Starting on March 1, 1981 a hunger strike by Nationalist prisoners began at HMP Maze. The prison was located at the old Royal Air Force Station at Long Kesh near Lisburn, Northern ireland. It was opened in 1971 specifically to house paramilitary prisoners. The housing units were known as the H-Blocks because of their H-shaped layout. In time 16 prisoners would join the strike, most IRA members but with a few INLA men involved too.
The strike was mostly over the loss five years earlier of their political prisoner status, as well as the harsh prison conditions. Special status gave the inmates more personal freedom, including no assignments to hard labor details, no wearing of prison uniforms, and freer access to other prisoners and recreational activities. It was also symbolic, as they actually considered themselves political prisoners and not simply "criminals.".
When the strike was finally called off shortly after the death of INLA prisoner Michael Devine on August 20, 1981, ten men had died. The six remaining hunger strikers were persuaded to yield when their families vowed to save their lives once they lapsed into unconsciousness.
The first man to go on hunger strike was IRA prison commander Bobby Sands. Sands became the "face" of the strike because of his charisma and prison writings. Due to his popularity in the Nationalist neighborhoods of Belfast and elsewhere, a political movement was formed called "Anti H-Block" (AHB). It had a few local successes, and became the catalyst for Sinn Fein to move strongly into the political process. The "AHB / BS" slogan on the coins shown here stands for "Anti H-Block / Bobby Sands"
The slogan "IRA / 81" is an obvious reference to the 1981 strike. According to the seller, a man from Tralee, Co. Kerry, the inverted "1" isn't an accident. He told me that it was some sort of protest of the Thatcher government. Whether that's accurate or not I can't say.
HMP Maze was closed and partially bulldozed in 2002. There was a lot of controversy as to what to do with the site, and I don't know if it's been resolved fully yet.
Bruce