Nor meekly serve my time: The H-block struggle, 1976-1981

by J. B.;McKeown Campbell

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Genres: History, Ireland, Nonfiction

267 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Thomas Harte · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main reason I read this book is to try and understand what made ten men starve themselves to death. I grew up in the shadow of the troubles and now find myself trying to understand what happened in those 30 years. There should be no doubt after reading this book that these prisoners saw their struggle as political. That they gave their very existence to make this point is surely enough to convince even the skeptics. This is a difficult book to read, but important to hear from those who were actually involved in this protest. Resistance runs through this book, with nothing left the prisoners use their bodies. I also think we need to be mindful that these men were imprisoned for very serious crimes. To understand is not necessarily to condone but this was an important political moment in Northern Ireland. It gave rise to republicanism following a political path that we see to this day. At a human level I do not know how these men went through almost four years of a blanket and dirty protest before the ultimate protest. Let’s condemn less and understand more.

[David Glackin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the saddest yet inspiring books I have ever read. The pure resilience of the prisoners in Long Mesh is humbling. This book should be read by anybody who wants to know what occurred during the prison protests of 1976-1981 as told by those who really know what happened -the prisoners themselves.

[Dan Trubman · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the toughest book to get through I've ever read. Not because it was poorly written, but for the sheer weight of the subject matter, and maybe more importantly, its personal nature. The oral history structure means the reader does not approach the matter from an academic perspective, but at times painfully intimate one. It's one thing to know by rote memorization that ten men died in a struggle over the criminalization of the Republican movement; it's another to hear the stories of men (and it's easy to forget many of them were really still boys) deal with the slow and often agonizing death of their colleagues.

These perspectives undoubtedly add clarity towards why men would subject themselves to such atrocious conditions for what can seem like abstract goals. But beyond the political component, their unmitigated humanity shines through. Not an idealized humanity, but one that's all the more beautiful for its veracity. In the end, I would it just a little bit easier to understand how the prisoners were able to retain such clarity and focus as their bodies slowly are away at themselves.

But the realization that the hunger strikers, and indeed all of the blanketmen, were not romanticized martyrs, but very real people, only furthers me awe.

[maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Under no circumstances are we going to devalue the memory of our dead comrades by submitting ourselves to a dehumanising and degrading regime”.

Wow. Required reading for anyone who wishes to understand why the Republican Movement in 1970s and 1980s’ Ireland was the way that it was in the context of what can only be described as one of the most heinous prison regimes in British history.

Told by the prisoners of the H Blocks in Long Kesh themselves, it gives a hauntingly intimate portrayal of the sheer brutality and utter cruelty inflicted on Republican POWs during the war in the North of Ireland. The British government murdered 10 men and inflicted the most mercilessness torture imaginable on many more. I believe this serves in part to rationalise the nature and extent of the IRA’s campaign on the outside given the brutality experienced by Republican men on the inside. What is more unbelievable though is that despite the relentless suffering experienced by the prisoners which necessitated the Blanket protest, no wash protest and two hunger strikes, they were unwavering in their determination to oppose the inhumane treatment perpetuated by the long standing British imperialist influence in Ireland.

I whole heartedly believe that young people living in today’s Britain & Ireland should read this book in order to appreciate the legacy of those who suffered for peace, equality and ultimately the right to self-determination for the nationalist population in the North of Ireland.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing collective oral history comprised of recollections of prisoner accounts smuggled out from Long Kesh prison while many of them were still serving time. This book very much stresses how prison served as the new front for Republicanism throughout the 1970s and 1980s as the British government refused to recognize political prisoners serving time by instead lumping them all together as "criminals." The multiple voices provide a decent sense of the varied ways in which the Blanket protests and no wash protests were interpreted and led up to the inevitable hunger strikes. Perhaps most interesting is how the book documents the self-determination the prisoners exerted among themselves of creating Gaelic clubs, poetry workshops, and establishing a prison newspaper meant for distribution both outside as well as inside the prison. Art and culture play key roles in creating a sense of agency. The book reveals how prison, out of all places, created some of these conditions to take place where in the moments of boredom and monotony men could assert their agency collectively and individually to create glimpses of the future they wanted to see.

[Regina Dooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shocking and informative book and very disturbing.

[Síofra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-ainmnithe dílis, na stailceoirí ocrais ó 1980 agus 1981.

Grma

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent resource for those interested in Irish nationalism and Irish resistance in the prisons.

[Jenna-leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book for many one interested in the troubles and the experiences of Irish nationalist political prisoners.