The 26th anniversary of the 1981 Hunger Strike in which ten men died in Long Kesh will be marked in Bundoran this Saturday, 25th August, starting at 3.00pm.

The ten who died, in order of death were - Bobby Sands, MP for Fermanagh-South Tyrone, Francis Hughes, Raymond McCreesh, Patsy O'Hara, Joe McDonnell, Martin Hurson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty, Thomas McElwee and Micky Devine.

An interesting booklet, 'The Final Salute', published by the organisers of the Bundoran march and rally, Republican Sinn Féin refers to, 'Nor Meekly Serve My Time' in which one fellow prisoner records on 3rd December, 1978, the brutality meted out to Martin Hurson (he died on July 13th, 1981).

'Martin was dragged from the cell by the hair and the sound of boots and fists thudding into him could be clearly heard. The screws (prison warders) dragged him to see a doctor who was nicknamed 'Mengele' by the blanketmen'.

Joe O'Neill, a member of Saturday's organising committee, noted that Sinn Féin wanted nothing more to do with the hunger strikers, apart from the previous week's annual Hunger Strike rally in West Belfast, which centred on the theme of State collusion.

"(Martin) McGuinness came out and said the (Sinn Féin) wanted no paramilitaries and no paramilitary organisations. Those ten men weren't paramilitaries. They were freedom fighters."

He explained that, each year, about eight of the ten bereaved families attended the Bundoran event and that, on a few occasions, all ten families were represented.

This year, Bob Loughman will represent the Emerald Society New York Police Band (the band itself were there for last year's 25th anniversary) and he will be one of the speakers along with Cathleen Knowles McGurk and Ruairi White, Newry.

This year's honouree will be Don Hurley of the Emerald Society Police Band and, among the visiting bands will be those from Lurgan, Camlough and Derry City together with a piper from the Glens of Antrim.