Death, Violence, and Condemnation: The News Media Coverage of the 1981 Prisoners’ Hunger Strike in Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom and Ireland

During the Troubles, the ethno-political conflict between the majority Catholics and minority ruling Protestants in Northern Ireland that lasted from 1968 to 1998, the 1981 prisoners’ hunger strike in Belfast’s HM Prison Maze was a key turning point. The starvation death of 10 striking prisoners gained the world’s attention, as one by one Irish prisoners died in British custody. This tragedy helped push the Irish nationalist movement toward a diplomatic means of negotiation. As one of the most influential events during the conflict, the news media covered the strike extensively, shaping the narrative of the strike to largely uninformed audiences. Newspapers presented differing perspectives of the hunger strike as it unfolded. This research will focus on news coverage of the hunger strike in Irish and British papers, dissecting how these media outlets guided the flow of information from Northern Ireland through their headlines, editorial choices, and perspectives. Seeing how the media differently portrays the same series of events, this study emphasizes the power of the media in shaping interpretations of events.