Ten Men Dead: The Story of the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike

by David Beresford

Book Overview

In 1981 ten men starved themselves to death inside the walls of Long Kesh prison in Belfast. While a stunned world watched and distraught family members kept bedside vigils, one "soldier" after another slowly went to his death in an attempt to make Margaret Thatcher's government recognize them as political prisoners rather than common criminals.

Drawing extensively on secret IRA documents and letters from the prisoners smuggled out at the time,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087113702X
• ISBN13: 9780871137029
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
• Length: 334 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A Well Balanced and Thoughtful Account

This book gives a gripping and well detailed account of the 1981 Hunger Strike. Beresford is a journalist who was provided with "comms" (communications) from the hunger strikers and inmates at Long Kesh prison, and much of the book is based on these smuggled notes. Beresford does a fine job of presenting background, and of tempering views by providing background on both sides. Although I find myself in the Republican camp, I did find that he presented the situtation well. When it feels as though you are strongly backing actions and previous criminal acts by inmates and hunger strikers, Beresford depicts family members and biographies of Union/Loyalist supporters to remind us that all are human beings with families and lives who have been lost in this long-standing problem. But Beresford also engages the reader, revealing the hunger strikers as people who were seriously committed to a cause they were willing to give their lives for. The struggle over Northern Ireland is not taken lightly. Although the writing stumbles occasionally, the journalistic approach and research off-sets it by documenting a great deal. This book provides a wonderful historical picture and insight into a tragic part of history.

emotionally moving

After reading "Ten Men Dead" I understand how Maggie Thacher got the name Margaret "Bloody"Thacher. Beresford does an excellent job of showing how ordinary people reacted in extraordinary times.These were not criminals as the British wanted them labeled.They were everyday men from middle class families who had incrediable courage, and acted on their belief's. A moving story, well told and tenderly presented.

A Must Read for anyone involved in social protest

Social protest takes many forms. Some simply write letters. Some picket, or go on strike, risking their jobs. Some even go on a hunger strike for a few days.The ten members of the IRA whose story is told (in incredibly moving detail) in this book take social protest to a level most of us are not familiar with. They quite literally agreed to sacrifice their lives...not in one fell swoop (like those who set themselves on fire), but in a slow, agonizing death drawn out over many weeks.This is true dedication to a cause. Having read the book, one is tempted to view all other social protests as half-hearted. Of course, their protest only made sense because of the mass organization and widespread support the strikers had, both inside the prison and on the street. Bobby sands was actually elected to Parliment while dying!Anyone who wants to learn about what it takes to effect change, and the pitfalls of adopting such radical tactics, must read this book.

An Amazing Story

Beresford's account provides substantial insight into a truly amazing story of human sacrifice and determination. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with what these men stood for or with the tactics they chose, you will find yourself in awe of their story. In addition, the events chronicled in this book are being widely credited as the genesis of the current peace process in Northern Ireland and, as such, have tremendous historical importance. Some readers might want to first read Tim Pat Coogan's book On The Blanket to truly set the stage for what follows.

"Comms" a powerful testament

This is a great book, made so by the author's plentiful use of the prisoners' "comms." These were messages to the outside world written in tiny handwriting on pieces of cigarette paper and then smuggled in and out of the prison in various bodily orifices. This book certainly opened my eyes to just how much can be jammed up the back door (a portable radio and a camera?!) The author was given unprecedented access to these day by day records of the hunger strike by the IRA Army Council, and he makes extensive use of them. This is a powerful and moving chapter in modern history, and the writings of the prisoners' commander "Bik" -- Brendan McFarlane, who studied to become a priest before joining the IRA -- tell the story better than any historian could. My only complaint with the book is that it gets disorganized in the middle. After carefully tracing the development of the hunger strike and laying out the stories of the hunger strikers through the first four deaths, the author drops the ball. All of a sudden we're told that there are five people on strike, then a few pages later eight. This had me searching previous chapters to find out who these people were, to no avail. The author goes back and picks up the pieces for some of the hunger strikers later on, but he should have stuck with the person by person style of the early part of the book. Also, it was sort of annoying that several names of key players were spelled wrong, leading me to wonder if other details may have been wrong.