‘I knew there was a real chance I could die. I was prepared to die’

Forty years on, Derry republican Raymond McCartney looks back on the 1980 hunger strike
The H-Blocks at Long Kesh where the 1980/81 hunger strikes took place.The H-Blocks at Long Kesh where the 1980/81 hunger strikes took place.
The H-Blocks at Long Kesh where the 1980/81 hunger strikes took place.

Despite being on hunger strike for 53 days, Raymond McCartney was still on his feet when he received word that the prison fast was at an end, writes Sean McLaughlin.

The Derry man, like his fellow hunger strikers, believed an offer of compromise had been made by the British government on the prisoners’ demands for special category status.

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News of the protest’s end, says the retired Sinn Féin politician, was, initially, met with a mixture of relief, confusion, excitement and, later, frustration, disillusionment and anger.

1980... Raymond McCartney during the hunger strike.1980... Raymond McCartney during the hunger strike.
1980... Raymond McCartney during the hunger strike.

In its aftermath, the men soon discovered that total conformity was still being demanded by the prison authorities.

“It was a very difficult time, as I remember,” recalls Raymond McCartney. “ There had been no movement by the British to address our demands. It was a massive act of bad faith on their behalf. Soon, it became clear there was going to be another hunger strike.”

Led by Bobby Sands, republicans decided to launch a second hunger strike which began in March 1981 and resulted in the deaths of 10 men before it, too, was called off later that summer. It was a watershed moment in recent Irish history.

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Reflecting on the 1980 hunger strike, Raymond McCartney says he has no regrets whatsoever about taking part.

Raymond McCartney in more recent times.Raymond McCartney in more recent times.
Raymond McCartney in more recent times.

“I’ve never doubted that it was the right thing to do. It was the only thing to do. We were not being accorded our rights as political prisoners. We had to defend ourselves as political prisoners. It was the necessary thing to do.”

Raymond McCartney says he volunteered for the hunger strike knowing he could, possibly, die.

“That eventuality was laid out in very stark terms to us,” he says. “We were asked point blank: are you prepared to die? I went away, thought about it and I put name forward. Two or three weeks later, I received word I’d been selected. Again, it was spelt out to us: if you have any doubts or fears about going to the death, remove your name. I sent word back I was preared to do it.”

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When it came to telling his family, Mr McCartney says there wasn’t much discussion.

“We were told to tell the next people up on a visit,” he says. “You were, in effect, telling them you were going on hunger strike - no discussion.

“The protest was then put back for a week and I was able to speak to my parents. Perhaps they had their concerns, but they were fully supportive of my decision. I was grateful for this.”

The actual daily regime of going without food, says Raymond McCartney, is exactly that - a day to day process.

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“For the first few weeks, there was a definite sense of your body missing food. And, as each day passed, you knew you were getting closer to the moment when your body, possibly, may give up. Every day was a process of just getting through the day. For the first eight days, I was in my own cell; the seven of us were then moved to another block - a so-called ‘clean’ wing - where we were given access to books and newspapers. We were eventually moved to the hospital wing. Each day was about trying to rest as much as possible - you couldn’t take too much out of yourself.  

“Hunger strikes affect people in different ways. Even after 53 days without food, I was still able to get out of bed and walk - yes, you were slow and the body was suffering but I was up and about. However, other hunger strikers, like Sean McKenna and Tommy McKearney, were confined to bed. The body reacts differently. You slow down, become colder, your sense of smell increases and you find your ability to focus with your eyes decreases. It becomes difficult to see.”

The decision to call the protest off was, says Raymond McCartney, greeted with a variety of emotions.

“The overriding emotion was one of relief,” he says. “However, it very quickly became apparent that the British were not shifting on the demands. It was another example of the British, once again,  assuming that prisoners were the soft underbelly of the republican resistance struggle. They could not have been more wrong.”