HM Prison Armagh 1979, Agnes Wallace (40), a prison officer, was shot dead and three colleagues were injured in an Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) gun and grenade attack outside the prison. The prison was the scene of a protest by female Irish republican prisoners demanding the reinstatement of political status, although the numbers involved were much smaller than in the Maze (also known as Long Kesh) men's prison. As all women prisoners in Northern Ireland already had the right to wear their own clothes, they did not stage any sort of blanket protest, but the no wash protest included the smearing of
Irish Republican History Museum by a committee made up of volunteers. Hickey was the former Officer Commanding of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoners in Armagh Women's prison and she dedicated her life to preserving artifacts and relics from the period in Irish history known as The Troubles. The museum was officially opened by Fr. Des Wilson and Noelle Ryan. Exhibits have been donated by hundreds of individuals and families. These include prisoners handicrafts made by republicans imprisoned around the world, weapons used by republicans and pictures and artwork relating to the conflict. Some exhibits date back as far as the United Irishmen's