Her Majesty's Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as The Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to September 2000. 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. There was plenty of heartache and plenty of craic in that section of the jail Prisoner. In December 1997, IRA prisoner Liam Averill escaped dressed as a woman during a Christmas party for prisoners' children. [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. 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 video guides below were created from footage recorded in the Maze and Long Kesh in 2007. However, this was not done soon enough to prevent the escape. [10], Fifteen escapees were captured on the day, including four who were discovered by the RUC hiding underwater in the river Lagan using reeds to breathe. 1137 (N.D. Cal. The court in Northern Ireland found that there was a widespread conspiracy to conceal the fact of the assault of the prisoners. The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) leader Billy Wright was shot dead in December 1997 by two Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) prisoners.[13]. [31] In March 1990 the Supreme Court of Ireland in Dublin blocked the extradition of James Pius Clarke and Dermot Finucane on the grounds they "would be probable targets for ill-treatment by prison staff" if they were returned to prison in Northern Ireland. Existing prisoners remained in separate compounds and retained their Special Category Status with the last prisoner to hold this status being released in 1986. 47 relations. [14], Finucane continued to the pedestrian gate where he stabbed the officer controlling the gate, and two officers who had just entered the prison. [P] They burnt the canteen hut, it was burned to the ground. Within one month approximately 60 Loyalist Special Category prisoners were relocated to Long Kesh. Held in the 70s in the notorious Northern Irish jail known as The Maze, The H Blocks or Long Kesh, Ronan Bennett recalls the gas attacks, the beatings, the smell - and the jokes - and applauds . Another officer was shot in the head by Gerry Kelly, and several other officers were injured by the escapees. Control Building Plan. 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, and held prisoners convicted of taking part in armed paramilitary campaigns during the Troubles. Long Kesh, Lisburn, County Antrim name home area sentence. A selection of clips from the archive exploring the theme from different perspectives. One prison officer died of a heart attack during the escape and twenty others were injured, including two who were shot with guns that had been smuggled into the prison. This is a very nice hand painted and hand made Ulster loyalist example of prison art. The article charts the environment Spence presided over in jail, the . Author:Smith, William. [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. [10][11] On 10 June 1981, eight IRA members on remand, including Angelo Fusco, Paul Magee and Joe Doherty, escaped from Crumlin Road Jail. 12. 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. A RETURN TO COMPOUND 19 - 2007. This was the location where ten men died during the 1981 hunger strike. Kitchen Plan. 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. And they put all the beds against the gate. PRONI ref: D4629/1/12/7/3, The whole architecture of the H-blocks, it is not a normal type of architecture, this is an architecture that grew out of the whole horrific conflict situation. Prison Chaplain. 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. [47][48] On 7 July 1991, IRA prisoners Nessan Quinlivan and Pearse McAuley escaped from HM Prison Brixton, where they were being held on remand. The H-Blocks, eight in total, first opened in 1976. The official inquiry into the escape placed most of the blame onto prison staff, who in turn blamed the escape on political interference in the running of the prison. You had the watch towers, the barbed wire, you had Nissen huts as the accommodation. The terminology of the circle comes from Victorian prison design. One officer is being treated for a suspected fractured skull. None of the testifying prison officials knew whether any of the prison officers who participated in the abuse of the returned escapees or who perjured themselves are still employed at the Maze prison. [P] Oh straight in. The tunnel was fitted with electric lights, and was 80 feet (24m) from the outside wall, having already breached the block's perimeter wall. The existing research on the psychological impact of the Northern Ireland conflict for the prisoners shows that 70% of the ex-prisoners say that they experience poor or very poor emotional health. A place for discussions about Irish history. The Burning of Long Kesh Concentration Camp. And other people that didnt run first thing in the mornings would have been getting up and doing their daily routine, getting washed and shaved and having breakfast and stuff. As an 18-year-old member of the Ulster Volunteer Force, he had been sentenced to . This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. So after a shower and stuff the compound would have come to life. [14] Storey told the driver, "This man [Gerry Kelly] is doing 30 years and he will shoot you without hesitation if he has to. It was situated at the former Royal Air Force station of Long Kesh, on the outskirts of Lisburn.This was in the townland of Maze, about nine miles . Give two reasons. And then we all had designated jobs. [8] Thirty-three prisoners attempted to escape from Long Kesh on 6 November 1974 after digging a tunnel. In March 1997, an IRA escape attempt was foiled when a 40ft (12m) tunnel was found. Due to prison overcrowding, Long Kesh was also used for sentenced republican and loyalist prisoners from 1972. It held prisoners suspected of taking part in armed paramilitary campaigns during the Troubles, with separate wings for loyalists and for republicans. More than 100,000 people attended Sands' funeral in Belfast. Their first act of defiance, initiated by Kieran Nugent, was to refuse to wear the prison uniforms, stating that convicted criminals, and not political prisoners, wear uniforms. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. This area contained the Staff Club, the Governors lounge and accommodation, staff lockers and staff car park. 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. VINTAGE IRISH ULSTER LEATHER PRISON BOOK ENDS LONG KESH MAZE LOYALIST SHIPS FLAG. Long Kesh. 