Celebrant Father Ed Brady in front of a poster of Hunger Striker Bobby Sands.
On Sunday, October 2, dozens of people gathered for a Mass, celebrated by Father Ed Brady, at the Irish Memorial in Philadelphia to honor the 30th anniversary of the Irish Hunger Strikers. In 1981, 10 men died of starvation in H block of Belfast’s Long Kesh Prison, protesting the British government’s decision to hold them as criminals instead of political prisoners.
Mass was followed by a buffet-style Irish breakfast at The Plough and the Stars at 2nd and Chestnut Streets, where a raffle was held to win a bodhran made by prisoners currently held in Ireland. The inner rim was signed by each man who contributed to its creation.
View our photo essay of the event. Photographs by Gwyneth MacArthur.
