Michael Gaughan (Irish republican)
| Michael Gaughan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
5 October 1949 Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland |
| Died | 3 June 1974 (aged 24) Parkhurst Prison, Isle of Wight, England |
| Cause of death | Hunger strike |
| Organization | Provisional IRA |
| Known for | Hunger strike of 64 days, from 31 March 1974 |
Michael Gaughan (5 October 1949 – 3 June 1974) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) hunger striker who died in 1974 in Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight, England.
Gaughan, the eldest of six children, was born in Ballina, County Mayo, in 1949. Gaughan grew up at Healy Terrace and was educated at St Muredach's College, Ballina, and after finishing his schooling, he emigrated from Ireland to England in search of work.
Whilst in London, Gaughan became a member of the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) through Official Sinn Féin's English wing Clann na hÉireann and became an IRA volunteer in a London-based Active Service Unit. In December 1971, he was sentenced at the Old Bailey to seven years imprisonment for his part in an IRA fundraising mission to rob a bank in Hornsey, north London, which yielded just £530, and for the possession of two revolvers.
Gaughan was initially imprisoned at Wormwood Scrubs, where he spent two years before being transferred to the top security Albany Prison on the Isle of Wight. Whilst at Albany Prison, Gaughan requested political status; this was refused, and he was then put in solitary confinement. He was later transferred to Parkhurst Prison, where four of the Belfast Ten were on hunger strike for political status.
On 31 March 1974, Gaughan, along with current Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly, Paul Holme, Hugh Feeney and fellow Mayoman Frank Stagg, went on hunger strike to support the fight of Dolours and Marion Price to obtain political status and to be transferred to a jail in Ireland. The prisoners demands were as follows.
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