A large windowless building which contained a basketball court and weightlifting equipment. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. 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 . Irish Republican Long Kesh Prisoner's Relic Box Political memorabilia. Also known as the canteen. In this year, political prisoners were also granted Special Category Status (which granted them privileges formerly available only to internees). Documentation of an attempted escape from a compound within Maze and Long Kesh Prison, 6 November 1974. Resources are directed towards it and a more liberal attitude adopted towards certain facilities. Due to prison overcrowding, from December 1972 Long Kesh was also used for sentenced prisoners. [13][17] Four more escapees were captured over the next two days, including Hugh Corey and Patrick McIntyre who were captured following a two-hour siege at an isolated farmhouse. In October 2006, demolition work started in preparation for construction on the site. [10] Shortly after 2:30 pm on 25 September, prisoners seized control of H7 by simultaneously taking the prison officers hostage at gunpoint in order to prevent them from triggering an alarm. Taken from an album from the Royal Ulster Constabulary archive collection. Officer James Ferris ran from the gatehouse towards the pedestrian gate attempting to raise the alarm, pursued by Dermot Finucane. Prisoners participating in the protest were "on the blanket". The Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher did not initially give in. 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. PRONI ref: INF/7/A/8/21, Once a week youd maybe get out to the gym Prisoner, You could have played basketball, 5 a sides, volleyball, stuff like that Prisoner. It also includes reflective interviews with . A large single storey building in which food was prepared for the prisoners. When other staff responded via an intercom, a senior officer said while being held at gunpoint that the alarm had been triggered accidentally. 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. Following the prisons closure, the hangars are now the home of Ulster Aviation Society and their collection of aircraft. You couldnt escape it you see. Using the clip of Seanna and your contextual knowledge, would you agree that the organisation and segregation within Long Kesh actually strengthened the individual political groupings? This is my account of what happened during the burning of Long Kesh. One prison officer, James Ferris, who had been stabbed, died after suffering a heart attack during the escape. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. However, the government immediately reverted to their previous stance, in the belief that the prisoners would not start another strike. The Flames of Long Kesh, 15-16 October, 1974: And . D. Morley Camp O/C 4th Batt. PRONI Ref: RUC/12/39/1, I must say it was a happy, busy place, people all seemed to be enjoying what they were doing, it wasnt like slave labour Educator. 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. June 05, 2021 11:00. 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. [36] The men officially remain fugitives, but in 2003 Her Majesty's Prison Service said they were not being "actively pursued". It held prisoners suspected of taking part in armed paramilitary campaigns during the Troubles, with separate wings for loyalists and for republicans. The internees and their supporters agitated for improvements in their conditions and status; they saw themselves as political prisoners rather than common criminals. The Maze Prison escape (known to Irish republicans as the Great Escape) took place on 25 September 1983 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. And the Brits surrounded the compound and they fired in CS gas all round. Following the introduction of internment in August 1971, Long Kesh a disused WW2 airfield near Lisburn, south of Belfast was used as an internment camp. This incident was seen by a soldier on duty in a watch tower, who reported to the British Army operations room that he had seen prison officers fighting. But the British government still resisted and on 5 May, after 66 days on hunger strike, Sands died. 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). Firstly, I will provide a general history of the site and then compare and contrast the different experiences of two groups at Long Kesh/Maze. Never before told from the Loyalist perspective, Plum Smith shares his story of life within Long Kesh prison during the Troubles. Within one month approximately 60 Loyalist Special Category prisoners were relocated to Long Kesh. Courses were offered in motor-vehicle body repair, welding, electrics and joinery. Jul 8, 2019 - This Pin was discovered by Matthew Hillan. In December 1997, IRA prisoner Liam Averill escaped dressed as a woman during a Christmas party for prisoners' children. Not allowed their own clothes, they wrapped themselves in bedsheets. Abstract. But the gate opened the other way. The prisoner who fired the shot was captured after being shot and wounded by a soldier in a watch tower, and the other prisoner was captured after falling. Ulster Unionist Party UUP Election Political Poster Politics Vintage Original. Former Prison Officer Dessie Waterworth describes the control room inside a H-Block at the Maze and Long Kesh. PRONI ref: INF/7/A/8/10, Audio-described tour of the Compounds / Cages at Maze and Long Kesh | PMA, Audio-described tour of the Hospital at Maze and Long Kesh | PMA, Audio-described tour of the H-Blocks at Maze and Long Kesh | PMA. Afterwards, the prison was emptied of its paramilitary prisoners as the groups they represented agreed to the ceasefire. Each H-Block was identified by a number e.g. Some was looking after the tea facilities and stuff like that, others was cleaning out the hut. [2] Those behind Operation Demetrius were accused of bungling, by arresting many of the wrong people and using out-of-date information. [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. fast_forward. TabLyrics. Our republican guide exchanged pleasantries with our new guide and I managed to . 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". 1 The first were internees. 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.. Produced by Sarah McDonagh. 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 . so everyone had a job that was spent at a particular time in the morning occupying themselves. The capacity of the proposed stadium was later adjusted to first 35,000 and then 38,000 and the organising bodies of all three sports Irish FA, Ulster Rugby and Ulster GAA agreed in principle to support the integrated scheme. H-Block classroom, 1981. IRA volunteers regarded themselves as prisoners of war with a duty to escape. 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. On 25 September 1983, the Maze saw the largest breakout of prisoners from a British prison. [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. 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. Thirty-eight prisoners hijacked a prison meals lorry and smashed their way out. And he fired the dinner at him. People are encouraged to write and send cards to the prisoners. 1974: Maze prison goes up in flames. The Maze Prison escape (known to Irish republicans as the Great Escape) took place on 25 September 1983 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. I was no expert on escaping or tunnelling, but every person in the hut was expected to do their duty Prisoner/Internee. 47 relations. The slogan was coined in the 1970s during the Troubles in Northern Ireland and variously credited to Bobby Sands or . The motor mechanics vocational training course , 1981 . 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. There was ordinary prisoners serving the food out and there was a Newry man took exception to one of them because this prisoner was from Newry. The Maze Prison Documentary - Dependent on the prisons population, each cell accommodated either one or two prisoners. [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. 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. Two escaped through the gate, one was captured exiting the car, and another was captured after being chased by a soldier. Others was cleaning out the hut was expected to do their duty Prisoner/Internee, November... 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