Mark Hirst

On this day, May 12, 1981, one of the leading figures of the IRA, Francis Hughes, died on the 59th day of his hunger strike. Francis Hughes was one of the best known figures of the republican movement in the North of Ireland. In the mid 1970s, he was declared “the most wanted man” in Ireland. In 1978, he was captured after a clash and arrested while seriously wounded. He was later sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1981, after the death of Bobby Sands, he became the second person to die during the hunger strike. His death caused widespread anger and outrage in Ireland; tens of thousands attended his funeral, and he became a symbol of resistance for many republicans. For Hughes, the Irish phrase “Fuair sé bás ar son saoirse na hÉireann” (He died for the freedom of Ireland) is frequently used.