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.
Portlaoise Prison walls, cameras, sensors and acres of tank traps (Czech hedgehog). The prison has a capacity for 399 prisoners, but because of the security sensitive nature of its inmates, it operates below this capacity and its daily average number of resident inmates was only 119 in 2009. There have been various high-profile attempts to spring prisoners from inside the walls. In 1902, the infamous criminal James Lynchehaun, who was in prison for the attempted murder of Agnes McDonnell, escaped unaided over the walls and made his way to America. The method of escape is well documented in the book, "The Playboy