Wounded and the Dead

In 1980, Irish republican prisoners in the H-blocks at the Maze prison went on hunger strike. These events, which would go on to reshape the political landscape of Northern Ireland and dramatically alter the British government's approach to the conflict, have typically been seen through one of two opposing lenses: the Thatcher Government's war against Irish republican terrorism within the UK, or as emblematic of a perennial nationalist struggle to free Ireland from British colonial rule. Drawing on all available archival releases, firsthand testimony, newspaper reports, and personal interviews, The Wounded and the Dead offers a more nuanced interrogation of the events and their legacy. It reveals the strategic thinking within the British government, the IRA leadership's unpreparedness for electoral politics, and Irish Government designs to end partition, thereby offering fresh insights into Margaret Thatcher's evolving approach to Northern Ireland, the internal dynamics of the republican movement, and the contrasting political strategies of Charles Haughey and Garret FitzGerald. This is a deeply researched and powerfully argued work of history that confronts the painful dilemmas of violence, self-determination, and negotiation at the heart of the Northern Ireland conflict. It shows how the hunger strikes - amid political instability in Dublin and Margaret Thatcher's rise to power - foreclosed the possibility of a constitutional settlement that excluded republicans, forcing the conflict into a new and more political phase. Tracing the diplomatic fallout across Washington, Dublin, and the Vatican, it reveals how a prison protest with little popular support crystallised in the election of IRA prisoner Bobby Sands as a Westminster MP and subsequent death on hunger strike - transforming the republican movement's fortunes and international image.

Michael Kerr is a historian and political scientist specialising in conflict resolution. His research focuses on peace processes and the role of external actors in civil wars and post-conflict settlements. He joined King's College London in 2008 and served as Director of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies from 2013 to 2017. Prior to this, he held a Leverhulme Research Fellowship at the London School of Economics. He holds a PhD in International History and an MSc in Government from the LSE, and a BA in Government from the University of Essex.