Everyone has a part to play -- Prison protests and broad fronts (1972-1975) -- Lean days and uphill battles (1976-1977) -- Steps in the right direction (1978-1979) -- Building the campaign (1980) -- Hunger strike (October-December 1980) -- Bobby Sands MP (January -April 1981) -- Ten men dead (May-October 1981) -- Quiet and uneventful end (October 1981-October 1982) -- Ordinary people doing extraordinary things
Summary
This is a political history of the Irish republican struggle against criminalization from 1976 to 1982, which culminated in the historic hunger strikes of 1980 and 1981, and is widely regarded as a turning point in the Troubles. Unlike previous accounts, this fascinating book focuses on the popular movement outside the prisons, challenging republican orthodoxy and stressing the importance of broad-based, grassroots movements in effecting political and social change. Ultimately, it was what happened outside the prisons during these years of protest that reshaped and revitalized modern Irish rep
