A new monument honoring the 1981 Hunger Strikers will be unveiled and dedicated this coming Sunday, May 21, in Providence, Rhode Island.
The 1 p.m. ceremony will take place at the Providence Greenway, site of the Rhode Island Famine Memorial Monument.
The dedication will be followed by a reception at the Irish Ceilidhe Club of Rhode Island in Cranston.
Among the speakers at the dedication will be Martin Galvin, Ancient Order of Hibernians National Freedom for All Ireland Chair.
Said Galvin in advance of the ceremony: "The Hunger Strike of 1981 will go down as one of the most important events in Irish history.
"Their sacrifice inspired crucial support in the U.S. which made Ireland an American issue. When President Clinton made his groundbreaking pledges on visas and a Special Envoy in April 1992, after twelve years of Presidents who were aligned with Margaret Thatcher, the inspiration for those issues being on the Irish agenda, began with the Hunger Strikers and those in Rhode Island and across the United States who marched for them day after day.
"As AOH National Freedom for all Ireland Chair, and as a former National Publicity Director of Irish Northern Aid, I would encourage anyone in the surrounding area to be a part of what will be a moving and important ceremony that may set an example for other areas of the country.
"Also speaking will be former Blanketman and Hunger Striker Pat Sheehan from Belfast, and Rhode Island activist Dr. Tricia McIvor."
