28 February 1973 - Kevin Heatley (12), shot dead by the British Army as he sat on a wall chatting with friends, Main Avenue, Derrybeg, Newry. While it is difficult to get an absolute figure on membership levels, sources believe there could be upwards of 200 hardcore people involved, with other disparate elements orbiting around it. The most serious in our prison history.". Get on the ground. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. 13 were kicked or beaten, four were stabbed and two were shot. Last night, a one-time friend who had visited him in Philadelphia told us: "There was always a deep sadness in Terry. McCormick (78) had been ill for some time. Inmate Brendan McFarlane recalls: The reason we chose a Sunday was because Sunday is a closed day. On July 26, 2012, the Real IRA announced that the organization ceased to exist. Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Kelly and McFarlene ended up spending months living in the Republic of Ireland. Minutes later, Nairac was kicking up a fuss at the bar, insisting his cigarettes had been stolen. Fergal Caraher - South Armagh Memorial Garden", Timeline of Official Irish Republican Army actions, Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, glaigh na hireann (Real IRA splinter group), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_members_of_the_Irish_Republican_Army&oldid=1124343283, Provisional Irish Republican Army members, Irish Republican Army (19191922) members, Irish Republican Army (19221969) members, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 28 November 2022, at 12:46. Users are reminded that they are fully responsible for their own Although not involved in the attack, Newry IRA member Eamon Collins was arrested shortly afterwards and interrogated. Golden Brown The Stranglers: Iconic Songs & the story behindthem. Nairac's body was secretly buried and it has never been given up. 18 October 1974 - Michael Hughes (16), member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, shot dead by the British Army, Derrybeg, Newry. 10 October 1983 - Sean McShane (39), mistakenly shot by the Provisional Irish Republican Army while in a bookmaker's shop, Monaghan Street, Newry; a RUC member, was the intended target. The last thing I thought of was the provos. He said it would be up to the parole commissioners to decide if it was safe to release them back into the community. In this way, the prisoners had no idea where they were positioned in the Maze. To make the escape possible, the IRA had to change that. The escape made headlines around the world and was a major security embarrassment to the British Army. At this point, the prisoners were then surprised by a prison officer who came out of the ladies' toilets. Prisoners began calling the officers by their first names and trying to take the tension out of the relationship between prisoner and guard. Protestant Alamy Stock Photo. Irish Republicans refer to the escape as the Great Escape and it was a major morale boost for the IRA at the time. He was recaptured in 1977. policy. And before that he was a schoolboy and juvenile champion. Alamy Stock Photo All the officers who were captured were then brought into a classroom, with their hands tied behind their backs and pillowcases placed on their heads. Police said it was "one of the most significant terrorism cases in recent times". (1998) The Real IRA: after Omagh, what now? Of the escapees, Gerard Fryers and Seamus Campell were never heard of again. In this way, the control room should have been impenetrable. The group then spent three days walking through fields to an IRA stronghold in South Armagh. Like ETA in the Basque County, the group espouses a far-left leaning ideology of revolution, similar to that mooted by other European terror groups in the 1960s and 1970s. He was on a secret mission to meet a new republican contact. The PSNI's head of serious crime, Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray, described the sentences as "another significant milestone in our relentless efforts to protect communities and save lives by disrupting and frustrating the efforts of those involved in terrorist activities". A number of escapees were later tried for his murder but were eventually acquitted after the judge concluded that it could not be proved that the stabbing caused the heart attack which killed him. If anybody phones here you ask him what the problem is, you then take 30 seconds and whatever the problem is you go back to him and say look that's been sorted. This rhetoric is commonplace online but has also made it onto the streets. Clearly troubled by his past, McCormick said a senior republican had informed him that shortly after Nairac was shot that his body had been buried. The third in the pecking order of the Continuity IRA leadership was Joseph "Tiny" Lynch, said the prosecution. Two gunmen fled the scene on foot, according to an RUC spokesman. created content and their own posts, comments and submissions and fully and effectively warrant The lorry then began to drive away from H Block towards the exit route of the prison. All the time, they demanded to know who he really was and what he was doing there. Never thought they get the hell there. The third in the pecking order of the Continuity IRA leadership was Joseph "Tiny" Lynch, said the prosecution. They were eventually arrested in the Netherlands and extradited back to the H Blocks in Northern Ireland in 1986. McCormick told his IRA pals he suspected 'Danny' was an undercover soldier and he wanted to take him outside to give him a hiding. He was riddled with guilt. Most are done by a Preliminary Enquiry where the defence concede there is a case to answer. Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week, Cricketers hope new league will inspire young women, 'Massive toll' of living in a leasehold property, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus. List of members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, Fourth Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Former Chief of Staff of the Provisional IRA, "Internment, the IRA and the Lawless Case in Ireland: 1957-61", "1983: IRA members jailed for 4,000 years", "IRA bomb-maker offers to take lie-detector test at tribunal", "Dad of six previously convicted of IRA membership avoids jail sentence for social welfare fraud", CAIN: Peter Heathwood Collection of Television Programmes - 1993 - BBC Northern Ireland News 10 September 1993, http://www.southarmaghmemorialgarden.com/fergalcaraher.htm, http://www.anphoblacht.com/news/detail/22942, "Former IRA bomb-maker testifies of his guilt over Bloody Sunday", "Outrage at blog claiming Mairia Cahill's alleged rape ordeal was 'year-long sexual liaison' - Seamus Finucane shared the blog on his Facebook page", "1975: IRA kidnappers release industrialist", "Female assassin gets life for murder of innocent van driver", "Search for remains of 'Disappeared' victim Joseph Lynskey", "Irish Republican Army Roll of Honour 1969-2003", "Mystery behind how IRA hunger striker built his property empire", "Dublin City Sheriff seizes Tom McFeely's Ballsbridge home", "CAB probes 140,000 find in Tom McFeely house", "Irish Northern Aid Philadelphia IRA Roll of Honor", "Potential champion powerlifter guilty of IRA membership", Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, glaigh na hireann (Real IRA splinter group), https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=List_of_members_of_the_Irish_Republican_Army&oldid=5309861, Last edited on 21 December 2015, at 21:22, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Patrick "Mooch" Blair, convicted bombmaker of the IRA South Armagh Brigade. Ann Ogilbys brutal murder: Forgotten victims of theTroubles, Kriss Donald The Brutal Racist Killing of an InnocentSchoolboy. If you say a wrong word, it will be your last word., The escape made headlines around the world and was a major security embarrassment to the British Army. Two years after Nairac went missing, the Grenadier Guardsman was posthumously awarded the George Cross. Change). 18 June 1982 - Albert White (60), ex-Royal Ulster Constabulary member, shot by the Provisional Irish Republican Army while driving his car, Balmoral Park, Newry. I am calling on the people involved in these attacks to stop them immediately. It was incredibly secure, with long high fences and many layers between the inmates and the exit. Stephen Murney Easter 2019 Newry So too does leading Saoradh Newry member. Once they got to a safe house, some IRA members were given the option to move to America and assume new identities, while others were offered the chance to resume paramilitary activity. The prisoners ran toward the final gate and climbed over it as the officers chased them. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The most important part of this break out attempt was the prison officers themselves. Alamy Stock Photo The band even asked him to sing more, which he did. Once the prisoners got outside of the prison it was every man for himself. Another problem was that there was a metal bar door between the prisoners and Adams. Terry McCormick was one of several boxing brothers who were brought up in St John's Place, Larne. McCormick continued boxing and found work as a painter and when he married, he moved to Jonesborough in south Armagh. 9 August 1972 - Colm Murtagh (18)a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, died in premature bomb explosion in a garage on Dublin Road, Newry. The judge said neither man had "disavowed their involvement in dissident republican activity", adding that it was evident from the tape recordings that both men played "significant and leading roles" at those meetings of the Continuity IRA. The court on Friday heard that the secret recordings made by MI5 revealed: The men also voiced their frustrations at the lack of weapons, ammunition, low membership numbers and finances to fund their campaign. (Note, "the provos" is a slang term for the provisional IRA. 10 October 1972 - John Ruddy (50), a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, shot by Provisional Irish Republican Army, Dromalane Park, Newry. Read about our approach to external linking. Create an email alert based on the current article, The Explainer is a weekly podcast from TheJournal.ie that takes a deeper look at one big news story you need to know about. Security forces have said there has been intelligence circulating that the group was moving to a more aggressive targeting of security forces. Person A is believed to be British agent Peter Keeley, also known as Kevin Fulton, who was a prominent member of the IRA in south Down at the time. Republicans saw the RUCNorthern Irelands police forceas illegitimate, sectarian, and enforcing British rule.The RUC was a highly militarized police force. February 26th: A 68-year-old Protestant civilian and justice of the peace is assassinated at his home in Newry, County Down, probably by the Provisional IRA. 3 April 1985 - Michael Kay (38), a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and Kenneth Parry (55), a civilian employed at the Courthouse, were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army remote-controlled bomb, hidden in parked car and detonated when a Royal Ulster Constabulary patrol passed, outside the Courthouse, Downshire Road, Newry. (Getty Images), A mural depicting Bobby Sands in the Falls Road on April 10, 2008 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He had some experience with escapes and seemed to be the perfect choice for the job. Contents 1 Background 2 The attack 3 Aftermath 4 References Background He agreed to do an interview provided