Hunger Strike of 1917

 Hunger Strike of 1917

There Were two main Hunger Strikes that occurred in the lead-up to Ireland’s partial home-rule. The first influential strike occurred in 1917 and caused the death of Thomas Ashe . As he was a member of the Gaelic league as well as a founding member of the Irish Volunteers, and he participated in the Easter Rising of 1916. During a speech he gave in 1917, he was charged with sedition and arrested. 

He was one of forty prisoners at Mountjoy Prison who went on strike demanding “prisoner of war” status. Ashe was force fed, and it led to his death. Following this, many others were inspired to strike, realizing that the method was a weak spot for British authorities who had no experience dealing with this method of protest.

Fasting as a means to redress grievances and establish one’s rights has been a part of Irish law for thousands of years. Known then as the troscad, this method of protest played a large part in helping the Irish gain independence from the British government.  Hunger Strikes are an effective way to bargain with others for various rights, as it shows that protesters would rather die than live in the conditions they have at that moment. 

Hunger Strikes are also notable for their nonviolence – the striker dies without harming anyone else and this senseless death can cause outrage in the community. Although Hunger Strikes share many similarities to self-immolation (non-violent protesting), self-immolation does not allow the opposing party to redress the grievances, as the self-immolation is usually fatal. Since Hunger Strikes take place over a duration of approximately 2 months, they give the opposing party the chance to change the terms and stop the strike. Hunger Strikes were not uncommon in the early 20th century. In 1904 Yeats dramaticized fasting in 

“The King’s Threshold”, and in the United Kingdom hundreds of women went on Hunger Strikes to protest the lack of women’s suffrage in 1909. The Irish Hunger Strikes that occurred between 1916 and 1923 took inspiration from these Strikes as a way to protest against the government.