Pat Sheehan, who went 55 days without food during the 1981 hunger strikes, and who is now Sinn Féin MLA for Belfast West, will speak in Galway this weekend, at an event commemorating the use of hunger strikes by Republicans throughout the 20th century.
Galway Remembers The Hunger Strikers Commemorative Concert takes place in the Radisson Blu Hotel on Saturday (8pm ). The event will have a special focus on Galway Republican hunger strikers, such as Tony D’Arcy who died on hunger strike in St Bricin's Military Hospital, Dublin, on April 16 1940. D’Arcy was a native of Headford and spent more than 50 days without food.
“Hunger Strikes have played a key role in shaping the politics of 20th Century Ireland," Sinn Féin city councillor Mairéad Farrell says. "Thomas Ashe, a veteran from the 1916 Rising, was the first Republican to pass away on hunger strike 100 years ago. He died in Mountjoy Jail on September 25 1917 and his funeral became a rallying call to the standard of the Irish Republic.
Tickets are availale from OMG@Zhivago, Shop Street.
