On this day 5th May 1981 a daring political statement was made when a young man died while adhering to the ancient Irish Brehon law of “Troscad.”  The phenomenon known as ‘troscad’ (translated as ‘hunger strike’) is nothing new in Irish society. It predates Christianity, which swept Ireland in the mid-5th Century and has been recorded as being used by the Druids. As a custom, according to the an…