This Sunday, May 4, Belfast celebrated the inauguration of a brand new statue dedicated to Bobby Sands. Installed in the Twinbrook district of west Belfast, the monument was unveiled on the 44th anniversary of his death. Bobby Sands was one of the most prominent hunger strikers of the 1980s. Along with other Irish republican prisoners, he went on hunger strike to demand recognition of prisoner status from Margaret Thatcher… A request that went unanswered, and led to their deaths…
Installed in Belfast’s Twinbrook Republican Memorial Garden, the statue is an imposing sight. Bobby Sands appears imperial and courageous, brandishing the tricolored Irish flag. The statue is gleaming: it shines brightly in Belfast’s timid sunshine, and has become part of the local landscape.
The choice of this park is no accident: it was here, precisely, that his arrest took place. Incarcerated in the infamous H-Blocks of Long Kesh prison, Bobby Sands, then an MP and member of the IRA, had campaigned for his rights and those of his fellow prisoners to be recognized as political prisoners.
The statue of hunger striker Bobby Sands unveiled today in Twinbrook Belfast is based on this iconic photograph of Bobby marching along the Andersonstown Road in 1976. pic.twitter.com/LIRrpuW18r
— Paul Butler (@PolDeBuitleir) May 4, 2025
Despite international outrage, the British government remained unmoved, driving strikers to their deaths. This was the case of Bobby Sands, who died after 66 days on hunger strike on May 5, 1981.
His death made him a martyr in the eyes of the Irish and international public, and plunged Margaret Thatcher into growing unpopularity.
The inauguration ceremony was a solemn affair. Some of the biggest names in politics attended, including Gerry Adams, former president of Sinn Féin.
Former hunger striker Pat Sheehan, also a member of the Nationalist Party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, was present.
Speeches were made, calling Bobby Sands a heroic and visionary figure.
Pat Sheehan took the opportunity to express his conviction:
Through their heroism and sacrifice, Bobby and the other hunger strikers rekindled the cause of Irish freedom. Today, the momentum for political and social change is irresistible. The goal remains the reunification of Ireland.
A statement that won the support of the Northern Irish republican community, but heightened tensions among loyalists opposed to the island’s reunification.
While hopes remain, disagreements between Republicans and Unionists also seem to be alive and well.
More news
