Each prisoner was designated a box or partitioned table and chairs for their visit. Rosena Brown (Risn De Brn; born c.1945) is an Irish actress of television, cinema, and stage from Belfast, Northern Ireland who also served as an intelligence officer for the Provisional IRA. Outside the prison, in a major publicity coup, Sands was nominated for Parliament and won the Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election. Abstract. Republican and loyalist prisoners were housed according to group. At Long Kesh, a set of eight new prison blocks (known as the H-Blocks due to their shape) were constructed to hold the prisoners who had been convicted after 1 March 1976. The former terrorist was jailed for 10 years and was the first loyalist prisoner to arrive in Long Kesh RAF base near Lisburn. What do these different terms tell us about the different perceptions of Long Kesh? [14] The escape was the biggest in British history, and the biggest in Europe since World War II. Used in 1942 by Short Bros. to assemble and test-fly Stirling bombers. In the biggest prison escape in UK history, 38 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoners escaped from H-Block 7 (H7) of the prison. Bobby Storey and Gerry Kelly had started working as orderlies in H7, which allowed them to identify weaknesses in the security systems, and six handguns had been smuggled into the prison. 01. The central point of the H-Block, it was actually an oblong space. However, weddings did take place here, as well as graduations for prisoners who undertook Open University degrees in the prison. Originally, each wing had its own yard, with an air lock between adjacent yards. By 1978, more than 300 men had joined the protest. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Ferris had already been stabbed three times in the chest, and before he could raise the alarm he collapsed. However, he said the officers involved had never been disciplined and there were no plans to do so. And he fired the dinner at him. They escaped using a gun that had been smuggled into the prison, wounding a motorist as they fled. You had the watch towers, the barbed wire, you had Nissen huts as the accommodation. He was initially jailed for six months in 1971 but, shortly afterwards, served over another five years in the unionist paramilitary cages or compounds of Long Kesh. [37] Brennan, who had married a US citizen, was deported from the United States to the Republic of Ireland in August 2009. Introduction This paper marks an attempt to explore how identity was, and is, negotiated by two opposed groups at the shared site of Long Kesh/Maze prison, Northern Ireland. The Maze Prison escape (known to Irish republicans as the Great Escape) took place on 25 September 1983 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. [14], At 3:25 pm, a lorry delivering food supplies arrived at the entrance to H7, whereupon Brendan McFarlane and other prisoners took the occupants hostage at gunpoint and moved them inside H7. Following the introduction of internment in August 1971, Long Kesh - a disused WWII airfield near Lisburn, south of Belfast - was used as an internment camp. The H-Block from which thirty-eight PIRA prisoners escaped by taking prisoner officers hostage and hijacking a food lorry, on 25 September 1983. Each H-Block was identified by a number e.g. Football pitch, 1981. It was militarily active until 1998. June 05, 2021 11:00. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for VINTAGE IRISH ULSTER LEATHER PRISON BOOK ENDS LONG KESH MAZE LOYALIST SHIPS FLAG at the best online prices at eBay! In October 2006, demolition work started in preparation for construction on the site. The prison closed in September 2000 after 428 prisoners had been released under the Good Friday Agreement. On 10 August 1984 loyalist prisoner Benjamin Redfern, a member of the Ulster Defence Association, attempted to escape from HM Prison Maze by hiding in the back of a refuse lorry, but died after being caught in the crushing mechanism. You couldnt escape it you see. [42] However, Tony McAllister was not granted a similar amnesty. 1974: Maze prison goes up in flames. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. [13] The day after the escape, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Prior announced an inquiry would be headed by His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons, James Hennessy. You had four huts which were in they had four huts which were in one compound, you had an ablutions block and a canteen area which we converted into a five a side area. In total, 22 compounds/ cages were constructed in Long Kesh. Numerous prison officers took part in the mistreatment of the returned escapees. But having said that, it all depended on what cage you were in and it all depended on who your mates were, basically how you got your day in., [L] I was remanded here, it wasnt just all internees, ordinary prisoners were here too as well as you, worked the kitchens and all that and delivered the food out to the different cages. fast_forward. A place of incarceration and liberation, political debate and historical denial, the H Block cell units of Long Kesh/Maze prison in Northern Ireland housed members of both Republican and Loyalist military groups during 'The Troubles' and are now You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The prison