Joseph Bowers attempt to climb the fence to feed a seagull. However, regardless of Bowers' initial motive, it is indisputable that Bowers ignored the guards' forceful signals to halt and he kept climbing even after the guards began firing, such that he fell on the outside of the fence. Joseph Bowers Joseph "Dutch" Bowers (December 13, 1896 – April 27, 1936) was the first man to attempt an escape from Alcatraz prison. On 27 April 1936, convict Henry Larry claims to have watched Bowers, who was feeding seagulls, stack some empty barrels and climb up next to the fence so he could
Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape "The Helicopter Song", which was immediately banned by the government yet still topped the Irish popular music charts after selling twelve thousand copies in a single week. The escape resulted in all IRA prisoners being held at Mountjoy Prison and Curragh Camp being transferred to the maximum security Portlaoise Prison. In order to prevent any further escapes the perimeter of the prison was guarded by members of the Irish Army, and wires were erected over the prison yard to prevent any future helicopter escape. Cosgrave stated there would be "no hiding place" for the escapees, and a manhunt involving twenty