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Maze Prison escape. Coordinates: 54°29′19″N 6°6′27″W. The Maze Prison escape (known to Irish republicans as the Great Escape) took place on 25 September 1983 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. 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.
- First, Ira Inmates Became Friendly with The Guards
- The Ira Prisoners Seized H-Block 7 with Smuggled-In Guns
- The Prison Break Turned Deadly
- Half The Fugitives Fled to Ireland
The prisoners initially engaged in a charm offensive to build a camaraderie with prison officers, getting to know them on a first-name basis and harvesting information. High-ranking IRA leaders serving as janitorial orderlies used that camaraderie to gain greater access around the jail, even being permitted to perform cleaning duties inside “the ci...
That afternoon, five IRA prisoners entered the circle of H-Block 7 to carry out their cleaning duties. Everything appeared routine until shortly after 2:30 p.m., when Brendan McFarlane—who had succeeded Sands as the commanding IRA officer inside the Maze—called out “Bumper!” Hearing the pre-arranged codeword, the inmate-orderlies flashed their guns...
The prisoners hijacked the food delivery truck when it arrived at 3:25 p.m., but their getaway was delayed as IRA intelligence officers spent valuable minutes rummaging through prison files in search of details about informers while also removing any photographs and documents that could aid in their own recapture. At 3:50 p.m., 37 prisoners piled i...
While some escapees hijacked cars, others fled on foot into the countryside. A massive manhunt by police and the military resulted in the recapture of 19 prisoners in the first 24 hours after the jailbreak. Most of the fugitives returned to their original cells inside H-Block 7 after their brief flicker of freedom. Those who remained on the lam hid...
Sep 3, 2024 · The 1983 Maze escapees were poster boys for over 100 years of Irish republican jailbreaks. ... Aerial view of the Maze Prison, where 38 IRA prisoners escaped. Photo: PA Images via Getty Images.
- Richard Sullivan
Feb 17, 2018 · In September 1983, 38 Provisional IRA inmates escaped from the top-security Maze Prison — the biggest jailbreak in Europe since the Second World War. One prison officer was shot in the head, but ...
- Belfasttelegraph.Co.Uk
Dec 27, 2013 · NI state papers: New light on IRA prison escape. The mass escape of 38 IRA prisoners from the Maze Prison, near Belfast, on 25 September 1983, in which a prison warder was stabbed to death, is ...
Jun 3, 2024 · 1983: Dozens escape from Maze Prison. Thirty-eight prisoners escaped from the high-security Maze Prison on 25 September 1983. Security forces mounted the biggest search operation that Northern ...
- 2 min
- 1983
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Sep 22, 2017 · Thirty-eight IRA inmates escaped from the Maze prison near Lisburn in County Antrim in September 1983. It was the biggest prison break-out in UK history.
