The beginning of the strike:

A part of the prisoners statement at the start of the Hunger Strike read:

WE, the Republican Prisoners of War in the H-Blocks, Long Kesh, demand, as of right, political recognition and that we be accorded the status of political prisoners. We claim this right as captured combatants in the continuing struggle for national liberation and self-determination.
We refute most strongly the tag of 'criminal' with which the British have attempted to label us and our struggle, and we point to the divisive partitionist institutions of the six counties as the sole criminal aspect of the current struggle....

We declare that political status is ours of right and we declare that from Monday 27th October, 1980 a hunger strike by a number of men representing H-Blocks 3, 4 and 5 will commence.

The end of the strike:

Sinn Fein spokesman Danny Morrison said in the Irish Press that an agreement between the prisoners and the British was finalized on 18 December 1980.

"We are satisfied that the implementation of these proposals meets the requirements of our five basic demands. Republican prisoners will not be wearing any form of prison uniform and will not be participating in any form of penal work."

In their own statement, the prisoners explained why they called off the hunger strike:

"Having seen the statement to be announced by Humphrey Atkins in the British House of Commons tomorrow and having been supplied with a document which contains a new elaboration on our five demands which were first enumerated upon by Humphrey Atkins in his statement to the House of Commons of December 4, we decided to halt the hunger strike.

In ending our hunger strike, we make it clear that failure by the British Government to act in a responsible manner towards ending the conditions which forced us on to a hunger strike will not only lead to inevitable and continual strife within the H-Blocks, but will show quite clearly the intransigence of the British Government."

Perfidious Albion

Brendan "Bik" McFarlane addressed the concessions promised by the British authorities in a comm written to Gerry Adams on 15 January. Apparently after the agreement was made Hilditch asked Sands for a week's extension for the experimental group so that the prison officials could decide on the question of civilian clothing. McFarlane distrusted Hilditch's motives. "The Brits may be stalling. We believe they wish to compromise us on the principle of clothes, and by a week's respite, they may gain some ground."

The prisoners' sense of betrayal was soon substantiated. As one prisoner described in a comm to the outside leadership, "On 23 January McFarlane's suspicions were confirmed. The prison officials went back on their promise and did not issue civilian clothing to the cooperating prisoners in the experimental group. On 27 January the prisoners in the wing broke up their furniture and were moved to dirty cells in the same wing. The next morning they were all moved to H6."

"We declare that political status is ours of right and we declare that from Monday 27th October, 1980 a hunger strike by a number of men representing H-Blocks 3, 4 and 5 will commence. "