History
The history that lead up to and produced the Armagh hunger strikes reaches far back into traditions of the culture such as the trope of “Mother Ireland,” which is fundamental in understanding the role that had been developed for women in Northern Ireland. The way that women have been viewed, historically, in Ireland is also important in understanding the complicated reactions that different groups had towards the women’s protests. To understand the problematic ways in which the hunger strikes were viewed, is important to read them in the context of the history of the nation to which these women were devoting their lives.