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. [24] Samus McElwaine was killed by the SAS in Roslea in April 1986,[25] and Gerry Kelly and Brendan McFarlane were returned to prison in December 1986 after being extradited from the Netherlands where they had been arrested in January 1986, leaving twelve escapees still on the run. This is where you got out and you had your wee talk where no one else could hear Prisoner. But the gate opened the other way. The tunnel led from H-Block 7 and was 80ft (24m) short of the perimeter wall. Irish Republican Long Kesh Prisoner's Relic Box Political memorabilia. The prisoners took prison officers hostage using three handguns that had been smuggled in, took their uniforms and shot their way out of the prison. INLAIrish National Liberation Army. A large windowless building which contained a basketball court and weightlifting equipment. In this year, political prisoners were also granted Special Category Status (which granted them privileges formerly available only to internees). The hospital contained both individual cells and small wards. One prison officer, James Ferris, who had been stabbed, died after suffering a heart attack during the escape. Canteen facilities in an H Block, 1981. It held prisoners suspected of taking part in armed paramilitary campaigns during the Troubles, with separate wings for loyalists and for republicans. The Government's infrastructure organisation, the Strategic Investment Board (SIB), was tasked with taking forward the proposed stadium idea and appointed one of its senior advisers, Tony Whitehead, to manage the project. 1 The first were internees. One of the men was arrested in November 1973, aged 17, and brought to . In later years, adjacent yards were combined. 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 considered icons of that conflict. Brendan Hughes, an IRA prisoner, had been imprisoned with Special Category Status in Cage 11, but was alleged to have been involved in a fight with warders. [53][54] He was not apprehended and was granted an amnesty in 2001. Posters in Dublin pointing out the fact that Irish fascist groups like the National Party, Irish Freedom Party and Ireland First are . 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. The Maze Prison escape (known to Irish republicans as the Great Escape) took place on 25 September 1983 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. One officer who attempted to prevent the escape was shot in the head by Gerry Kelly, but survived. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. 120.00 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 . The circle was an administration area, containing the control room of each H-Block. . [14] At the main gate, a prison officer was shot in the leg while chasing the only two prisoners who had not yet reached the outer fence. The prison and its inmates were involved in such events as the 1981 hunger strike. star star star . [13] Prisoners had been planning the escape for several months. Chapel Plan. [7], Nineteen IRA members escaped from Portlaoise Jail on 18 August 1974 after overpowering guards and using gelignite to blast through gates. But the British government still resisted and on 5 May, after 66 days on hunger strike, Sands died. [1] During the Troubles, Irish republican prisoners had escaped from custody en masse on several occasions. Where various classes took place within the H-Block. There must have been over a hundred men, all with long, dirty, greasy hair, long beards some longer than others totally unkempt. The guides include audio descriptions of the Hospital, the H-Blocks and the Compounds, accompanied by excerpts from participants. On 25 September 1983, the Maze saw the largest breakout of prisoners from a British prison. As Northern Ireland's Troubles intensified, its prison population increased exponentially, with as many as 15,000 loyalists incarcerated for politically motivated crimes. [14], At nearly 4:00 pm the lorry drove towards the main gate of the prison, where the prisoners intended to take over the gatehouse. People often say jeez, how did you stay for five years in a cell this size? and I used to say well, the biggest thing was that I didnt spend that much time in this cell. I would get up sometimes and in my head I would go for a walk on the Black Mountain Prisoner. In March 1978, some prisoners refused to leave their cells to shower or use the lavatory because they were being beaten when they did, and were provided with wash-hand basins in their cells. In total, 22 compounds/ cages were constructed in Long Kesh. [56], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}542919N 6627W / 54.48861N 6.10750W / 54.48861; -6.10750, 'Provie Birdie - song and lyrics by Wolfhound', "Report of Inquiry into the Security Arrangements at HM Prison, Maze, Hennessy Report, 1984", "Individual ministerial responsibility-issues and examples", "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 14 March 1990", "U.S. Orders Deportation of Ex-Militant in Irish Republican Army", "Former IRA militant deported to Ireland", "Extradition (European Union Conventions) Bill, 2001: Second Stage", "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 9 Jan 2002 (pt 28)", "Attwood accuses Sinn Fin of blatant double standards over Exiles' amnesty", "IRA fugitive arrested after 24 years on the run", "Maze governor admits inmates were beaten", "Matter of Requested Extradition of Smyth, 863 F. Supp. [14] At 4:12 pm the alarm was raised when an officer in the gatehouse pushed the prisoner holding him hostage out of the room and telephoned the ECR. Explain your answer, using the clip and your contextual knowledge. play_arrow . The collection contains interviews on the educational journeys of Loyalist and Republican ex-prisoners, Open University staff who tutored in the prisons or were involved in administration of study from the Belfast Office, prison education staff and Open University students who worked in the prisons. A dozen prisoners also took uniforms from the officers, and the officers were also forced to hand over their car keys and details of where their cars were, for possible later use during the escape. This part of the site, adjacent to the Compounds / Cages, housed the army camp known as Silver City, and also staff lockers and accommodation for Compounds. 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. 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. Only one of the H-Blocks remains, alongside the prison . Watch the clip of William. Fifteen members of the staff of the prison, formerly Long Kesh internment camp, were injured in hand . [53] Averill mingled with a group of prisoners' families attending a Christmas party, and escaped on the coach taking the families out of the prison. your own Pins on Pinterest 3 13. And that was every morning I done 10 miles around here: 70 laps. Also known as the canteen. By 1974 Long Kesh had extended greatly as there were now several Loyalist Cages containing both U.V.F. Archive of Steve Jensen Design www.stevejensen.design, It wasnt menial work, it was something that you learned a trade at Prisoner, Youd have walked up here and come up, by the football pitches, and up into the VTC Prisoner. Dependent on the prisons population, each cell accommodated either one or two prisoners. Loyalist Wing . And you got your day in by studying, by walking the yard, by running around the yard in the mornings, doing a bit of training, by doing handicrafts, by political discussions, reading, arguing. It was possible to gain qualifications through the centre and obtain City and Guilds certificates. [17] The site is now known as Balmoral Park. In later years, adjacent yards were combined. 35.9k members in the IrishHistory community. Now, the prison authorities referred to them as compounds but we as prisoners referred to them as cages., The prison officer would have came around 7.30, would have opened the door, would have came in and done a head count. 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