The Spirit of Freedom, Vol. 1, No. 1
Date:1982
Organisation: Dublin H-Block Armagh Committee
Publication: Spirit of Freedom
Issue:Volume 1, Number 1
Collection:The Hunger Strikes
View: View Document
Discuss:Comments on this document
Subjects: Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act Hunger Strikes, 1980/81 Bobby Sands

Please note:  The Irish Left Archive is provided as a non-commercial historical resource, open to all, and has reproduced this document as an accessible digital reference. Copyright remains with its original authors. If used on other sites, we would appreciate a link back and reference to The Irish Left Archive, in addition to the original creators. For re-publication, commercial, or other uses, please contact the original owners. If documents provided to The Irish Left Archive have been created for or added to other online archives, please inform us so sources can be credited.

Commentary From The Cedar Lounge Revolution

28th May 2012

Many thanks to Tommy Graham for donating this to the Archive.

This document was produced in 1981 by the Dublin H-Block Armagh Committee. This was linked directly to the Communist Party of Ireland (Marxist-Leninist).

As the editorial notes:

This newsheet is written and produced by Dublin Activists in the H-Block/Armagh movement. Activists are encouraged to submit articles, items of news, cartoons etc. Comment and criticism from the public are also welcomed. The H-Block/Armagh Committee is continuing its work because the five demands have not been granted in full and prisoners are still being subjected to punishments as a result of the continuing protest in the H-Blocks. Without public support group our political prisoners isolated in their cells would be even more vulnerable. In messages smuggled out from Long Kesh they have stressed the need for continuing publicity for their case.

And:

The movement is also concerned with the defence of members, such as the Embassy 20 who have fallen foul of state laws and with highlighting the ever increasing repressive laws now operating north and south.

It concludes:

This paper forms part of the campaign and it is also an attempt to counterbalance the hostile and one-sided establishment media coverage of these issues.

The document also contains an overview of the situation of 20 people who ‘appeared before the non-jury Special Criminal Court’ out of charges arising from a demonstration outside the British Embassy. There’s a tribute to Bobby Sands and an overview of the Broadcasting Act and Section 31. There’s also an article on the Falklands conflict and information on a National Recall Conference of the Smash H-Block/Armagh Campaign which was held that year in Dublin.

More from Spirit of Freedom

Spirit of Freedom in the archive


Comments

  • triboc

    1981 vs 1982

    By: triboc | 14th May 2019, 2:10am

    I quote: 1st Line - Date: 1982 some lines under this: This document was produced in 1981 So when was it published?. The Authos mention some dates but no year :-(

    Reply to this comment

    • Aonrud

      Re: 1981 vs 1982

      By: Aonrud | 16th May 2019, 8:01am

      Thanks for pointing out the discrepancy, triboc. I think 1982 is the more likely.

      The article on page three says, "on July 18th, last year, some 20,000 people from all over Ireland marched to the British Embassy in Dublin [...] At that time, six hunger strikers had died..." That would place it in 1982.

      Reply to this comment

Add a Comment

Formatting Help

Comments can be formatted in Markdown format . Use the toolbar to apply the correct syntax to your comment. The basic formats are:

**Bold text**
Bold text

_Italic text_
Italic text

[A link](http://www.example.com)
A link

You can join this discussion on The Cedar Lounge Revolution

  • By: Frank Kilbride Mon, 28 May 2012 21:16:24

    Thanks Tommy, keep them coming. More issues of ML Weekly would be nice to see.

    Reply on the CLR

  • By: WorldbyStorm Tue, 29 May 2012 06:39:32

    In reply to Frank Kilbride.

    There’s a lot more where that came from 🙂

    One thing I’m always impressed by CPI (M-L) and their various offshoots is the sheer quality (as well as quantity) of their output. A very distinctive look.

    Reply on the CLR

  • By: The Weekly Archive Worker: Alternative « Entdinglichung Thu, 31 May 2012 08:46:58

    […] Dublin H-Block Armagh Committee: The Spirit of Freedom, Vol I, No. I […]

    Reply on the CLR