Frank Stagg (Irish republican)
| Frank Stagg | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Proinsias Stagg |
| Born |
4 October 1942 Hollymount, County Mayo, Ireland |
| Died | 12 February 1976 (aged 33) Wakefield Prison, Wakefield, England |
| Cause of death | Hunger strike |
| Organisation | Provisional IRA |
| Known for | Hunger strike of 62 days, from 14 December 1975 |
Frank Stagg (Irish name: Proinsias Stagg; 4 October 1942 – 12 February 1976) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) hunger striker from County Mayo, Ireland who died in 1976 in Wakefield Prison, West Yorkshire, England after 62 days on hunger strike.
Stagg was the seventh child in a family of thirteen children. He was born in Hollymount, County Mayo, in 1942. His brother, Emmet Stagg was a Labour Party politician, formerly a Teachta Dála (TD) for Kildare North.
Stagg was educated to primary level at Newbrook Primary School and at CBS Ballinrobe to secondary level. After finishing his schooling, he worked as an assistant gamekeeper with his uncle prior to emigrating to England in search of work.
Once in England he gained employment as a bus conductor in north London and later became a bus driver. Whilst in England he met and married fellow Mayo native, Bridie Armstrong from Carnacon. In 1972, he joined the Luton cumann of Sinn Féin and soon after became a volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).
In April 1973, Stagg was arrested with six others alleged to comprise an IRA unit planning bombing attacks in Coventry. He was tried at Birmingham Crown Court. The jury found three of the seven not guilty; the remaining four were all found guilty of criminal damage and conspiracy to commit arson. Stagg and English-born priest, Father Patrick Fell, were found to be the unit’s commanding officers; Stagg was given a ten-year sentence and Fell twelve years. Thomas Gerald Rush was given seven years and Anthony Roland Lynch, who was also found guilty of possessing articles with intent to destroy property, namely nitric acid, balloons, wax and sodium chlorate, was given ten years.
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