Francis Hughes

Francis Hughes (Irish Proinsias Ó hAodha, born February 28, 1956 in Bellaghy, County Derry, † May 12 1981 in the Maze prison in Belfast ) was a member of the IRA and hunger striker.

Francis Hughes grew up as one of ten siblings in Bellaghy in the south of County Derry. At the age of 16, he joined, as before his father before him, the Official Irish Republican Army in, but later switched to the Provisional Irish Republican Army.

On March 16, 1978 attacked Hughes and another member of the IRA to several soldiers of the Special Air Service (SAS ), killing a soldier and another seriously injured. Even badly wounded, Hughes was able to flee to a nearby field, but was found the next day and arrested by British troops. In February 1980 he was sentenced for the attack on the SAS soldiers and a number of other attacks to a total prison sentence of 83 years.

On March 14, 1981, he joined, as well as his cousin Tom McElwee, in jail hunger strike around Bobby Sands on, as a result he died after 59 days without food.