Irish Protesting British Abuses Stage Boston Tea Party Reenactment on September 26, 1981

During the 1981 Irish hunger strike Bostonians dumped British Tea into Boston Harbor

On Saturday, September 26, 1981, more than 1,000 protestors in Boston marched from Charlestown to the downtown waterfront, where they threw chests of British tea into Boston Harbor, a reenactment of the famous act of civil disobedience that occurred 208 years earlier on December 16, 1773.

The marchers were protesting British human rights abuses in Northern Ireland while supporting Irish political prisoners who were involved in the Irish hunger strike. It was also part of a nationwide effort in New York, Baltimore, San Francisco and other cities to boycott British goods until the hunger strike issue was resolved.

The 1981 hunger strike began on March 1, when prisoner Bobby Sands stopped eating in protest of prison conditions in Northern Ireland, and it ended on October 3 when the six remaining hunger strikers decided to end the protest. In all, ten men died during the hunger strike.

The protest started at 2 p.m. at the base of Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown, proceeded to march over the Charlestown Bridge and past Boston City Hall, then over to the Congress Street Bridge.

The protestors boarded the Beaver II, a replica of one of three ships the original tea party protestors raided back in 1773, and proceeded to toss crates labeled English Tea and Brit Tea into Boston Harbor.

According to the globe story, "As the marchers approached the Congress Street Bridge and the Beaver II, pipers playing "The Wearing of the Green" drowned out the fife and drums of "Yankee Doodle" coming over the ship's loud speakers. Tourists in the area were baffled by the converging crowd."

Boston City Councilor Ray Flynn prepares to toss tea into the harbor

Among the protestors aboard the ship were Massachusetts State Representative Marie Howe and Boston City Councilor Ray Flynn, as well as leaders from various Irish organizations, including the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Irish National Caucus and Gaelic Athletic Association. Flynn later became mayor of Boston and US Ambassador to the Vatican, and continued to champion human rights causes.

James Fitzpatrick, one of the organizers, told Boston Globe reporter David Arnold, "Several months ago (the) British consul general said that Bostonians should stick to tea parties and stay out of the business of Northern Ireland, so we are doing just that ...Welcome to the second Boston Tea Party."

The ceremony ended with the protestors singing an Irish anthem, "A Nation Once Again."

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