Brendan Hughes, 1949-2008.
Brendan Hughes, the leader of the 1980 hunger strike, died in hospital last night. Here are some quotes from Brendan. He will be missed by those who loved him.
“In 1969 we had a naive enthusiasm about what we wanted. Now in 1999 we have no enthusiasm. And it is not because people are war weary – they are politics weary. The same old lies regurgitated week in week out. With the war politics had some substance. Now it has none. The political process has created a class of professional liars and unfortunately it contains many republicans. But I still think that potential exists to bring about something different. And I speak not just about our own community but about the loyalist community also. Ex-prisoners from both and not the politicians can effect some radical change.”
“Stormont is still there, but it is a Stormont with Republicans in it. Stormont has not changed. The whole apparatus of the Stormont regime is still there, it is still controlled by the British, it is still unjust, it is still cruel. The RUC is still there. The whole civil service are still there, the same civil servants who controlled the shoot-to-kill policy, who controlled the plastic bullets, who controlled the H Blocks of Long Kesh, who took responsibility for ten men dying. It is all still there. But, saviour of saviours, we have two Sinn Féin ministers there, who happen to close hospitals. The sad thing about all this is that the British set this up. This is the British answer to the Republican problem in Ireland. It’s a British solution, it’s not an Irish solution. It’s not a solution that we have control of. There are people up there and the British ministers are handing money out. But the whole thing is built on sand.”
“I am not advocating dumb militarism or a return to war. Never in the history of republicanism was so much sacrificed and so little gained; too many left dead and too few achievements. Let us think most strongly before going down that road again. I am simply questioning the wisdom of administering British rule in this part of Ireland. I am asking what happened to the struggle in all Ireland — what happened to the idea of a thirty-two county socialist republic. That, after all, is what it was all about. Not about participating in a northern administration that closes hospitals and attacks the teachers’ unions. I am asking why we are not fighting for and defending the rights of ordinary working people, for better wages and working conditions. Does thirty years of struggle boil down to a big room at Stormont, ministerial cars, dark suits and the implementation of the British Patten Report?”
“It has been the futility of it all. From a nationalist perspective alone what we have now we could have had at any time in the last twenty-five years. But even nationalist demands don’t seem to matter any more. And in the process we have lost much of our honesty, sincerity and comradeship.”
“The republican leadership has always exploited our loyalty.”
Ahem,
Just because he was a murderer! ( and he was ) it does not follow that he has no integrity.
From birth to death he fought and died for his belief, not many Republicans can say that. Just ask Eames and Bradley and the filing cabinets?
Ding Ding A Long
Ingram
UP THE HUNS!!!!
Somewhere among these arguments I detect a distinct lack of consistency. Would “the bearded one” have done better to keep the fighting going so that another generation of Brendan Hugheses could have had their lives spoilt? If not, then why is he being criticised?
He would have done better FROM HIS POSITION OF SAFETY to be TRUTHFUL to the foot soldiers on the ground so`s they would have the opertunity as to whether they wanted to remain as VOLUNTEERS.
Telling them of one agenda in order to keep the war going whilst working to another which no doubt cost lots of lives.
Mr Ingrim
I`m still waiting for an answer to the question from a few weeks back.
PaddyReilly
You have to ask yourself did the ‘bearded one’ OR other senior Republicans have ANY real control or clout over whether the fight went on or not? I don’t think Brendan Hughes was suggesting it should have BUT he did vent his opinions on who was REALLY driving the Sinn Fein strategy. He had his suspicions and that was one of the reasons he got out. Some of the recent revelations regarding Stakeknife and Denis Donaldson seem to vindicate his views. He also had different memories of incidents and actions that seemed to differ from the Adams/McGuinness 21st century media friendly version i.e. ADAMS – I was NEVER in the IRA or his insistence that it was McGuinness who pushed for an IRA offensive in 1986. So could you blame anyone, particularly grassroots Republicans, for wondering what it was all about…..the deaths, misery, jail, hunger strikes etc? Brendan Hughes knew it wasn’t worth another devolved British administration at Stormont. He might have died a sad figure in his wee flat but, agree with him or not, he went to his grave uncompromised and loyal to his principles. It’s a pity the same couldn’t be said of others who drive in 4 x 4′s to their holiday homes, pubs and businesses in Donegal or who are too busy managing their property portfolios to remember WHAT Republican ideals were.
LURIG
Its more than likely that the war was to come to a spectacular end in 1986 had all gone to plan.
As mr Ingram was closely associated to an agent whom, known to the agent or not, he was an essential part of the overall plan which went terribly wrong forcing the brits and their Friends of Ireland back to the drawing board.
This being the reason I have asked the question to mr Ingrim.
Since asking this question a number of weeks back he had disappeared until now.
So I will patiently await his reply.
ROBBIE, you are either a loyalist scumbag or you are just not in touch with what has happened and happening in loyalist areas. Why why why would anyone with half a brain try to say ervine went down the road of peace whenever he protected ignored and denied the murders drugs and illegal activities of the uvf until the day he went to hell????
maybe you could explain ervines relationship with the top loyalist drug dealer who was shot dead? maybe you could explain why a man of peace would try and shift the blame of the murder of lisa dorrian on the lvf when it was uvf members involved??? maybe you could explain why ervine denied the uvf murdered up to 30 people after the ceasefire? maybe you could explain why ervine man of peace would not co-operate with ombudsman investigations into uvf murders by paid informants?? why did ervine tell tony blair “something had to be done about billy wright”?? Why did ervine not help any family in getting answers and justice in murders by the uvf since the ceasefire even though he sayed “the murders were not sanctioned” or “were committed by thugs”.
i think you and people like you need to live for a day in the shoes of victims of ervines ignorance and denial and not in the shoes of loyalist spin and murder.
BOB MAGABE,YOU HAVE SHOWN TO THIS SITE THE IGNORANCE DENIAL AND NO HOPE OF A DELUDED REPUBLICAN SCUMBAG, WHO THINKS THAT A MAN WHO DIRECTED MURDER DRUGS EXTORTION ROBBERIES AND INTIMIDATION TO BE AN INSPIRATION. AS FOR MY BROTHER HE DID NOT COMMIT MURDER ETC ETC.
IF YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE ALLEGATIONS YOU HAVE GOT TO BACK THEM UP AS I HAVE ALWAYS DONE ON THIS SITE. WE ALL KNOW I DONT NEED TO PROVE MY ALLEGATIONS ON HUGHES AS THE REPUBLICAN SCUMBAGS ON THIS SITE HAVE GLORIFIED HIS PAST EVIL ACTS.