Michael Devine (hunger striker)


Michael James "Mickey" Devine was a volunteer in the Irish National Liberation Army. He died in prison during the 1981 Irish hunger strike.

Background

Devine, also known as "Red Mickey" because of his red hair, was born into a family from the Springtown Camp, Derry, Northern Ireland.
In 1960, when Devine was six years of age, the Devine family including his grandmother, sister Margaret and parents Patrick and Elizabeth, moved to the then newly built Creggan estate to the north of Derry city centre.
Devine was educated at Holy Child Primary School and St. Joseph's Secondary School, both in the Creggan.

Political activities

After British soldiers shot dead two unarmed civilians, Dessie Beattie and Raymond Cusack, Devine joined the James Connolly branch of the Republican Clubs in Derry in July 1971. Bloody Sunday had a deep impact on Devine.
In the early 1970s, Devine joined the Irish Labour Party and Young Socialists.

Paramilitary activity

Devine helped found the INLA in 1974. In 1976, after an arms raid in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, Devine was arrested in Northern Ireland. He was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He joined the blanket protest before joining the hunger strike.

Hunger strikes

Devine participated in a brief hunger strike in 1980, which was called off without fatalities. On 22 June 1981, Devine joined the 1981 hunger strike at the Maze Prison. He died on 20 August, the tenth and last of the hunger strikers to die.