Bernard Fox (Irish republican)
Encyclopedia
Bernard Fox is a former member of the Army Council
of the Provisional Irish Republican Army
(IRA) who took part in the 1981 Irish hunger strike
.
Fox, an apprentice coach builder from the Falls Road in Belfast joined the IRA in 1969 aged eighteen. He explained his motivation for joining the IRA in a 1998 interview with the Irish News, stating: "I was almost shot in a gun attack at Norfolk Street. I came away wanting a gun. It was survival. You wanted to protect your own people ... my family and myself. When the barricades went up I wanted a gun so I approached this fella who was in the IRA and asked for gun and he said: could I shoot a British soldier? At that time I hadn't the idea that it was the British government's fault." In 1981, Fox, serving a twelve year sentence in the Maze Prison for possession of explosives and bombing a hotel, joined the hunger strike
on 24 August, replacing Paddy Quinn
who was taken off the strike by his family. Fox ended his strike after 32 days without food on 24 September after doctors warned him he would be dead within days due to an obstructed kidney.
As a result of his IRA activities, Fox was imprisoned on four occasions and spent over twenty years in prison, before being released in 1998 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement resulting from the Northern Ireland peace process
. At Easter 2001, Fox was a speaker at the commemoration to mark the 85th anniversary of the Easter Rising
in Dublin, saying "after spending nearly 22 years in jail, one of the questions I'm most frequently asked is 'was it worth it'? I can't answer that question. History will answer that. The question is phrased in the past tense. It's not over. The struggle continues and will continue until the British are out of Ireland". In 2005 Fox joined the IRA's Army Council replacing Brian Keenan
who resigned due to ill-health, but himself resigned in September 2006 after accusing Gerry Adams
and Martin McGuinness
of "undemocratically" controlling the organisation.
In January 2007, Fox was returning from a family holiday when he was detained for questioning at Belfast International Airport
by two men who identified themselves as members of the British security agency MI5
, according to Fox's solicitors. Fox made a formal complaint regarding his treatment to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, a body set up under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
to investigate complaints against MI5 and other law enforcement agencies.
IRA Army Council
The IRA Army Council was the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, more commonly known as the IRA, a paramilitary group dedicated to bringing about the end of the Union between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. The council had seven members, said by the...
of the Provisional Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
(IRA) who took part in the 1981 Irish hunger strike
1981 Irish hunger strike
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...
.
Fox, an apprentice coach builder from the Falls Road in Belfast joined the IRA in 1969 aged eighteen. He explained his motivation for joining the IRA in a 1998 interview with the Irish News, stating: "I was almost shot in a gun attack at Norfolk Street. I came away wanting a gun. It was survival. You wanted to protect your own people ... my family and myself. When the barricades went up I wanted a gun so I approached this fella who was in the IRA and asked for gun and he said: could I shoot a British soldier? At that time I hadn't the idea that it was the British government's fault." In 1981, Fox, serving a twelve year sentence in the Maze Prison for possession of explosives and bombing a hotel, joined the hunger strike
1981 Irish hunger strike
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...
on 24 August, replacing Paddy Quinn
Paddy Quinn (Irish republican)
Patrick Quinn was a volunteer with the 1st Battalion, South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who took part in the 1981 Irish hunger strike.-Early life:...
who was taken off the strike by his family. Fox ended his strike after 32 days without food on 24 September after doctors warned him he would be dead within days due to an obstructed kidney.
As a result of his IRA activities, Fox was imprisoned on four occasions and spent over twenty years in prison, before being released in 1998 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement resulting from the Northern Ireland peace process
Northern Ireland peace process
The peace process, when discussing the history of Northern Ireland, is often considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Belfast Agreement, and subsequent political developments.-Towards a...
. At Easter 2001, Fox was a speaker at the commemoration to mark the 85th anniversary of the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
in Dublin, saying "after spending nearly 22 years in jail, one of the questions I'm most frequently asked is 'was it worth it'? I can't answer that question. History will answer that. The question is phrased in the past tense. It's not over. The struggle continues and will continue until the British are out of Ireland". In 2005 Fox joined the IRA's Army Council replacing Brian Keenan
Brian Keenan (Irish republican)
Brian Keenan was a former member of the Army Council of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who received an 18-year prison sentence in 1980 for conspiring to cause explosions, and played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process.-Early life:The son of a member of the Royal Air Force,...
who resigned due to ill-health, but himself resigned in September 2006 after accusing Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
and Martin McGuinness
Martin McGuinness
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and the current deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. McGuinness was also the Sinn Féin candidate for the Irish presidential election, 2011. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland....
of "undemocratically" controlling the organisation.
In January 2007, Fox was returning from a family holiday when he was detained for questioning at Belfast International Airport
Belfast International Airport
Belfast International Airport is a major airport located northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It was formerly known and is still referred to as Aldergrove Airport, after the village of the same name lying immediately to the west of the airport. Belfast International shares its runways with...
by two men who identified themselves as members of the British security agency MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
, according to Fox's solicitors. Fox made a formal complaint regarding his treatment to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, a body set up under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, regulating the powers of public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covering the interception of communications...
to investigate complaints against MI5 and other law enforcement agencies.