officers referred to the compounds of Long Kesh whilst prisoners referred to cages. As Northern Ireland's Troubles intensified, its prison population increased exponentially, with as many as 15,000 loyalists incarcerated for politically motivated crimes. [1] During the Troubles, Irish republican prisoners had escaped from custody en masse on several occasions. These cookies do not store any personal information. The hangars were later used by prison staff: the hangar on the right was used for prison stores; the hangar on the left was empty until the 1990s, when a mock-up of half a H-Block was built inside for prison staff to conduct riot control manoeuvres. [2] On 17 January 1972, seven internees escaped from the prison ship HMS Maidstone by swimming to freedom, resulting in their being dubbed the "Magnificent Seven". Officer James Ferris ran from the gatehouse towards the pedestrian gate attempting to raise the alarm, pursued by Dermot Finucane. [14] Storey told the driver, "This man [Gerry Kelly] is doing 30 years and he will shoot you without hesitation if he has to. Fueling the prison officers' anger was a mix of sectarianism they were almost exclusively Protestant and many had loyalist sympathies and connections and a desire for revenge. That would have taken 70 minutes roughly. Genuine Prison Made Leather Wallet/ Purse From prisoner in Long Kesh/Maze Dates from approx the 1980' s Some pen marks . . The escape was a propaganda coup for the IRA, and a British government minister faced calls to resign. Piled them all against the gate. These privileges included free association between prisoners, extra visits, food parcels and the right to wear their own clothes rather than prison uniforms. The British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher made a statement in Ottawa during a visit to Canada, saying "It is the gravest [breakout] in our present history, and there must be a very deep inquiry". Ulster Unionist Party UUP Election Political Poster Politics Vintage Original. 49.99 + 5.99 Postage. Only one of the H-Blocks remains, alongside the prison . search. In later years, adjacent yards were combined. 59 Inside Northern Ireland's largest prison of Long Kesh, Rocky Burns described how he and his fellow loyalist prisoners would 'sing the Loyalist War songs of Ulster in . In addition to 15-foot (4.6m) fences, each H-Block was encompassed by an 18-foot (5.5m) concrete wall topped with barbed wire, and all gates on the complex were made of solid steel and electronically operated. [6][7] Prisoners "on the blanket" reported that one of the things that caused the most stress was "waiting for the moment the cell door would open and they would be dragged out, naked and defenseless, and then pounded into semi-consciousness before being thrown back in again". [26] Pdraig McKearney was killed by the SAS along with seven other members of the IRA's East Tyrone Brigade in the Loughgall ambush in May 1987, the IRA's biggest single loss of life since the 1920s. [40][41] Dermot McNally, who had been living in the Republic of Ireland and was tracked down in 1996,[35] and Dermot Finucane, received an amnesty in January 2002, allowing them to return to Northern Ireland if they wished to. Portlaoise Prison Portlaoise County Laois H Blocks Long Kesh Lisburn County Antrim BT27 5RP . Her Majesty's Prison Maze, also called Long Kesh, is a high security prison located about ten miles from Belfast in Northern Ireland's County Antrim. Three prison staff are being treated in hospital after rioting prisoners set fire to the Long Kesh Maze prison near Belfast. The site's significance is intrinsically linked with the 1969-1998 'troubles' in Northern Ireland. TabLyrics. Jailed Loyalists and Republicans were freed from prison today, as the final wave of prisoner releases got underway in Northern Ireland. As part of a new British policy of "criminalisation", and coinciding with the end of internment, the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Merlyn Rees, ended Special Category Status from 1 March 1976. They organised themselves along military lines and exercised wide control over their respective H-Blocks. It replaced portacabin visiting facilities that originally served the H-Blocks when they opened in 1976. [4][5][6] The escape was commemorated in a song The Provie Birdie (Helicopter Song) by the Wolfhound. [4], However, Special Category Status was short-lived. The prison was closed in 2000 and demolition began on 30 October 2006, but on 18 April 2013 it was announced by the Northern Ireland Executive that the remaining buildings would be redeveloped into a peace centre. Also known as the canteen. 49.99 + 27.50 Postage. The cages/compounds were segregated along political lines. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Republicans have claimed that pensioner . He had served 10 years in Long Kesh Prison (also known as the Maze) for offenses relating to the struggle for Irish independence. Download Image. So after a shower and stuff the compound would have come to life. [13] Prisoners had been planning the escape for several months. HM Prison Maze (also known as Long Kesh) was a maximum security prison considered to be one of the most escape-proof prisons in Europe. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. [L] They drove it straight into the cage? 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