Show Notes
The 1981 Hunger Strike was the culmination of a five-year protest which began with Blanketmen and ended with the deaths of 10 men. This episode focuses on the background and the first 1980 hunger strike, which would act as a precursor for the one which took place in 1981
More from The Troubles Podcast
Richard O'Rawe joined the Provisional IRA when he was a teenager. He was eventually arrested and spent a number of years taking part in the blanket protests which would eventually lead up to the hunger strikes. Richard was there for it all and in this episode we talk about his role during the hunger strikes as well as his thoughts on Freddie Scappaticci who also went by the name of Stakeknife.
It was a dark evening in February, 1983, when three armed, masked men arrived to the home of Jim Fitzgerald.
The two socialist Republican paramilitary groups were the INLA, Irish National Liberation Army and the IPLO, the Irish People's Liberation Organization.
I'll be putting on a live show in London later this month with Kevin and Jason from Shite Talk: An Irish History Podcast. It'll take place on Wednesday, May 22nd at the London Irish Centre. Ticekts are £12 and the show starts at 19:30. Be great to see some of you there!
This week's episode focuses on the life of Father Patrick Ryan, a Catholic priest who had a unique relationship with the Provisional IRA and Libyan Dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. Through Father Ryan, the Provisional IRA received millions in cash, but it was his engineering work with Provisional IRA bombs, which would end up saving the lives of many paramilitaries… while allowing them to improve the efficacy of their bombing campaign.