political strategy is about achieving these objectives. And let there be no doubt about it. We have a viable project and we have made, are making, and we will continue to make significant progress.
Thirty years ago, the North was embroiled in war. British troops were dug in on these hilltops, people were dying in their scores, nationalist areas were under military occupation, and unionists were entrenched behind their laager mentality.
The Sinn Féin strategy brought the British and the unionists and the Irish Government to the negotiating table.
Thirty years ago, there was an Orange State. The Orange State is gone. The Government of Ireland Act is gone. The right of citizens to opt for a united Ireland is equal to that of those who wish to retain the Union.
Sinn Féin is from that democratic tradition which believes that the British Government never had any right to be in Ireland, does not have any right to be in Ireland, and never will have any right to be in Ireland.
There is now an entirely peaceful way to bring an end to British rule. Our duty is to develop democratic ways and means to achieve and to unite behind the leadership and the campaigns which will bring this about.
Yes, it will be challenging; yes, it will be frustrating. The enemies of change are strong. But that never stopped us in the past.
Remember, once upon a time, Margaret Thatcher — remember Margaret Thatcher? — remember, she claimed that the North was ‘as British as Finchley’. It never was!
Britain’s claim to the North is now reduced to a simple majority vote. Of course, we have a huge job of work to do to persuade unionists of the merits of the republican and democratic position. But we are also in a very good place to do this.
Sinn Féin is the largest nationalist party in the Assembly and on local councils. There are five Sinn Féin ministers, including Martin McGuinness, who as Deputy First Minister shares the Office of First and Deputy First Minister with Peter Robinson as an equal in all matters.
The DUP and UUP, who opposed power sharing, are sharing power in government. There are all-Ireland political, functioning institutions. And in all of these political institutions, Sinn Féin is defending the rights and entitlements of all citizens and promoting our republican agenda for unity and equality.
This year, Sinn Féin increased our political representation in local councils and in the Assembly in the North. In the Oireachtas today, we have a Sinn Féin team of 14 TDs and three seanadoirí. And in constituencies across the South, especially those where we came close to winning Dáil seats, Sinn Féin is growing organisationally and electorally.
In Leinster House, our new Dáil team is proving itself to be effective and efficient. For many we are now the real opposition party, challenging the Fine Gael and Labour Government as it imposes a disastrous austerity programme and introduces new stealth taxes on working families.
The fact is that Irish republicanism is stronger today than at any time since partition.
But to make further advances and to be able to exercise even greater political influence and power, we need to build our struggle.
There is no more important time than this for the republican principles of equality, fraternity, and freedom.
Achieving our republican goals will not be easy.
While unionist leaders now see the benefits of working on an all-Ireland basis, they remain opposed to a united Ireland. So there is work to be done, peacefully and democratically, with them. Sinn Féin is up for that work.
The British Government, despite its protestations to the contrary and its systems, has yet to face up to its responsibilities to the people of this island. It can best do this by leaving us to manage our own affairs.
The Irish Government, and in particular the Irish political establishment, is partitionist. That is evident in so many ways, for example, in the resistance thus far, to extending voting rights in Presidential elections to Irish citizens living in the North.
But there are many people in Ireland who want rid of outsiders ruling us, whether from London or the IMF and EU. They want a free and united and independent Ireland.
I believe there are many people in Ireland who share our goals of a free and united and independent Ireland. By building political strength and developing alliances we can achieve our goals.
Sinn Féin is clear about our strategy, clear about our goals and clear about the road map to the future. We will not be distracted or put off-course.
We have a vision of a new future, a better future, and we have the spirit and the confidence to work with others to achieve this."