Maze Prison escape attending a Christmas party, and escaped on the coach taking the families out of the prison. He was never apprehended. The 1983 Maze prison break was dramatised in the 2017 film "Maze", directed by Stephen Burke. 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.
History of Fremantle Prison enquiry investigated the Fremantle Prison riot that occurred at the start of the year. The report suggested that little evidence supported the escape plan theory reported by the media, but that the riot was largely the result of an incident of that morning involving the mistreatment of a prisoner and his subsequent release into Three Division yard. The state government made the decision to decommission Fremantle Prison in 1983, but it remained in operation until 30 November 1991. Prisoners were moved to a new metropolitan maximum security prison at Casuarina and the prison was transferred to the Building Management Authority.