Sands,Bobby (1954–1981)

Abstract

Bobby Sands was a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who organized a protest against the British government while incarcerated in Maze prison in Northern Ireland from 1976 to 1981. He was the first of ten prisoners to die on hunger strike in the course of that protest. During his brief life, Sands was elected to the British parliament, galvanized the republican cause, and by his martyrdom earned entry into the pantheon of Irish nationalist heroes.