Brixton Prison IRA escape 1991 19 IRA members escaped from Portlaoise Jail on 18 August 1974 after overpowering guards and using gelignite to blast through gates, and 33 prisoners attempted to escape from Long Kesh on 6 November 1974 after digging a tunnel. IRA member Hugh Coney was shot dead by a sentry, 29 other prisoners were captured within a few yards of the prison, and the remaining three were back in custody within 24 hours. In March 1975, ten prisoners escaped from the courthouse in Newry while on trial for attempting to escape from Long Kesh. The escapees included Larry Marley, who would later
Brixton Prison IRA escape 1991 escape from a British prison in history. Both Pearse & Nessan were awaiting trial on charges relating to a suspected IRA plot to assassinate a former brewery company chairman, Sir Charles Tidbury. The escape happened at a period of heightened IRA activity in mainland Britain. In February 1991 the IRA had fired mortars at 10 Downing Street, home of the British Prime Minister and 11 days later bombed Victoria and Paddington stations in London resulting in one death and dozens of injuries. Two pistols were smuggled into Brixton prison to the IRA volunteers. When a prison guard came to open