Brixton Prison IRA escape 1991 Brixton Prison IRA escape 1991 On the 7 July 1991 two Provisional IRA volunteers Pearse McAuley and his cellmate Nessan Quinlivan escaped from HM Prison Brixton using two hand guns smuggled into them and subduing a prison guard. It was one of the most serious IRA escapes from a prison since the 1983 Maze Prison escape During the Troubles, Irish republican prisoners had escaped from custody "en masse" on several occasions. On 17 November 1971, nine prisoners dubbed the "Crumlin Kangaroos" escaped from Crumlin Road Jail when rope ladders were thrown over the wall. Two prisoners were recaptured, but the
Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape and sentenced to a further two years imprisonment for escaping. Twomey evaded recapture until 2 December 1977, when he was spotted sitting in a car in Sandycove by members of the Garda's Special Branch who were investigating an arms shipment after a tip-off from police in Belgium. Twomey drove away after spotting the officers, before being recaptured in the centre of Dublin after a high-speed car chase. He was also imprisoned in Portlaoise Prison until his release in 1982. Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape The Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape occurred on 31 October 1973 when three Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA)