When Bobby Sands croaked, the women of Belfast began banging trash can lids on the pavement as a signal that things were about to smoke.
I remember Margaret Thatcher standing her ground throughout his ill-fated fast. The Falklands War came soon after.
The Falklands war probably started because Britain no longer had an Audacious Class aircraft carrier, having decommissioned and begun scrapping HMS Ark Royal #91 in 1979. The Argentines probably would not attacked the Falklands if this aircraft carrier, with its Phantom jets were still a part of the Royal Navy, Argentina may not have been persuaded to attack. I saw this Ark Royal at Stranraer, Scotland several times when she was being scrapped (Ferry from Larne, Northern Ireland to Stranraer, Scotland passed the Cairnryan shipyard where she was being scrapped).
I have seen pictures of this Ark Royal alongside our carrier, the USS Nimitz. The Ark Royal is dwarfed by the Nimitz.
Britain had couple of small jump jet carriers were in the Falklands war. And the next Ark Royal, a jump jet carrier, was being built at that time.
I was in Spain in 1991 and visited Gibraltar. This jump jet Ark Royal was in port at Gibraltar while I was there. I saw it from the summit after climbing to the top via the Mediterranean Steps. Awesome!