his face wasn't revealed. He would later serve as a member of Fianna Fil during the 1930s. You observe Sunday like a religious day almost. services and As Nairac veered in an out of consciousness, McCormick shamefully tricked him into beginning his last confession by posing as a Catholic priest. ''The gang has a history of criminal activity and intimidation in the Newry area. The day was dubbed Bloody Thursday by the British press. Over 5,000 readers like you already have stepped up. One officer, James Ferris, suffered a heart attack after being stabbed and died. Townson, originally from Meigh in south Armagh, was wanted for questioning in Northern Ireland and was on the run in the south at the time. It wasnt long before the officers began to start fighting back and the prisoners began to lose control of the tally lodge. Two Volunteers got out of the car and fired 56 shots from AK 47 assault rifles at the crown forces. Within days of the shocking murder, McCormick - who wasn't actually a member of the Provos - left his wife and family in Newry and headed to the States. Part of the site is now known as Balmoral Park which is an outdoor events venue. Around closing time - with the spotlight continuing to focus on him - two republican sympathisers approached Nairac. If you do what I tell, you wont be hurt. The Army and RUC were quick to respond and within ten minutes of the prisoners escaping the prison, checkpoints were established around the prison and on some of the major roads in Northern Ireland. But he was still trusted enough to join an IRA interrogation team checking out the bona fides of a suspect stranger in the Three Steps Inn in Dromintee. , 400px wide Stephen Fuller (d. 1984), a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the Irish War of Independence and fought with Anti-Treaty forces during the Irish Civil War (1922-23). These psychos were obviously baying for blood Mod blood, to beexact. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) organized the escape of 38 prisoners from Maze Prison in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, which took place on September 25, 1983. "The answer is we'll never know now," one said. Morgan, who was jailed in 1975 for causing an explosion at the Ardmore Hotel in Newry, was told he would serve 18 months in custody followed by 18 months on licence. Read about our approach to external linking. Bobby Storey then entered the room with four prison officers. The prisoners needed 12 officers' uniforms to pull off this escape attempt, and needed to match the prisoner with the officer whose clothes they would steal. It traveled in and out of the Maze but also to each and every block in the prison. He excelled academically and finished his education in Dublin's Trinity College. Over the 5-year period that these strikes took place within the prison, 19 prison officers were killed on the outside. On 28 February 1985, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) launched a heavy mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base at Corry Square in Newry, Northern Ireland. In the wake of the escape, 20 prison officers were injured. Lynch received a six-and-a-half-year sentence, with three years and three months to be spent in custody and the remainder on supervised licence on his release. Journal Media does not control and is not responsible Another escapee, Ger McDonell, was arrested in Glasgow, during the arrest of the Brighton Hotel Bomber, Pat McGee, which has been covered in an earlier episode. Police could not have prevented an IRA mortar attack that killed a police constable in Newry, County Down in 1992, a report has concluded. The Assassination of Loud Louis Mountbatten, How you can learn Gaelic literature and culture online with a top Irish university, The story behind Ireland's favorite song, The Cranberries "Zombie", How the Irish (and Welsh) invented romantic love. This saw the mass arrest and internment of 350 Irish people suspected of being involved with the IRA. Rumours at the time suggested it has been put through a meat processing plant and fed to animals on a farm. After the successful attack in Newry, the IRA carried out a further nine mortar attacks in 1985. Sources said there has been an effort by the various dissident groupsto build a concerted and coordinated campaign with groups amalgamating into the New IRA. The rain would be coming in the window and you would be lying there with the maggots all over the place.". 20 June 1981 - Neal Quinn (53), member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, shot by Provisional Irish Republican Army in Bridge Bar, Newry. It was designed in such a way that the officer went in there, then closed a bulletproof door, then closed a metal bar door. The judge said the recordings, which included plots to kill, made for "grim and depressing reading". Explainer: The New IRA and their not-so-new belief in violent republicanism, political leaders and communities joining together in abhorrence. One who didnt was shot in the head. 26 February 1977 - Robert Mitchell (68), a Justice of the Peace (JP), shot by Provisional Irish Republican Army, Windsor Avenue, Newry. The guards at the gate knew the driver's face, and never felt the need to search the vehicle. While security forces have been lucky more than once in catching the terrorist group before the commission of a terrorist act, all it takes is one operation to get through. After months of preparation, the prisoners had amassed a huge amount of information. Some started shooting at the officers to hold them back to allow time for the rest to escape. Copyright 2023 Irish Studio LLC All rights reserved. News images provided by Press Association (Getty Images). One of the officers recalls getting captured by the prisoners: "I didn't know what to make of it. He said: "Working alongside our partners in MI5 we carried out a detailed and painstaking operation over a prolonged period of time to uncover the multitude of conspiracies that this group were planning. (AP Photo) Ref #: PA.10346486 Date: 22/12/1969 The main gate was controlled by people in: "a rather, flimsy, wooden building, to which anyone could have access from inside the prison.". One officer was shot in the leg as he chased the prisoners. Another shell hit the observation tower, while the rest landed inside and outside the perimeter of the base.