1981 Poster BOBBY SANDS Dead Body on COT in Prison IRA HUNGER STRIKE by NORAID in NEW YORK CITY

Item Details

Poster from the 1981 Irish hunger strike featuring an illustration of the dead body of Bobby Sands, artist signed, published by NORAID in New York City, circa 1981. The artist’s signature is done in Gaelic, and I cannot make out the entire name. The poster is black, gray, and red on a heavy white paper stock. It features an illustration of light shining through a barred window upon the emaciated body of a man on a cot. The text reads: Bobby Sands – MP, Murder #1, By the British Government in Long Kesh Death Camp 5/5/’81. The publisher’s credit at bottom right reads INA/IPOW, 4951 B’way NY 10034. This is the address of the national headquarters for the Irish Northern Aid Committee (NORAID) in the U.S. Bobby Sands was involved in an attempted bombing in Northern Ireland in 1976. An active member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, he was convicted of possession of a firearm, sentenced to fourteen years, and sent to prison. He became a leader of IRA prisoners and began a hunger strike on March 1, 1981. His actions garnered international attention. Sands was even elected a Member of Parliament in April, though he never did take the seat. After 66 days with no food, Bobby Sands died at the age of 27. He immediately became a martyr to Irish Republicans and protests erupted around Europe and in the United States. His death still resonates with Irish Americans, and a new memorial to the 1981 Hunger Strikers was placed in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2023. This poster is from the collection of the labor historian Scott Malloy. I did a pretty thorough internet search but could find no information about this poster. I think it might be quite rare. The poster measures just under 15 1/4” by 20” and is in only good condition but is complete. It probably hung in the dorm room of some college kid in the 1970s and shows the expected wear and soiling. There are tack holes at the corners, a short tear at the top edge, and some roughness around the edges. An important piece of IRA and NORAID  history!