66 Days

Tonight we went to see a documentary about the life and death of Bobby Sands, an IRA volunteer who went on hunger strike while imprisoned in H-Block in the Maze prison, where all the IRA prisoners were held. Sands was one of 10 prisoners who died during a hunger strike in 1981. More than 100,000 people attended his funeral.

I was a freshman in college while this was going on. I remembered hearing about it, but not having access to much detailed news about Ireland. I also was not a big fan of the IRA. Not a fan at all. I was angry at Irish Americans for sending them money. The prisoners were protesting because they wanted to be treated as political prisoners, not as criminals, meaning they could wear their own clothes. I thought this was a silly thing to die for.

The film explains why Sands and the others thought otherwise. One of the things that stayed with me was that the IRA were seen as not willing to die for their cause. Happy to put bombs in letter boxes and under cars--frequently killing innocents--but not in harm’s way themselves. By contrast, Bobby put his life on the line. Another thing that stayed with me was the brutal treatment of Catholics by Protestant police with billy clubs. Bobby’s family was forced to move at short notice as Protestants threatened Catholics in what had once been “integrated” neighbourhoods. The film reminds you why the IRA came to life, even if it lost its way, which it most surely did.

The film is extremely well done with archival footage that brought Belfast to life as I remembered it--good and bad. Mostly bad. The film maker spliced together interviews with people who knew Sands with animation and the historical footage. One of the highlights is the wonderful commentator Fintan O’Toole from the Irish Times. Also interesting insights into the role of the U.S. and the Republic of Ireland.

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