Dolours Price - Hunger Strike Recalled
An interview by Joe Graham with Dolours Price.
"So I'll wear no convict's uniform, Nor meekly serve my time,
That Britain might brand Ireland's fight, Eight hundred years of crime"
Away back over thirty years ago, this wee magazine, "Rushlight Magazine", supported the "Bring Them Home" campaign, which was backed by the release of a song on the old 45 vinyl records, in fact Rushlight distributed many free to its readers, I still have one to this day. This was the Irish political prisoners in English Prisons, some of whom had gone on hunger strike and were at deaths door, sisters Marian and Dolours Price were among them.
The song went.....
"Hear it ring on the air It's the voice of my country so fair
Can't you feel can't you see Irishmen will set them free
In the jail that held Mc Sweeney In the prison where he died
Lies two daughters of old Ireland And they fill my heart with pride
For I know that England wishes That we'd let them die alone
But the voice of dear old Ireland Cries for us to bring them home
Hear it ring on the air, It's the voice of my country so fair
Can't you feel can't you see Irishmen will set them free
Twas the love of dear old Ireland, Brought them to a prison hell
But the ghosts of Pearse and Connolly Filled their lonely prison cell
Clarke and Plunkett stand beside them McDonagh, McDermott and Wolfe Tone
And all the voices of old Ireland, Cry for us to bring them home
Hear it ring on the air It's the voice of my country so fair
Can't you feel can't you see, Irishmen will set them free
So I pray you men of Ireland, Don't betray our daughters true
Proudly stand beside our heroes, Lest they die for me and you
Though the tyrant would deny us, We can break their hearts of stone
And all of Ireland will be singing, When we bring our daughters home"
The British Government took to 'force feeding' the prisoners, a barbaric and inhumane action.
In the light of the recent 25 years commemorations on the 1981 hunger strikers, my mind wandered back to those dark days when two Irish colleens languished in a dreary prison cell and the citizens of Belfast thronged the streets in their thousands in protest at their treatment, even the loyalist U.D.A spoke out against the cruelty of force feeding. I wondered , would they talk to me of their experience, me. as in, "Rushlight Historical Archives", which I have been recording and archiving for later generations for over 30 years now.
Soon I set off to speak and record Dolours Price, a still beautiful Irish colleen, educated and articulate and seemingly undaunted in her principles by her experiences . I was quite flattered when she spoke of being an avid Rushlight Magazine reader through the years and spoke tenderly of having seen her parents pictures appear in it some years ago, of seeing it read in the prisons, we were at ease with one and other, a good start.
Over many cups of tea, I invited her to speak of her prison ordeal, her early childhood in Percy Street, and her Grannies house at Durham street, her republican background, her school days and her life at Andersonstown, and indeed the fateful mission in England that brought her to serving eight years in prison and her horrific treatment during her hunger strike. Dolorus spoke in length of her book, "A HANGING JOB", soon to be published, but I will not here write overly of that as it would be doing nothing short of plagiarizing it, suffice to say, it is one book I won't miss.
Dolours explained that their hunger strike was the only weapon left to them in prison, all they had to fight with was their bodies and so they chose the hunger strike, a much used weapon by patriots through the years, including the "unrepentent" O'Donovan Rossa, who went on to live to an old age despite a horrific experience in prison.
Women police officers took me to a cell and stripped me naked, threw me a filthy old blanket that had been lying there on a well used bunk, and said, "Wrap that round you", I looked at the filthy blanket, and always aware of my dignity, said, "I am not wearing that"
...later, they came and said "you had better put that blanket around you, we are taking you to have a picture taken", I refused, and the two female police officers dragged me along a corridor to a room where there was a police photographer, male police officers harried for advantage points, like perverts, to have a gape at me...the photographer, said, pointing at a cushion on a chair, "Take that and cover yourself,love", I did, he seemed to have a sense of decency, probably had a daughter my age..I liked that man, .."
".... my aunt Bridie.. Bridie Dolan, was blinded and had her hands blown off in an accidental explosion in the 1940's campaign...she never let it get her down and carried on life regardless of her injuries, as a family, we were all very proud of her. Aunt Bridie was a strong influence on us children, she wouldm't let us of with much, blind or not she 'caught us out' many times involved in childish pranks and would chastise us.
My granny Dolan lived at 22 Durham Street, a strong character and a hardened republican, apparently sometime in the 'troubles' of the 1920's era, she got a month in Armagh prison , she had been caught trying to cut the lanyard of an R.I.C mans gun with a pair of scissors, to steal the gun.