[6]. The judge said that like Hannaway and Blair, Lynch had pleaded guilty to "serious and specified" offences but he did not believe he posed a danger to the public in the future and had now cut all ties with dissident republican activity. It was agreed that a number of prisoners would stay behind to watch the officers until the 38 had escaped. Expressing regret over the events in Ravensdale, McCormick said: "If me doing this interview can help in any way recover the body of Captain Nairac, it would make me fell a lot better.". McCormick and the others set about beating the soldier senseless. Now the site lies derelict and there are still some small sections of the prison visible but most has been demolished. Elsewhere there had been rioting in Coalisland, Newry and Dungannon. This was a problem for the inmates, as Adams was one of the officers they believed would create difficulty if they tried to overpower him. The prisoners planned each stage of their escape, diagrams were made showing the different alarm points around the prison, where guards could raise the alarm. A former Irish champion boxer, Terry McCormick was 34 when he forced Nairac from a south Armagh pub, suspecting he was a spy, Captain Nairac went on patrol dressed as an IRA man he even carried the IRAs favourite Thompson machine-gun and wore an Easter lily on his beret. Maze Prison in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, pictured here in February 2017. The Governor of Maze Prison resigned and an inquiry was commissioned called the Hennessy inquiry. One of the high-profile. They watched the speeches and walked behind the group as they made their way to Arbour Hill to lay wreaths for the dead leaders of The Rising. Masked nationalist rioters launch petrol bombs at PSNI vehicles in Derry. List of members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, Fourth Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Former Chief of Staff of the Provisional IRA, "Internment, the IRA and the Lawless Case in Ireland: 1957-61", CAIN: Peter Heathwood Collection of Television Programmes - 1993 - BBC Northern Ireland News 10 September 1993, "Vol. They also knew what time the food lorry arrived at, and were confident that they could hijack it and hide in the back. On the 25th of September 1983, the plan was in motion. They then hid out in an IRA weapons stash, which was a tiny crawl space between two floors. He was one of 187 republicans who received on-the-run letters to enable them to escape justice in the run-up to the Good Friday Agreement. Over his career, he worked on many notable cases. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. But, there was no air flowing into this room, and the officers said that conditions inside were impossible if they didn't leave the bulletproof door open. Not all agreed. | One of them was Bobby Sands, who will be covered in a later episode. Alamy Stock Photo. Then my heart started and I thought I was gonna bust out of my chest." There, they would listen to updates about the escape on the radio. This list includes members of the Provisional IRA as well as subsequent splinter groups including the Continuity IRA and the Real IRA. The rest were Republicans. Those involved in the attempt were also only told exactly what they needed to know, so that very few people knew the entire plan. Afterwards, a major building scheme was begun, to give police and military bases better protection from such attacks, IRA kill 9 RUC officers in mortar attack, Newry. For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make a difference. " (Morgan) is clearly someone intricately involved in this dangerous organisation. In seven statements, he named all those involved. But it was partly disinterred by an animal and was then was moved at the insistence of the farmer who owned the land. At one point Kelly asked him how much he earns to which McLoughlin responded "Not f****** enough.". However, the Sunday World can today reveal that McCormick was so riddled with guilt about what he had done that he prayed for Nairac every night before he went to sleep. This work analyzes On February 28, 1985, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) launches a heavy mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base at Corry Square in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter'. submissions or preferences. In a BBC Spotlight Special programme 14 years ago, McCormick admitted: "I told Nairac that he had better make a confession, because unless he told the truth, he was going to be shot. ", The Governor of Maze Prison resigned and an inquiry was commissioned called, James Hennessey went on to say that the key weakness was in the main gate of the prison. Darren Mullen has a simple message for his Newry City players ahead of taking on Glenavon for the second time in seven days. How can parents appeal over school places? Watch for the April 5 investment tax change, Preparing for a future sale of your business, Tom Allen is Completely committed to comedy and 'Auntie Glo', Weekend Q&A: ran Clarke from NI Opera's Nobody/Somebody, Mary Kelly: Unionists' tendency to turn a gift horse into a tin of dogmeat is legendary - and their Westminster chums are getting fed-up with it.

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