Maze Prison escape Maze Prison escape 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, and held prisoners convicted of taking part in armed paramilitary campaigns during the Troubles. In the biggest prison escape in UK history, 38 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoners escaped from H-Block 7 (H7) of the prison. One prison officer died of a heart attack as a result of being
Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape observed already, as other Ministers are wont to use State cars. The IRA released a statement on the escape, which read, "Three republican prisoners were rescued by a special unit from Mountjoy Prison on Wednesday. The operation was a complete success and the men are now safe, despite a massive hunt by Free State forces". Shortly after the escape Twomey gave an exclusive interview to German magazine "Der Spiegel", where the reporter said people throughout Europe were joking about the incident as "the escape of the century". Irish rebel band the Wolfe Tones wrote a song celebrating the escape called