Irish Officials/Politicians

"The lasting impression I got was that of a man who had taken a decision with a great sadness and was determined to see it through."
     Neil Blaney, Irish Republican legislator, after visiting Sands
     Chicago Tribune, 21 April 1981, 1-1-5

Irish Prime Minister Charles Haughey

"The tragic events of recent weeks have confirmed once more that Northern Ireland as at present constituted is no longer a viable political entity."
     Irish Prime Minister Charles Haughey
     New York Times, 14 May 1981, 8

"British policy is allowing the IRA to show the Thatcher government as simple-mindedly stubborn rather than principled. The British have failed to foresee the political effect of the hunger strike - it is boosting the IRA while cutting the ground away from the moderates in Ulster."
     Irish diplomat in Washington, D.C.
     Washington Post, 15 May 1981

Irish Prime Minister Garret FitzGerald

"...the sooner the IRA gains can be wiped out, the better. I appreciate the IRA are a threat to our government, to our democracy, and not a threat to Britain. It's we who have to live with them. It is we who have to fight them and save democracy here."
     Irish Prime Minister Garret FitzGerald
     Washington Post, 8 September 1981, A-16

"This is indeed great news. There will be relief that this tragic situation has now come to an end."
     Irish Prime Minister Charles Haughey
     Irish Echo, 10 October 1981, 3