Letters and poetry composed by H-Block hunger-striker Bobby Sands and other republican prisoners including the late Mairead Farrell, which emerged this month in Co Kerry, were not found in bags at Sinn Féin offices to be dumped, the man who found them has clarified. His move to clarify the circumstances of the documents comes after considerable controversy in republican circles in recent weeks, particularly among former Sinn Féin activists now critical of the party. They were sent out with visitors and transferred to Sinn Féin offices in Belfast and Dublin, to be sent to a wide variety of organisations and individuals appealing for support for the anti H-Block candidates previous year’s general election. I never thought there was an intention by the Sinn Féin leadership, of which I was a member of the Ard Comhairle, to dump them. I might have stupidly or boastfully [implied] but there was no intent by the Sinn Féin leadership to dump anything.”He says no-one ever asked where the comms were after he removed them from the bag.

Source: The Irish Times May 26, 2021 00:00 UTC