Bobby Sands and the Tragedy of Northern Ireland

The author of this opinionated examination of the Northern Ireland ethos is self-described as an ""average Southern Irishman,'' a World War II officer of the Irish army. While researching a book about the mysterious death of Michael Collins, an Irish patriot of an earlier generation, he confronted hard political facts that challenged his opinions about the IRA. However, it was the charismatic Bobby Sands, who died a prisoner on hunger strike in the infamous detention camp of Long Keshfrom which Sands was elected, against all odds, to the British parliamentwho became for Feehan and his Southern Irish conscience ``a kind of moral catalyst.'' With measured polemic, he here makes understandable a people's plight and the betrayal of realpolitik on all sides. November