Geraldine Noade & Bobby Sands

1972 - 1981
Bobby Sands and Geraldine Noade  
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Geraldine Noade and Bobby Sands were married for 9 years before Bobby Sands died, leaving behind his partner and 1 child.

They had a son named Gerard age 50.

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Geraldine Noade is an Irish Relative. She is famous for Bobby Sands widow.

Northern Irish Activist Bobby Sands was born Robert Gerard Sands on 9th March, 1954 in Abbots Cross, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland and passed away on 5th May 1981 H block of Maze prison (aka Long Kesh), County Down, Northern Ireland aged 27. He is most remembered for First of the 10 hungerstrikers to die in Maze prison in 1981 during the troubles.. His zodiac sign is Pisces.

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References

Relationship Statistics

StatusDurationLength
Dating1972 - 1972
Married1972 - May 1981 9 years, 4 months
Total 1972 - May 1981 9 years, 4 months


Bobby married Geraldine Noade shortly thereafter at the age of 18, and the couple had a son, Gerard Sands, on May 8, 1973. The marriage, however, was short-lived due to the intensive strain caused by Bobby's active participation in the Republican movement. After suffering a miscarriage during her second pregnancy, Geraldine left to live in England with their son.
Bobby Sands was arrested and charged in October 1972 with possession of four handguns which were found in the house where he was staying. Sands was convicted in April 1973 sentenced to five years' imprisonment and released in April 1976.
When Bobby Sands died of a hunger strike at 27, his seven-year-old son, Gerald, was brought to the Sands family for a sad reunion with his grandparents. It had been over two years since they or Bobby had last seen him.
Mr Sands and Bobby’s younger brother John spaded some soil on to the coffin and then little Gerald was brought forward and given a hand with the heavy spade so that he too could help bury his murdered father.
In 1995, In an emotional, sometimes tearful speech, Geraldine Sands, wife of martyred Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands, spoke publicly for the first time Thursday since her husband's death in 1981.
Hands shaking, voice trembling, a petite Sands thanked Hartford residents for naming a small grassy plot after her husband -- honoring his role in fighting for civil rights for minority Catholics in Northern Ireland.
Sands humbly accepted the friendship of Hartford's Irish, urging them to pressure the U.S. government to force Britain to end the partition of Ireland.
``The biggest obstacle for us still is the British government, which is strangling the peace process,'' Sands said.
The Hartford chapter of the Irish Northern Aid Committee invited Sands to the city to commemorate the corner of Maple Avenue and South Street as Bobby Sands Circle.
At first Geraldine Sands declined the invitation. Since her husband's death, she has kept a low profile, out of respect for her husband, and because ``it is still dangerous in Belfast,'' she said.
She continues to live in Belfast with her three children. Families of nine other imprisoned hunger strikers who died have also kept silent, she said.
Geraldine Sands' friendship with Richard Lawlor of the Hartford chapter of the Irish Northern Aid Committee helped change her mind.
``It's been very emotional for me, but the timing was right,'' Sands said.
Lawlor said he met Sands almost 10 years ago and visited her each time he went to Belfast. Lawlor and others are raising money to erect a Celtic cross on the grassy plot named for Bobby Sands.
``We must redouble our efforts to put pressure on the British government, so that Bobby Sands and the other hunger strikers can rest in their graves and know they did not die in vain,'' Lawlor said.
More than 75 people -- Hartford residents and others from suburban towns -- came to hear Sands speak, and some later walked up to kiss and embrace her.
In 2001, the widow of Mr. Sands, the first of the 10 to starve in a protest over the imprisonment of I.R.A. members by the British authorities, appeared in black. She said nothing during the Mass -- the prayers were led by Mr. Coleman and the monsignor -- but outside the cathedral she expressed gratitude for the turnout, which was said to be among the largest since memorial Masses for the hunger strikers were first held in the early 1980's. The annual service was last performed at St. Patrick's in 1991, according to organizers.
The widow, Geraldine Sands, said the crowded pews gave her renewed hope that her husband's death still held meaning for the Irish people.
''I worry about people forgetting,'' said Mrs. Sands, who rarely speaks publicly. ''It was a big sacrifice we all gave. It should never be forgotten.''
Mrs. Sands said she did not want to comment on the current political situation in Northern Ireland, but she said the strike in 1981 was an unusual event that brought together many disparate people in Ireland and around the world.
''I wouldn't like to think they died for nothing,'' Mrs. Sands said of her husband and the other hunger strikers. ''Of course, it was worth it."

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Relationship Timeline

May, 1981 - Breakup

8th May, 1973 - Child

1972 - Marriage

1972 - Hookup

Couple Comparison

Name
Geraldine Noade
Bobby Sands
Occupation
Relative
Activist
Nationality
Irish
Northern Irish
Religion
Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic
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Children

NameGenderBornAge
GerardMale8th May, 197350 years old

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