The week of Easter, April 1916
When looking at the history of hunger striking within Irish history one must pay special attention to the events that took place in the early 20th century. The most notable of the early hunger strikes took place after the Easter Rising of 1916. The Easter Rebellion was a revolt that took place during the week of Easter in April of 1916. The Rising was inspired by the struggle of the Irish republicans to end British rule in Ireland in order to establish an independent Ireland, an Irish Republic. This was all being done as the British were, at the time, heavily involved in The Great War.
1918-1920
After The Rising, a series of hunger strikes took place in which some well-known members of Irish society had passed away in their attempts to bring the question of an Irish republic into question. These persons would include Thomas Ashe, Terence MacSwiney, Sean McCaughey, and Frank Stagg. When bringing these persons to light, it should be mentioned that their deaths, in some cases, were idolized and the could be seen as martyrs.
September 25, 1917
An example of his could be found in Thomas Ashe and his death. Ashe did not die due to the effects of hunger, rather he passed from the effects of being force fed. Eamon De Valera was another Republican who resorted to hunger striking for the stringent prison rules that were placed in his institution. It was not until two days of his fast did the governor give in. After such events, the government had lost patience in dealing with hunger strikers.
October 25, 1920
Terence MacSwiney is a victim of this stringent view, in which his hunger strike had lasted 75 before he passed. After the death of MacSwiney, there was a significant rise in hunger strike by Irish Republicans in Northern Ireland.
1920’s – 1940’s
In addition, in the spring of 1923, the Dail had passed a bill that would permit hunger strikers to die. Hunger striking, at this point in history, has passed through different governments. In the 40’s it was Fianna Fail which was a party led by Eamon De Valera after he removed himself from Sinn Fein. De Valera would then become the Prime Minister of Ireland and would speak on the matter of hunger striking. His judgment towards the matter was that he did not wish for the hunger strikers to die however, they would not be allowed to dictate the conditions of the institutions they were imprisoned in. In retrospect, from after The Easter Rising and on the hunger strikes were dealt with and reacted towards in varying ways. Governments being lenient or stern and national opinion being swayed by the plight of the hunger strikers. All of which would set the stage for hunger striking further down the line The strikes would continue well into the late 20th century, leading all the way up to internment.
For a more in-depth look at hunger striking in the 80’s click here