Due to prison overcrowding, from December 1972 Long Kesh was also used for sentenced prisoners. In the biggest prison escape in UK history, 38 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoners escaped from H-Block 7 (H7) of the prison. Two escaped through the gate, one was captured exiting the car, and another was captured after being chased by a soldier. 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. Outside the prison, in a major publicity coup, Sands was nominated for Parliament and won the Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election. [12], HM Prison Maze was considered one of the most escape-proof prisons in Europe. Recorded in 2004. Ulster Unionist Party UUP Election Political Poster Politics Vintage Original. Similarities between 1988-94 British broadcasting voice restrictions and Bernadette Devlin McAliskey. Those convicted of "scheduled terrorist offences" after that date were housed in the eight new "H-Blocks" that had been constructed at Long Kesh, now officially named Her Majesty's Prison Maze (HMP Maze). [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. Aircraft hangars built for the Royal Air Force (RAF) station at Long Kesh, 1941-1946. As an 18-year-old member of the Ulster Volunteer Force, he had been sentenced to . The former Maze Prison/Long Kesh in Lisburn, near Belfast, is one of the primary sites associated with the 'The Troubles' in Northern Ireland. Poster depicting the 1983 escape. close. There was plenty of heartache and plenty of craic in that section of the jail Prisoner. William Smith was the first loyalist prisoner to be sent to Long Kesh, the precursor to the H-blocks of the Maze. He joined the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in his hometown of Portadown around 1975. Location: Ireland . . Ten prisoners dressed in guards' uniforms and armed with guns and chisels dismounted from the lorry and entered the gatehouse, where they took the officers hostage. But the British government still resisted and on 5 May, after 66 days on hunger strike, Sands died. [36] The men officially remain fugitives, but in 2003 Her Majesty's Prison Service said they were not being "actively pursued". Long Kesh, Lisburn, County Antrim name home area sentence. The guides include audio descriptions of the Hospital, the H-Blocks and the Compounds, accompanied by excerpts from participants. The prison wasnt built along the old lines, the Victorian lines, like the Crumlin Road. Gymnasium, 1981. 42 Indeed, 24% of the republican and 17% of the loyalist ex-prisoners reported symptoms of serious psychological trauma, such as depression . Where various classes took place within the H-Block. ***** List provided by: 'The Writing Cmpaign' 4110 Farmdale Road Philadelphia, PA 19154 USA tel (215-637-3728) . 15. Download Image. More than 100,000 people attended Sands' funeral in Belfast. [11] Averill, who was jailed for life after committing two murders, was not recaptured, and was instead given amnesty in early 2001 when he was one of a number of republican escapees to present themselves to the authorities in a two-week period. 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. [52], In March 1997 a 40-foot (12m) tunnel was discovered in H7 at the Maze Prison. Shortly after Mowlam's visit, they changed their minds, allowing their representatives to continue talks that would lead to the Good Friday Agreement of 10 April 1998. Mackin testified that while he was in the Crumlin Road prison before trial, he was treated differently from other prisoners in that every time an officer was killed, he would either be beaten in his cell or put in solitary confinement. That is, of the loyalist and republican prisoners who did not escape, only the republicans were moved, beaten, kicked, bitten by dogs, and subjected to religious and political insults. Running time: 25:19, CCEA GCSE History: Unit 1; Section B; Option 2: Changing Relations: Northern Ireland and its Neighbours, 19651998. The escape was a propaganda coup for the IRA, and a British government minister faced calls to resign. HM Prison Maze. Each H-Block also had its own individual control room. [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. 