Francis Hughes
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| Paramilitary organisation | Provisional Irish Republican Army |
| Date of birth | 28 February, 1956 |
| Place of birth | Bellaghy, County Londonderry |
| Hungerstrike started | 15 March 1981 |
| Died | 12 May, 1981 |
| Days on strike | 59 |
Francis Hughes (Irish name: Proinsias Mac hAodha; (28 February 1956 – 12 May 1981) was an Irish Official IRA, and later, Provisional Irish Republican Army member (volunteer) who participated in dozens of attacks on British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary targets. He died during the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike in the Maze prison (Long Kesh).
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[edit] Background
Hughes was born into a republican family, the youngest of four brothers in a family of ten siblings. He grew up in the strongly republican area of Bellaghy, in Southern County Londonderry (also known as South Derry). His father had been a member of the "Old IRA", long removed from IRA activity, and dedicated to farming. Hughes joined an Independent Republican Unit before switching to the Provisional Irish Republican Army.[1]
[edit] Moneymore shootings
In 1977 he was involved in the killing of two Royal Ulster Constabulary officers near Moneymore, after his car was stopped. He and two other IRA men escaped across the fields. See: The Troubles in Moneymore.
Hughes organised a series of attacks before his capture and became a wanted man after his fingerprints were found on a bomb used to attack the home of a policeman in County Tyrone. He was eventually captured on 17 March 1978 near Maghera in County Londonderry after a gun battle with the SAS.[2] A member of the SAS, L/CPL David Jones,[3] was killed in the gun battle, and another SAS member was seriously wounded. Hughes was wounded in the leg. He managed to crawl away but was pursued and surrendered to British troops.
[edit] Prison
In February 1980 following his capture, he was sentenced to a total of 83 years in prison. He was tried for, and found guilty of, the murder of one soldier (for which he received a life sentence) and wounding of another (for which he received 14 years) in the incident which led to his capture, as well as a a series of gun and bomb attacks over a six-year period. Security sources described him as "an absolute fanatic" and "a ruthless killer". Fellow republicans described him as "fearless and active". Following his death, it emerged in court during the extradition proceedings against Dominic McGlinchey that Hughes' fingerprints had been found on a car used during the killing of a 77 year old Protestant woman, Hester McMullan, in Toomebridge in 1977.[4]
[edit] 1981 Hunger strike
He took part in the mass hunger strike in 1980, and was the second prisoner to go on the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike in the H-Blocks at HM Prison Maze. His hunger strike started on 15 March 1981,[5] two weeks after Bobby Sands became the first hunger striker. He was the second striker to die, at 5:43pm BST on 12 May, after 59 days without food.[6] His death led to an upsurge in rioting in nationalist areas of Northern Ireland.
His cousin, Thomas McElwee, was the ninth hunger striker to die. One of his brothers, Oliver Hughes now sits on Magherafelt Council.
[edit] References
- ^ Tírghrá, National Commemoration Centre, 2002. PB) ISBN 0-9542946-0-2 p.232
- ^ Chronology of the Conflict 1978 — The University of Ulster's CAIN Project
- ^ Palace Parracks Memorial Garden
- ^ D McKittrick, Lost Lives, Mainstream Publishing, 2004. ISBN 184018504X
- ^ Chronology of the Conflict 1981 — The University of Ulster's CAIN Project
- ^ Second IRA protester dies in jail — BBC News "On This Day" report
[edit] External links
- Francis Hughes bio in IRIS
- Hunger strike poster of Francis Hughes
- Video from the funeral of Francis Hughes
Participants Who Died
Bobby Sands · Francis Hughes · Raymond McCreesh · Patsy O'Hara · Joe McDonnell
Martin Hurson · Kevin Lynch · Kieran Doherty · Thomas McElwee · Michael Devine
Participants Who Survived the Strike
Brendan McLaughlin · Paddy Quinn · Laurence McKeown · Patrick McGeow · Matt Devlin · Liam McCloskey
Patrick Sheehan · Jackie McMullan · Bernard Fox · Hugh Carville · John Pickering · Gerard Hodgkins · James Devine
Major Political and Religious Figures During the Strike
Margaret Thatcher · Garret FitzGerald · Charles Haughey · Humphrey Atkins · Bernadette McAliskey
Harry West · Owen Carron · Cardinal Tomas O Fiach · Cardinal Basil Hume · Father Denis Faul
