[New post] #OTD in 1981 – Thomas McElwee, Irish political prisoner, dies on the sixty-second day of his hunger strike in Long Kesh Prison.

Stair na hÉireann posted: "Fuair siad bás ar son Saoirse na hÉireann. The tenth republican to join the hunger strike was twenty-three-year-old IRA Volunteer Thomas McElwee, from Bellaghy in South Derry. He had been imprisoned since December 1976, following a premature explosion in" New post on Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland #OTD in 1981 – Thomas McElwee, Irish political prisoner, dies on the sixty-second day of his hunger strike in Long Kesh Prison. by Stair na hÉireann Fuair siad bás ar son Saoirse na hÉireann. The tenth republican to join the hunger strike was twenty-three-year-old IRA Volunteer Thomas McElwee, from Bellaghy in South Derry. He had been imprisoned since December 1976, following a premature explosion in which he lost an eye. He was a first cousin of Francis Hughes, who died after fifty-nine days on hunger strike, on 12th May. Thomas McElwee died at 11.30 a.m. on Saturday, 8th August. Indicative of the callousness of the British government towards prisoners and their families alike neither had the comfort of each other's presence at that tragic moment. He died after 62 days of slow agonising hunger strike with no company other than prison warders – colleagues of those who had brutalised, degraded and tortured him for three-and-a-half years. Image | Thomas McElwee's eight sisters – Kathleen, Mary, Bernadette, Annie, Enda, Nora, Pauline and Majella – carry the coffin of their brother Stair na hÉireann | August 8, 2021 at 10:00 am | Tags: 62 days on Hunger Strike, Bellaghy, H Blocks, Hunger-Striker, Irish political prisoner, Long Kesh Prison, South Derry, Thomas McElwee | Categories: History, Ireland, Irish History | URL: https://wp.me/p3XCMr-god Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: https://stairnaheireann.net/2021/08/08/otd-in-1981-thomas-mcelwee-irish-political-prisoner-dies-on-the-sixty-second-day-of-his-hunger-strike-in-long-kesh-prison-5/