Kevin Lynch (hunger striker)

Kevin Lynch
Born	(1956-05-25)25 May 1956 Park, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland,
Died	1 August 1981(1981-08-01) (aged 25) Maze Prison in Maze, County Down, Northern Ireland
Cause of death	Hunger strike
Organization	INLA
Known for	Hunger strike of 71 days, from 23 May 1981

Kevin Lynch (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.

Early life

Placard honouring Lynch in Dungiven

Gravestone

Lynch was the youngest in a family of eight children born to Paddy and Bridie Lynch in Park, north County Londonderry.

Lynch's older brother, Frank, was an amateur boxer and Kevin also participated in boxing as well as Gaelic football and hurling. Lynch was a member of the winning Dungiven team which won the Feile na nGael Division 3 in Thurles , County Tipperary in 1971 and in 1972 he captained the Derry Hurling team to an Under-16 All-Ireland title at Croke Park, Dublin by beating County Armagh.

INLA career

Lynch 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. He was sent to the Maze Prison in December 1977. He became involved with the blanket protest, joined the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike on 23 May 1981 and died 71 days later.

Other information

He is commemorated on the Irish Martyrs Memorial at Waverley Cemetery in Sydney, Australia.

References

'Kevin Lynch and the Irish Hunger Strike' Published Camlane Press 2006, Author Aidan Hegarty.

External links

• Biography from IRIS, Vol. 1, No. 2, November 1981 (Sinn Féin publication)
• Biography from the Irish Republican Socialist Movement