August 20th marks the death of Michael Devine, the 10th republican hunger striker to die in 1981. Born in Derry, Devine grew up in the tumult of the civil rights protests, internment and Bloody Sunday in January 1972. He died after 60 days on hunger strike. The same day that voters in Fermanagh and South Tyrone elected H-Block candidate Owen Carron as an MP. Free article

When a series of Sinn Féin and SDLP delegation meetings during 1987 and 1988 ended, both Gerry Adams and John Hume, then leader of the SDLP, continued to meet privately.

Their dialogue became known as the Hume/Adams initiative, and culminated in agreement on shared principles, which included the need for a peaceful, democratic way forward to secure Irish national... Free article

Cúig bhliain agus caoga ó shin ar an 9ú Lúnasa cuireadh imtheorannú gan triail i bhfeidhm sna Sé Chontae. Mharaigh Arm na Breataine deichniúr i mBaile Uí Mhurchú, Béal Feirste agus bhí na céadta ar an mbealach go dtí an Cheis Fhada, cuid acu á céasadh ag fórsaí an choróin. Free article

Thomas McElwee, at the age of 23, was the tenth man to join the 1981 Hunger Strike. From Bellaghy in south Derry, he was imprisoned in 1976 after a premature bomb explosion in which he lost an eye. Free article

The state of public finances and ability to deliver decent public services in the north are facing unprecedented challenges. 

For 14 years from 2010, successive British Tory administrations imposed austerity on the north. The financial allocation from the British exchequer has failed to keep up with the demands on public services. The resulting chronic underfunding has crippled our... Free article

Book Review: ‘Choosing the Struggle’ by Martina Anderson. Published by Beyond the Pale. Free article

IRA Volunteer Kieran Doherty, TD for Cavan/Monaghan, died at 7:15pm on Sunday 2 August 1981, the day after Kevin Lynch’s death. Kieran had joined the hunger strike one day before Kevin Lynch and survived one day longer. Free article

“The hardest place to be an Irish Republican at that time was in Britain” - Republicans in London and South Derry mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Derek Highsted. Free article

He spent 71 days on hunger strike from 23 May 1981. He died on 1 August 1981. Free article

Film documentary review by Mícheál Mac Donncha – ‘The Day innocence Died - Bloody Sunday and the Fight for Justice’. Directed by Hannan Majid & Richard York. Produced by Hannan Majid, Richard York & Adrian Kerr. Free article