Francis Hughes

Francis Hughes
Born(1956-02-28)28 February 1956
Bellaghy, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Died12 May 1981(1981-05-12) (aged 25)
HM Prison Maze, Northern Ireland
Paramilitaries
UnitSouth Derry Brigade
Known forHunger strike of 59 days, from 15 March 1981
ConflictThe Troubles
RelationsThomas McElwee (cousin)

Francis Joseph Sean Hughes (28 February 1956 – 12 May 1981) was a volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) from Bellaghy, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Hughes was the most wanted man in Northern Ireland until his arrest following a shoot-out with the British Army in which a British soldier was killed. At his trial, he was sentenced to a total of 83 years' imprisonment; he died during the 1981 Irish hunger strike in HM Prison Maze. Hughes was one of 22 Irish republicans who died on hunger-strike between 1917 and 1981.