Francis Joseph Sean Hughes (28 February 1956 – 12 May 1981) was a volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) from Bellaghy, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Hughes was the most wanted man in Northern Ireland until his arrest following a shoot-out with the British Army in which a British soldier was killed. At his trial, he was sentenced to a total of 83 years' imprisonment; he died during the 1981 Irish hunger strike in HM Prison Maze. Hughes was one of 22 Irish republicans who died on hunger-strike between 1917 and 1981.
thumb| Memorial to 22 Irish Hunger Strikers Deaths Glasnevin Cemetery
Background
Hughes was born in Bellaghy, County Londonderry on 28 February 1956 into a republican family, the youngest of four brothers in a family of ten siblings. Hughes' father, Joseph, had been a member of the Irish Republican Army in the 1920s and one of his uncles had smuggled arms for the republican movement.
Hughes was returning from an evening out in Ardboe, County Tyrone when he was stopped at an Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) checkpoint.
Paramilitary activity
Hughes initially joined the Official Irish Republican Army, but left after the organisation declared a ceasefire in May 1972. Hughes then joined up with Dominic McGlinchey, his cousin Thomas McElwee and Ian Milne, before the three decided to join the Provisional Irish Republican Army's South Derry Brigade in 1973. Another IRA member described the activities of Hughes:
On 18 April 1977, Hughes, McGlinchey and Milne were travelling in a car near the town of Moneymore when an RUC patrol car carrying four officers signalled them to stop. The IRA members attempted to escape by performing a u-turn, but lost control of the car which ended up in a ditch. British soldiers manning a covert observation post spotted Hughes and another IRA volunteer approaching them wearing combat clothing with "Ireland" sewn on their jackets. Thinking they might be from the Ulster Defence Regiment, one of the soldiers stood up and called to them. The IRA volunteers opened fire on the British troops, who returned fire. A soldier of the SAS, Lance Corporal David Jones, was killed and another soldier wounded. Hughes was also wounded and was arrested nearby the next morning.
In February 1980, he was sentenced to a total of 83 years in prison. Security sources described him as "an absolute fanatic" and "a ruthless killer". two weeks after Bobby Sands began his hunger strike. He was also the second striker to die, at 5:43pm BST on 12 May, after 59 days without food. His death led to a surge in rioting in nationalist areas of Northern Ireland.
His cousin Thomas McElwee was the ninth hunger striker to die. Oliver Hughes, one of his brothers, was elected twice to Magherafelt District Council.
He is commemorated on the Irish Martyrs Memorial at Waverley Cemetery in Sydney, Australia.
He is portrayed by Fergal McElherron in the film H3.
References
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