The last time I met Kieran Doherty

Sunday, August 2nd is the anniversary of the death on hunger strike in 1981 of Andersonstown man Kieran Doherty. Normally, August is also when Sinn Féin holds its National Commemoration in remembrance of all of the 1981 Hunger Strikers and of Michael Gaughan and Frank Stagg who died in prisons in England. However this year the Covid-19 pandemic has made that impossible, so like so many other events this year it will be held online.                                                                                                                                        On Sunday evening as you sit down to watch the 2020 National Hunger Strike Commemoration on Facebook, on YouTube and Twitter, remember the courage of Kieran Doherty and his comrades. 39 years ago at around 7.15 pm on the evening of August 2nd Big Doc died. He had been on hunger strike 73 days. He was just 25 years old. He spent seven of the last ten years of his life in prison. Big Doc’s remains arrived at his family home at Commedagh Drive in Andersonstown in the early hours of the following morning. Two days later thousands followed his cortege to the Republican Plot in Milltown Cemetery where he was laid beside Bobby Sands and Joe McDonnell.I knew Big Doc. The last time I met him was a few days before he died. I was visiting the prison hospital to speak to the hunger strikers. After speaking to Tom McElwee and Lorny McKeown, Matt Devlin and others I walked into Big Doc’s cell. He was too weak to join the others. I had known Big Doc on the outside but there in that prison cell he was a shadow of himself.Doc was propped up on one elbow, his eyes unseeing. He looked massive in his gauntness, as his eyes, fierce in their quiet defiance, scanned my face. I spoke to him quietly and slowly. I sat on the side of the bed. I told him that he would soon be dead and that if he wanted I would leave the blocks and announce that the hunger strike was over. He paused momentarily, and said: “We haven’t got our five demands and that’s the only way I’m coming off. Too much suffered for too long, too many good men dead. Thatcher can’t break us. Lean ar aghaidh. I’m not a criminal.” After that we talked quietly for a few minutes. As I left his cell we shook hands, an old internee’s handshake, firm and strong. “Thanks for coming in”, he said, “I’m glad we had that wee yarn. Tell everyone, all the lads I was asking for them and…”  He continued to grip my hand. “Don’t worry, we’ll get our five demands. We’ll break Thatcher. Lean ar aghaidh... For too long our people have been broken. The Free Staters, the Chgurch, the SDLP. We won’t be broken. We’ll get our five demands. If I’m dead well, the others will have them ... I don’t want to died but that’s up to the Brits. They think they can break us. Well they can’t. Tiocfaidh ár lá.” Big Doc was right. Thatcher was beaten. The political prisoners won their five demands. And today because of their self-sacrifice and that of countless others, Sinn Féin is the biggest party on the island of Ireland. We refuse to allow anyone to delegitimize or criminalise the hunger strikers or our struggle. Kieran Doherty put in well in those final moments before we parted.  ‘Lean ar aghaidh’ – Go Ahead. www.facebook.com/sinnfein www.twitter.com/sinnfeinireland www.sinnfein.ie www.youtube.com/c/sinnfeinireland