It was interesting to note during our conversation that Dolours, like any self respecting Northerner, never referred to the six counties once as "Northern Ireland", which was like a breathe of fresh air, as I find that term offensive to my ears, as I would if someone described that southern
region as "The Republic of Ireland"... it is as it has always been..."The Free state", and with all the images that term brings to mind, murder of Irish patriots by hanging, firing squad and death fasts...Broy Harriers, etc, needless to say Dolours, referred to that region too as "The Free State".
Another thing we had in common was that we both had been at Burntollet, 4th January, 1969, and witnessed first hand the brutal and evil collusion between Paisleyites and the R.U.C in attacking the Civil Rights march, near that bridge over the river falcon . Who knows?, she may have been one of the injured girls I dragged out of the chilling waters all those years ago. How no one was killed that day has always amazed me. And little is mentioned of the later murderous attempt by the 'forces of law and order' in collusion with loyalists at Irish Street, on the lessened number of civil righters who were able to carry on with the march.
Dolours never got as far as Irish Street... she had already been admitted to Altnagelvin Hospital following the Burntollet Ambush.
But back to those horrific days of her force feeding in an English jail, If a prisoner puked and threw up when the disgusting mixture was poured down the tube into her stomach, the vomit was caught in a container and poured back down the tube. And to think that those carrying out
this 'operation' were medical personnel. But this was the very point that brought force feeding of hunger strikes to an end in British prisons.
Dolours wrote to her mother, "Each day passes and we fade a little more. But no matter how the body may fade, our determination never will. We have geared ourselves for this and there is no other answer." Could possibly imagine the anguish of that poor Irish mother?.
Each day before being bound and strapped down in a 'type of dentist's chair' to be forced fed,
Dolours would ask the Doctor, "Why are you taking part in this torture"?,
To which he each time replied, "This is to save your life".
She asked "am I likely to die today"?
He could but answer "No"! ,
"So then why are you doing this to me ? she asked again. The nagging questions of the doctors ethics must have created questions within the Medical Association to which he belonged.
Suddenly the B.M.A British Medical Association, withdrew its consent for its members to continue with the 'questionable' practise, the brutal torture, a practise they had been associated with for a 100 years.
The British Government immediately passed a law withdrawing the inhumane practice of force feeding. They obviously were not prepared to face the world with their screws being seen doing the force feeding, the presence of medical personnel had loaned an air of respectability to what was nothing short of torture. Proof if it be needed can be seen in the cruel deaths of Michael Gaughan and Frank Stagg who both died at the time in English Prisons.
Dolours, and the other three hunger strikers continued on
their hunger strike for another 20 days before Dolorus, as the commanding officer, was approached by high authorities and offered 'a deal', by the British government. All four prisoners, if they came off the hunger strike would be returned to prisons in the six counties as soon as they were well enough. Dolours accepted and an extraordinary thing happened, she was brought to the prison governors office and handed a phone to speak to the other hunger strike prisoners in their different governors offices of their particular prison to explain the circumstances of the 'deal'. Britain wanted them off their hands badly, choosing to let their puppets in the six counties deal with the problem . Including the 20 days of total hunger strike and the period of force feeding their hunger strike actually lasted some 190 days. They had defeated England on their home ground.
Some months later the magnificently heroic four, which included Hugh Feeney and Gerry Kelly, were returned to Ireland and political status. Gerry Kelly actually escaped from his new prison and was on the run for over three years. Marion and Dolours were some years later released after developing serious medical health problems, as one would expect, Dolours served 8 years and one month in prison. No words of mine can describe the personal valour and determination of these Irish hunger strikers.
Dolours speaks openly and freely of being 'damaged' to this day both physically and physiologically from her ordeal, and one must recall that there are many, many ex prisoners who went through similar experiences, and some even less, for each of us have our own endurance level and we should reach out to them, it is but natural that such experiences will leave 'scars' and a little help toward healing from us would I am sure be appreciated. We should never forget that they suffered for our long suffering country. If we have benefited through their suffering, as a nation, and doubtless, through their heroic example we have, through the past 40 years.. then they are owed a debt of gratitude.
Historians will recall that the heroic Anne Devlin,1803 era, died lonely and forgotten by those she sought to free. We cannot correct the mistakes of the past.. but we can avoid repeating them.