Huge crowds attend National Hunger Strike Commemoration in Ballina

MAYO REMEMBERS Pictured leading the 2017 National Hunger Strike Commemoration in Ballina, from left: President of Mayo Sinn Féin, Tara Bleeks-Kennedy; Gerry Kelly, MLA; Charal Ni Chuilin, MLA; Senator Rose Conway Walsh; Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams; Michelle O’Neill, MLA and Mayo Cllr Gerry Murray. Pic: Alison Laredo

Anton McNulty

Thousands travelled from across the country for the National Hunger Strike Commemoration which took place in Ballina over the weekend.
The main event took place in Ballina on Sunday, when 6,000 to 7,000 people gathered at Diamond’s Car Park to mark the thirty-sixth anniversary of the H-Block Hunger Strikes.
The commemoration also honoured the Mayo men who died on hunger strikes, including Ballycroy man Jack McNeela, who died along with Headford man, Tony D’Arcy in 1940;  Ballina man Michael Gaughan, who died in 1974; and and Frank Stagg from Hollymount, who died in 1976.
The main event was attended by Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams, and the keynote speakers included Erris-based Sinn Féin Senator Rose Conway-Walsh and Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly, who was on hunger strike with Michael Gaughan.
It was the first time the National Hunger Strike Commemoration has been held in Mayo, and Senator Conway-Walsh said she was honoured to welcome the families of those who died to Ballina and Mayo.
“It is because of your sacrifices and your endurance that I, and hundreds of thousands like me, continue our struggle for Irish freedom and the reunification of our country.
“We can never truly repay the debt of gratitude owed to you and your loved ones, but together we will work to make their vision a reality,” she told them.
Referencing the three Mayo men to die on hunger strike, Senator Conway- Walsh said they did not take the actions they did in order to die but to further the struggle for Irish unity.
“This afternoon we proudly ‘take it home to Mayo’ as we remember our three Mayo Hunger Strikers … Like all of the political prisoners they did not go on hunger strike to die. These young men went on hunger strike because their bodies and minds were the only weapons available to them against the criminalisation of the struggle for Irish freedom and unity. So today we gather here to commemorate, reflect and respect,” she said.
As well as the main gathering on Sunday afternoon, there were also a number of events over the weekend, including a hunger-strike discussion last Friday night in the Great National Hotel in Ballina. Senior Lecturer in History in UL, Dr Rúan O’Donnell, spoke on the hunger strikes of Jack McNeela, Michael Gaughan and Frank Stagg, while Danny Morrison spoke on the 1980 and 1981 H-Block hunger strikes.