View source for Anti H-Block

{{more citations needed|date=March 2016}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=April 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Anti H-Block
| leader           = Collective leadership
| foundation       = {{start date|1981}}
| dissolution      = {{end date|1981}}
| merged           = [[Sinn Féin]]
| ideology         = [[Irish republicanism]] <br />[[1981 Irish hunger strike#Blanket and dirty protests|The Five Demands]]
| country          = the Republic of Ireland
| country2         = Northern Ireland
| colorcode        = {{party color|Anti H-Block}}
}}
{{Irish republicanism|Defunct parties}}
'''Anti H-Block''' was the political label used in 1981 by supporters of the [[1981 Irish hunger strike|Irish republican hunger strike]] who were standing for election in both [[Northern Ireland]] and the [[Republic of Ireland]]. "H-Block" was a [[metonymy|metonym]] for the [[Maze (HM Prison)|Maze Prison]] and its H-shaped cell blocks, within which the hunger strike was taking place.

[[Bobby Sands]], the first of these hunger strikers, was nominated in the Westminster [[April 1981 Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election|April 1981 by-election in Fermanagh and South Tyrone]]. After his electoral victory and death, the [[Representation of the People Act 1981|Representation of the People Act]] was passed to prevent convicted prisoners serving sentences of more than one year from serving in the UK parliament. In response, [[Owen Carron]], Sands's agent, stood as an "Anti-H-Block Proxy Political Prisoner", winning a seat in the [[August 1981 Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election|subsequent August by-election]].<ref name="cainhsc">{{cite web | title = The Hunger Strike of 1981 – A Chronology of Main Events | url = http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/hstrike/chronology.htm | publisher = CAIN | access-date = 26 May 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070531003915/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/hstrike/chronology.htm| archive-date= 31 May 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Fermanagh and South Tyrone 1973–1982 | author = Nicholas Whyte | url = http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/cfst.htm | publisher = [[Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive]] | date = 25 March 2003 | access-date = 26 May 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070607184822/http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/cfst.htm| archive-date= 7 June 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>

In the Republic of Ireland's [[1981 Irish general election|general election in June 1981]] twelve candidates ran under the Anti H-Block banner, nine of whom were prisoners. [[Kieran Doherty (hunger striker)|Kieran Doherty]] and [[Paddy Agnew (Irish republican)|Paddy Agnew]] won seats in [[Cavan–Monaghan (Dáil constituency)|Cavan–Monaghan]] and [[Louth (Dáil constituency)|Louth]] respectively, while both [[Joe McDonnell (hunger striker)|Joe McDonnell]] and [[Martin Hurson]] narrowly missed election in [[Sligo–Leitrim (Dáil constituency)|Sligo–Leitrim]] and [[Longford–Westmeath (Dáil constituency)|Longford–Westmeath]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=1981&cons=204|title=ElectionsIreland.org: 22nd Dail - Sligo Leitrim First Preference Votes|website=electionsireland.org|access-date=19 July 2020|archive-date=19 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719141424/https://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=1981&cons=204|url-status=live}}</ref> Eamonn Sweeney noted that: {{blockquote|Altogether, H-Block candidates averaged 15% of the first-preference vote in constituencies they contested. This was a remarkable performance, given that they had been without money, television exposure (because of [[Censorship in the Republic of Ireland#The Troubles|censorship laws]]), or any sympathetic media. It was probably beyond the wildest dreams of even their director of elections, [[Daithi O Conaill]], who said the day before the election that "if the H-Block prisoner candidates get between 2,500 and 3,000 votes they will have put up a credible performance"<ref>Down Down Deeper and Down: Ireland in the 70's and 80's pg 233 – Eamonn Sweeney</ref> }}

The successes of the Anti H-Block movement galvanised the Irish republican movement, and led to the entry the following year into mainstream electoral politics of [[Sinn Féin]].

== Candidates in the 1981 Irish general election ==
Nine candidates were officially endorsed by the Anti H-Block committee, eight of which were imprisoned at the time.

