Kevin Lynch (hunger striker)
| Kevin Lynch | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Caoimhín Ó Loingsigh |
| Born | 25 May 1956 Dungiven, County Londonderry |
| Died | 1 August 1981 (aged 25) |
| Cause of death | Hunger strike |
| Organization | INLA |
| Known for | Hunger strike of 71 days, from 23 May 1981 |
Kevin Lynch (Irish: Caoimhín Ó Loingsigh;[1] 25 May 1956 - 1 August 1981) was an Irish republican hunger striker and member of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) from Park near Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The Dungiven hurling team was renamed Kevin Lynch's Hurling Club in his honour after his death.
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[edit] Early life
Lynch was the youngest in a family of eight children born to Paddy and Bridie Lynch in Park, south County Londonderry.
Lynch's older brother, Frank, was an amateur boxer and Kevin also participated in boxing as well and Gaelic football and hurling. Lynch was a member of the winning Dungiven team which won the Feile na nGael in Thurles, County Tipperary in 1971 and in 1972 he captained the County Derry Hurling team to an Under-16 All-Ireland title at Croke Park, Dublin by beating County Armagh.[2]
[edit] INLA career
He was tried, convicted and sentenced to ten years for stealing shotguns, taking part in a punishment shooting and conspiring to take arms from the security forces and sent to the Maze Prison for ten years in December 1977. He got involved in the blanket protest and joined the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike on 23 May 1981 and died 71 days later.
[edit] Other information
He is commemorated on the Irish Martyrs Memorial at Waverley Cemetery in Sydney, Australia.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ "Ag bunadh Gaeltachta". An Phoblacht. 3 May 2007. http://www.anphoblacht.com/news/detail/18951. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
- ^ Tírghrá, National Commemoration Centre, 2002. PB) ISBN 0-9542946-0-2 p.241
- Kevin Lynch and the Irish Hunger Strike Camlane Press 2006, Aidan Hegarty.
[edit] External links
- Biography from IRIS, Vol. 1, No. 2, November 1981 (Sinn Féin publication)
- Biography from the Irish Republican Socialist Movement
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