Northern Ireland

Hunger strikes to be revisited 40 years on by Linen Hall Library

Tommy McKearney will speak at the virtual event hosted by Linen Hall Library
Tommy McKearney will speak at the virtual event hosted by Linen Hall Library Tommy McKearney will speak at the virtual event hosted by Linen Hall Library

FORTY years after the hunger strikes, the events that led to the deaths of 10 prisoners are to be revisited by a Belfast library.

Tommy McKearney will speak at the virtual event hosted by Linen Hall Library.

The hunger strikes in 1980 and 1981 were the culmination of a five-year protest by republican prisoners.

They were called off after 10 prisoners had starved themselves to death, including Bobby Sands.

On March 9, Mr McKearney will describe his own experiences on hunger strike as part of the library's Northern Ireland Political Collection Series.

Also in March, the Linen Hall celebrates International Women’s Day with a talk and writing session inspired by Mary Ann McCracken.

She was one of the library’s earliest female members and a noted campaigner for education, child welfare, prison reform and abolition of the slave trade.

During the virtual event on March 8, extracts from her letters will be read and participants will explore her Belfast life.

Another event will see historian Dr Myrtle Hill explore the influences of women’s rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft on Mary Ann McCracken.

She will focus on her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, a copy of which is listed in the Linen Hall’s 1793 catalogue.

Other events due to take place next month include a look at a 'Century of Football Division in Ireland' on March 24.

Historian Cormac Moore will detail the events that led to the split in 1921 when Leinster seceded from the Irish Football Association (IFA) and formed the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).

For further information see www.linenhall.com.