The boys who defied a government

The death on hunger strike of Frank Stagg caused a major crisis for the then government, writes Caroline O’Doherty.

GARDAÍ were under instruction to prevent shots being fired over the coffin of deceased hunger striker Frank Stagg but, in the end, their efforts were thwarted by two gunmen — aged just 13 and 15.

Tensions had risen sharply in the days before the funeral of the Co Mayo man, brother of sitting Labour TD Emmet Stagg, who died in prison in Yorkshire on February 12, 1976, after two months on hunger strike.