Candidates:

{{Color box|NavajoWhite|border=darkgray}} Denotes candidates elected to Dáil Éireann
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Constituency
!Candidate
!Paramilitary and political affiliation
!1st Pref. votes
!%
!Notes
|-style="font-weight:bold; background:NavajoWhite;"
|[[Cavan–Monaghan (Dáil constituency)|Cavan–Monaghan]]
|[[Kieran Doherty (hunger striker)|Kieran Doherty]]
|[[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]] – [[Sinn Féin]]
|align="right"|9,121
|align="right"|15.10
|align="left"| Elected on the fourth count
|-
|[[Clare (Dáil constituency)|Clare]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?id=3273|title=ElectionsIreland.org: Thomas McAllister|website=electionsireland.org|access-date=19 July 2020|archive-date=19 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719141210/https://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?id=3273|url-status=live}}</ref>
|Tom McAllister
|[[Irish National Liberation Army|INLA]] – [[Irish Republican Socialist Party]]
|align="right"|2,120
|align="right"|4.68
|align="left"|
|-
|[[Cork North-Central (Dáil constituency)|Cork North-Central]]
|[[Mairéad Farrell]]
|[[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]] – [[Sinn Féin]]
|align="right"|2,751
|align="right"|6.05
|align="left"|
|-
|[[Dublin West (Dáil constituency)|Dublin West]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=1981&cons=112|title=ElectionsIreland.org: 22nd Dail - Dublin West First Preference Votes|website=electionsireland.org|access-date=19 July 2020|archive-date=19 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719225943/https://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=1981&cons=112|url-status=live}}</ref>
|Anthony O'Hara
|[[Irish National Liberation Army|INLA]] – [[Irish Republican Socialist Party]]
|align="right"|3,034
|align="right"|6.49
|align="left"|Candidate was the brother of [[Patsy O'Hara]]
|-
|[[Kerry North (Dáil constituency)|Kerry North]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=1981&cons=138|title=ElectionsIreland.org: 22nd Dail - Kerry North First Preference Votes|website=electionsireland.org|access-date=19 July 2020|archive-date=19 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719224534/https://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=1981&cons=138|url-status=live}}</ref>
|Seán McKenna
|[[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]] – [[Sinn Féin]]
|align="right"| 3,860
|align="right"|11.26
|align="left"|
|-
|{{nowrap|[[Longford–Westmeath (Dáil constituency)|Longford–Westmeath]]}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=1981&cons=166|title=ElectionsIreland.org: 22nd Dail - Longford Westmeath First Preference Votes|website=electionsireland.org|access-date=19 July 2020|archive-date=19 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719144913/https://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=1981&cons=166|url-status=live}}</ref>
|[[Martin Hurson]]
|[[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]] – [[Sinn Féin]]
|align="right"| 4,573
|align="right"|10.08
|align="left"| Was not eliminated. Deemed not elected on last count
|-style="font-weight:bold; background:NavajoWhite;"
|[[Louth (Dáil constituency)|Louth]]
|[[Paddy Agnew (Irish republican)|Paddy Agnew]]
|[[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]] – [[Sinn Féin]]
|align="right"|8,368
|align="right"|18.29
|align="left"| Topped the Poll
|-
|[[Sligo–Leitrim (Dáil constituency)|Sligo–Leitrim]]
|[[Joe McDonnell (hunger striker)|Joe McDonnell]]
|[[Provisional IRA]] – [[Sinn Féin]]
|align="right"|5,639
|align="right"|11.82
|align="left"| Eliminated on fourth count
|-
|[[Waterford (Dáil constituency)|Waterford]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=1981&cons=226|title=ElectionsIreland.org: 22nd Dail - Waterford First Preference Votes|website=electionsireland.org|access-date=19 July 2020|archive-date=19 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719151139/https://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=1981&cons=226|url-status=live}}</ref>
|[[Kevin Lynch (hunger striker)|Kevin Lynch]]
|[[Irish National Liberation Army|INLA]] – [[Irish Republican Socialist Party]]
|align="right"|3,337
|align="right"|7.63
|align="left"|
|}

==References==
===Literature===
* Sweeney, Eamonn, ''Down down deeper and down : Ireland in the 70s and 80s''; Dublin : Gill & Macmillan, 2010.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170219061540/http://www.irishhungerstrike.com/endstatement.html End of Hungerstrike Statement] (by the prisoners), at the Internet Archive

===Footnotes===
{{Reflist}}
{{PIRA}}
{{INLA/IRSP}}
{{Sinn Féin}}
{{The Troubles|state=collapsed}}
{{Historic Irish parties}}

[[Category:1981 disestablishments in Ireland]]
[[Category:1981 establishments in Ireland]]
[[Category:1981 in Ireland]]
[[Category:1981 in Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Irish republicanism]]
[[Category:Sinn Féin]]
[[Category:The Troubles (Northern Ireland)]]


{{NorthernIreland-stub}}
{{Ireland-hist-stub}}