False martyrs - IRA suicide 5

In 1981, 10 republican terrorists committed suicide through self-imposed starvation. Sinn Fein IRA want to create a shrine to them on the site of the former hospital wing of the Maze prison. This would form part of a centre connected with a proposed international sports stadium.

An Ulster Unionist peer has claimed any form of hunger strike memorial at the Maze would be "immoral and obscene" as it would glorify the act of suicide.

Lord Laird has added his voice to those condemning the proposed conflict transformation centre on the site of the former prison.

Part of that complex would see the retention and restoration of the prison hospital, where ten republican hunger strikers died in 1981.

The controversy has so far focused on the political row of whether or not the centre would become a shrine to terrorism.

Lord Laird, however, claims the basic moral implications of the proposal have not been fully considered.

He said it was outrageous that the Government could support anything that "glorified" the act of suicide.

Lord Laird said official records stated the hunger strikers' cause of death was suicide and it was therefore "immoral to celebrate their deaths".

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• IRA
• INLA
• Maze
• Long
• Kesh
• 25
• 1981
• hunger
• strike
• Provos
• Sinn
• Fein
• Ireland
• Irish
• Suicide
• Ulster
• Belfast
• Sands
• McDonnell