Haughey warned Thatcher about H Block protest

THE H Block protest began in 1976 when the British decided to phase out special category status, which accorded virtual prisoner of war status to Republican prisoners.

After March 1, 1976 any convicted prisoners would be treated as criminals.

Republican prisoners reacted by asking colleagues on the outside to take revenge on prison guards. In September 1976, prisoners refused to wear prison clothes and went “on the blanket.” In March 1978 this escalated into the dirty protest, whereby prisoners refused to leave their cells to shower or use the toilets. They accused guards of harassing them, and they began smearing their own excrement on the walls of their cells.