Raymond "Ray" McCreesh
Remembering one of the ten men who died during the 1981 H-Block Hunger Strike.
In Memory
Ray McCreesh was one of the ten Irishmen who died on hunger strike in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh in 1981. His death, alongside those of his comrades, remains a defining moment in modern Irish republican history, and is marked here as part of Stailc 81's commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the strike.
This page forms part of a wider tribute to the men who took part in the 1981 hunger strike, gathered together by Stailc 81, a committee of Irish socialist republicans formed to mark the anniversary.
The Ten Hunger Strikers
Ray McCreesh died alongside nine other men during the 1981 hunger strike:
- Bobby Sands
- Francis Hughes
- Ray McCreesh
- Patsy O'Hara
- Joe McDonnell
- Martin Hurson
- Kevin Lynch
- Kieran Doherty
- Tom McElwee
- Mickey Devine
The wider strike also involved thirteen further volunteers, remembered on Stailc 81 as "The Brave 13".
Ray McCreesh's participation in the 1981 hunger strike was part of a broader collective act of resistance that drew international attention to the conditions endured by republican prisoners in the H-Blocks. Like his fellow strikers, he refused to accept the criminalisation of political prisoners, standing firm through the blanket protest and the escalating campaign of nonviolent defiance. His sacrifice, and that of the other nine men who died, helped to reshape public opinion and galvanise support for the republican struggle. Remembering McCreesh is part of honouring the courage and conviction that defined that pivotal moment in Irish history, and Stailc 81's commemoration ensures that his story and those of his comrades remain part of the living memory of the movement.