Ocras

This powerful documentary in Irish examines the history and legacy of the hunger strike by Irish Republicans in the Maze prison in 1981.

In this documentary directed by Margo Harkin, the people centrally involved – both inside and outside the H Blocks of Long Kesh prison – reveal the inside story of an event that shook the body politic of Ireland and Britain in its day.

Of all the volatile periods in Northern Ireland’s recent history the period of the hunger strikes is one of the most impassioned and dramatic. The hunger strikes had a significant impact on the relationship between the British Government and Irish Republicans. They served as a unifying force for nationalists and a focal point for world opinion. The period shaped the political landscape of Northern Ireland today by bringing Sinn Féin into electoral politics for the first time.

With kind permission of Margo Harkin & Joel Conroy.