Remembering Kevin Lynch, a fighter on the sports field and the battlefield

Sinn Féin MLA Martina Anderson

A LARGE CROWD turned out in Dungiven, County Derry, on Sunday, 27 July, for a commemoration marking the 27th anniversary of the death of republican Hunger Striker Kevin Lynch. Lynch was the seventh Hunger Striker to die in 1981.
The main address at the commemoration was delivered by Sinn Féin MLA Martina Anderson.
In the course of her address, Anderson said:

Kevin, like many of his comrades at that time, was of a number of ordinary young men and women who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances. Indeed, Kevin was just 20 years of age when he entered Long Kesh and immediately joined the Blanket protest.
As a young man growing up in Dungiven, Kevin was known as a happy-go-lucky lad with a love of life and an outstanding ability as a sportsman.
He excelled at both hurling and football, representing club and county with distinction.
The local hurling club is now named in Kevin’s honour and the club’s motto  – ‘Misneach is Dilseacht’ (Courage and Loyalty) – is a fine testament to his memory.
Kevin was also a boxer with the St Canice’s club, once reaching the County Derry final as a schoolboy.
Of all the battles he would fight in his life, there can be little doubt that his easiest victory came in his very first foray into the boxing ring.
Just before the bout was due to start, his opponent asked him how many previous fights he’d had. Displaying all the cunning and guile which Irish republicans are renowned for, Kevin calmly answered ‘33’. Unsurprisingly, his opponent couldn’t be persuaded to enter the ring!
Kevin was to fight many battles in the years ahead – ultimately sacrificing his life in the titanic struggle which took place in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh.
Like many of his peers, he witnessed the brutality and injustices inflicted on our people by the British occupation.
And just like countless young men and women the length and breadth of Ireland, he resisted this occupation and he took the war to the enemy.
Kevin’s path was a well-worn one and he soon found himself on the Blanket in the H-Blocks.
But his fight was far from over.
Having taken the battle to the British on the streets and fields of our country, Kevin and his comrades in Long Kesh and Armagh continued to resist.
Of course, this time the only weapons they had at their disposal were their own bodies and that undauntable thought which told them they were fighting for a just cause – that thought that says you’re right.
Kevin had been famed for his determination, loyalty and courage on the sporting field in the past and those same qualities came to the fore as he languished on hunger strike in the H-Block dungeons.
The British had thought the prisoners were the weak link in the republican struggle and the H-Blocks would be the place where they would finally break the resistance in Ireland.
That was a miscalculation of epic proportions.
How the Brits had underestimated the calibre of Kevin and the other nine martyrs.
And rather than destroying republicanism in Ireland, it was instead the British policies of criminalisation and Ulsterisation which were ultimately crushed by the sacrifice of the Hunger Strikers.
Their courage and selflessness also inspired a new generation of republicans and continues to do so until this day.
They also awakened a spirit of resistance and solidarity among people the world over who, until then, had little or no knowledge of the conflict in Ireland.
And it is worth remembering how far we have come in the years since Kevin and his comrades gave their lives.

• The British Government’s attempt to crush Irish republicanism foundered in the H-blocks and we are now stronger than we ever have been.
• The UDR and the RIR have been disbanded.
• The British Army is off our streets.
• The RUC is gone and we are moving towards achieving the kind of policing service which our people deserve.
• Republicans are at the very heart of government pursuing our agenda to build a New Ireland.
• And in the time ahead, we intend to see further progress in the transfer of policing and justice powers and the implementation of the Irish Language Act.

However, there is much more work to be done. And just like when Kevin and his comrades entered Long Kesh  – our struggle continues.
The only thing that has changed is the tactics.
Our objective remains the same – a 32-county socialist republic.
But to achieve that we need to display the same determination of purpose as the Hunger Strikers did.
We need to rededicate ourselves to the struggle for which they sacrificed so much.
We need to go out and organise, mobilise and win more people to republicanism.
We need to build the political strength that will finally deliver the freedom for which the Hunger Strikers and so many others selflessly gave their lives.
That, and only that, will be a fitting tribute to Kevin Lynch and his nine brave comrades.