37 prisoners climbed into the back of the lorry, while Gerry Kelly lay on the floor of the cab with a gun pointed at the driver, who was also told the cab had been booby trapped with a hand grenade. . [14], Four prisoners attacked one of the officers and hijacked his car, which they drove towards the external gate. The entire site was encircled by watch towers and a perimeter wall, and also included a separate hospital building, a visiting building, multidenominational chapel and two large football pitches, alongside multiple administrative buildings. Also known as the canteen. Genuine Prison Made Leather Wallet/ Purse From prisoner in Long Kesh/Maze Dates from approx the 1980' s Some pen marks . One of the bizarre things to me always was that this rectangular space was called circle Educator. [38][39] Tony Kelly was arrested in Letterkenny, County Donegal in October 1997 but was not extradited. Gerard given Governor ground groups hand happening head heard hospital Hugh huts injuries internees John kicked knee Lagan Valley later Long Kesh Loyalist morning move night Northern Ireland period pitch present priest prison officers protest received Rees refused Republican returned riot . As Northern Ireland's Troubles intensified, its prison population increased exponentially, with as many as 15,000 loyalists incarcerated for politically motivated crimes. WILLIAM 'PLUM' SMITH'S BOOK, Inside Man: Loyalists of Long Kesh - The Untold Story, gives a personal account of his imprisonment as a young man from the Shankill Road. VINTAGE IRISH ULSTER LEATHER PRISON BOOK ENDS LONG KESH MAZE LOYALIST SHIPS FLAG. [6] At the end of April 1978, a fight occurred between a prisoner and a prison officer in H-Block 6. He has nothing to lose. This article focuses on the controversial figure of Gusty Spence, who was key to the emergence of two artists from an Ulster Loyalist paramilitary background: George Morrow and Bobby Niblock, both of whom fell under Spence's guidance in Long Kesh/the Maze prison. [5], Prisoners convicted of scheduled offences after 1 March 1976 were housed in the "H-Blocks" that had been constructed. The tunnel led from H-Block 7 and was 80ft (24m) short of the perimeter wall. That was when you saw them really happy Educator, The physical instructor would have been, he would have been refereeing the match and done everything by the book Prisoner, There must have been over a hundred men, all with long, dirty, greasy hair, long beards some longer than others totally unkempt. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. delete_sweep Clear All close. Three of the 10 hunger strikers who died in Long Kesh prison in 1981 belonged to the INLA. The H-Block from which thirty-eight PIRA prisoners escaped by taking prisoner officers hostage and hijacking a food lorry, on 25 September 1983. search. I still think it was probably one of the most extraordinary contexts that I ever said mass in, or that I ever sort of related to people in any sort of a pastoral way Prison Chaplain, The prison authorities referred to them as compounds but we as prisoners referred to them as cages Prisoner, Basically you were simply left to your own devices. Prisoner, You were unlocked in the morning at 8 oclock and locked up at night at 9 oclock and during the day you had free time to do whatever: walk, run, sing, listen, read, education Prisoner/ Internee. [45] U.S. district judge Barbara A. Caulfield wrote under the "Maze prison" section of her finding that:[46]. IRA member Hugh Coney was shot dead by a sentry, 29 other prisoners were captured within a few yards of the prison and the remaining three were back in custody within 24 hours. One officer is being treated for a suspected fractured skull. [55], The prison break was dramatised in the 2017 film Maze, written and directed by Stephen Burke, and starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and Barry Ward. Following the introduction of internment in August 1971, Long Kesh a disused World War 2 airfield near Lisburn, south of Belfast was used as an internment camp. (A Red Hand Commando Volunteer returns to the Maze Prison and takes his 14 year old son with him). Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary-linked prisoners gave them the same privileges previously available only to internees. [32][33], Kevin Barry Artt, Pl Brennan, James J. Smyth and Terrence Kirby, collectively known as the "H-Block 4", were arrested in the United States between 1992 and 1994 and fought lengthy legal battles against extradition. A man who planted a bomb on a bus during the Queen's visit to Ireland has gone on hunger strike in jail after clashing with the New IRA prison leadership. In January 2009, plans to build the new multi-purpose stadium on the site of the prison were cancelled, with the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Gregory Campbell, citing a lack of support and concerns for a net loss to the economy. [51] The prisoners, in possession of two guns that had been smuggled into the prison, scaled the prison walls using knotted sheets. Numerous prison officers took part in the mistreatment of the returned escapees. It was militarily active until 1998. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. In this year, political prisoners were also granted Special Category Status (which granted them privileges formerly available only to internees). And from then til lunch generally would have been your own free time, and that would have been taken up with a number of different things, people done classes, people studied, done degrees and stuff like that., In the cages you had no contact with the prison warders.