The Spirit of Freedom, Vol. 1, No. 1

Many thanks to Tommy Graham for donating this to the Archive.

This document was produced in 1981 by the Dublin H-Block Armagh Committee. This was linked directly to the Communist Party of Ireland (Marxist-Leninist).

As the editorial notes:

This newsheet is written and produced by Dublin Activists in the H-Block/Armagh movement. Activists are encouraged to submit articles, items of news, cartoons etc. Comment and criticism from the public are also welcomed. The H-Block/Armagh Committee is continuing its work because the five demands have not been granted in full and prisoners are still being subjected to punishments as a result of the continuing protest in the H-Blocks. Without public support group our political prisoners isolated in their cells would be even more vulnerable. In messages smuggled out from Long Kesh they have stressed the need for continuing publicity for their case.

And:

The movement is also concerned with the defence of members, such as the Embassy 20 who have fallen foul of state laws and with highlighting the ever increasing repressive laws now operating north and south.

It concludes:

This paper forms part of the campaign and it is also an attempt to counterbalance the hostile and one-sided establishment media coverage of these issues.

The document also contains an overview of the situation of 20 people who ‘appeared before the non-jury Special Criminal Court’ out of charges arising from a demonstration outside the British Embassy. There’s a tribute to Bobby Sands and an overview of the Broadcasting Act and Section 31. There’s also an article on the Falklands conflict and information on a National Recall Conference of the Smash H-Block/Armagh Campaign which was held that year in Dublin.

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