In northern Ireland, IRA militant Bobby Sands died on the 66th day of the hunger strike. In fasting, Sands was elected to represent the Sinn Fein match. The strike was part of the long struggle to get the British Government to recognize its status as political prisoners.

Five years ago a “protest of blankets or heads” was made, refusing to dress the clothes of the jail. Hundreds of prisoners agreed that every week a person would start an indefinite hunger strike. Another nine people were on hunger strike in the coming weeks.