|
-- Terence MacSwiney |
|
Although the Government had absolutely refused to accede to the demands of the prisoners while they were on hunger strike, the wheels were set in motion after the strike was called off, thanks to the New Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, James Prior. Prior stated that the government had always planned to grant some reforms once the prisoners had ceased to attempt to pressure the government into making changes by using their lives as a bargaining chip. Unlike Atkins, Prior followed through with these reforms. He agreed to grant the prisoners the right to wear their own clothing, provided that it was not an IRA uniform nor resembled the uniforms of the prison guards. He also granted the remission that had been denied the prisoners during the protest, and the prisoners were allowed more association with each other. Prison labor was reformed so that prisoners who did not desire to perform penal labor were not penalized to a high degree. So who came out ahead? Who won? The answer is, that depends on who you ask. The British believed that they had emerged from the struggle as the winners, since they had not allowed themselves to be swayed by the hunger strikes. They had not been "bullied" into granting the five demands and thus had never acknowledged the political status of the Republican prisoners. The prisoners also considered themselves victorious. They had finally been granted the substance of their demands, although the concession had been purchased with the lifeblood of ten men. Although they were not officially being recognized as prisoners of war, the prisoners considered the right to wear their own clothing and associate freely as equal to having achieved political status. The strikes, beyond the immediate results, had a wider political effect. They allowed the IRA to claim a victory in this battle - the legitimacy they had long sought. By succeeding in getting Bobby Sands elected to the Westminster Parliament, the IRA had proved that they had popular support, both to themselves and to the British government which had denounced them as thugs. The riots, the protests, and the huge turnouts for the funerals of the ten dead men further demonstrated that the IRA was operating with the support of the Irish people. As a result, the support for the IRA and Sinn Fein was further strengthened. The sacrifice of these ten brave men became a rallying point, a source of inspiration, a call to arms - an example of supreme sacrifice for one's country. |