THIS week marks the 29th anniversary of the death on hunger strike of Bobby Sands, the then sitting MP in Fermanagh/South Tyrone. The then British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, dismissed the election of Bobby Sands in the campaign for the rights of political prisoners. Bobby and his nine comrades - Francis Hughes, Ray McCreesh, Patsy O'Hara, Joe McDonnell, Martin Hurson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty, Thomas McElwee and Mickey Devine - all died on hunger strike in pursuit of their just demands and for the restoration of political status. Free article