Mayo hunger striker to be remembered on 50th anniversary of death

A COMMEMORATION to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Mayo hunger striker, Michael Gaughan will take place in his hometown of Ballina this weekend.

Ballina man Michael Gaughan was just 24 years of age when he died on June 3, 1974 after 64 days on hunger strike in Parkhurst Prison in England.

To mark the 50th anniversary of his death, the National Graves Association will hold a commemoration to honour Michael Gaughan at his graveside in Leigue Cemetery in Ballina tomorrow, Saturday, June 1 at 4pm.

Speakers on day will include former Ballina councillors Peter Clarke and Gerry Ginty while the main oration will be delivered by Seán Whelan, Chairperson of the National Graves Association.

Gaughan grew up on Healy Terrace, Ballina and later became an IRA volunteer in a London-based Active Service Unit. After his arrest for a bank robbery, he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 1971.

While in Albany Prison on the Isle of Wight, Gaughan was placed in solitary confinement after his request for political status was refused.

He was later transferred to Parkhurst Prison and on March 31, 1974, Gaughan joined fellow Mayoman Frank Stagg, along with current Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly, Paul Holme, Hugh Feeney and sisters Dolours and Marian Price in a hunger strike campaign to obtain political status and to be transferred to a jail in Ireland.

At the time British policy was to force feed hunger strikers and Gaughan was force fed up to 17 times during the course of his hunger strike. The procedure involved forcing a wooden clamp into the prisoner’s mouth through which a tube was passed. Liquid food was then poured through the tube, often entering the victim’s windpipe.

After visiting Gaughan in jail, his brother John described his condition: “His throat had been badly cut by force feeding and his teeth loosened. His eyes were sunken, his cheeks hollow and his mouth was gaping open. He weighed about six stone.”

After a hunger strike that lasted 64 days, he died on Monday, June 3 1974, aged 24 years old.

In his final message, Michael Gaughan described his motivation: “I die proudly for my country and in the hope that my death will be sufficient to obtain the demands of my comrades. Let there be no bitterness on my behalf but a determination to achieve the new Ireland for which I gladly die. My loyalty and confidence is to the IRA and let those of you who are left carry on the work and finish the fight.”

It was reported at the time that over 3,000 mourners lined the streets of Kilburn and marched behind his coffin while it is estimated that over 50,000 mourners attended his funeral in Ballina which took place in St Muredach's Cathedral with burial afterwards in the Republican plot in Leigue Cemetery.

His death is referenced in the song 'Take me Home to Mayo', also known as 'The Ballad of Michael Gaughan', composed by Seamus Robinson and performed and recorded by many Irish musicians including Christy Moore, the Wolfe Tones, Wolfhound, Derek Warfield and the Dublin City Ramblers.