1983 escape IRIS
24/07/2008
15:00
Page 9
THE GREATEST ESCAPE
IRIS
• The inside of H7
ceed. Seán then set about the process of demystifying the jail and the screws. He explained the layout of the jail and the weaknesses that the IRA had identified. The task of demystifying the screws was no problem – everyone knew from their own experience that there was nothing approaching invulnerability about the screws in Long Kesh. Seán gave Eddie the plan which contained the details of how the escape was to work and the different roles to be performed. Eddie read it with growing excitement. He changed overnight from a sceptic to someone convinced it could succeed. The plan had logic and every angle seemed to be covered. Besides that, he had confidence in the men leading it. Seán talked him through his role in taking over the wing. Did he think he could overpower a screw and prevent him from hitting an alarm? Eddie thought about it. “No problem,” he said. Seán encouraged him to think carefully about every aspect of his role. Eddie was also briefed to carry out a role in the tally lodge. Dressed in a screw’s uniform, he would have to arrest screws going off duty. He was given maps and briefing papers covering his role and where it fitted into the overall assault on the tally lodge. He was told to study them. A few days later Eddie went to a cell with Bobby and Bik. For two hours he was quizzed on his brief. What do you do after you get out of the lorry? Who will be with you? On your left will be who? On your
right? What do you do with the screws you arrest? He was asked if he had any criticisms or questions. Ten days later, he had another two hours with Bobby and Bik. Every detail was gone over again and his readiness and confidence were assessed. Bobby and Bik went through a similar set of briefings with every escaper who had a complex role to perform. Always, they looked for details they might have overlooked or contingencies they should allow for. What if an alarm was hit? What if a screw locked himself in the toilet? What if the lorry driver is too nervous or refuses to carry out his role? All these and more occupied their minds right up to the day of the escape. The men were briefed on how they were to act towards screws during the escape. They had to psychologically crush them from the first second in a confrontation. An aggressive expression and manner were necessary – screws must immediately believe that the escaper meant business. They rehearsed how to act in an intimidating manner in order to convince a screw that they would shoot or stab him if he offered the slightest resistance. The more their approach was successful, the less likely it would be that any screw would resist. Those to be armed with guns were told to stand open-legged with their gun held out straight in both hands. It was a stance designed to show they were ready, if not eager, to fire.
A policy on when to open fire was very carefully thrashed out over the weeks before the escape. Noise from gunshots was something to be avoided – in order to maintain stealth – and it was important to brief men in a way which accommodated that concern, but not to the degree where it would make them reluctant to open fire in circumstances where it was necessary. The men were told that, as is the case on any operation, the decision to pull the trigger was to be taken at the crucial moment by each man himself. But there were guidelines. It would be necessary to open fire if a screw acted in a way which threatened the operation, an escaper or an escaper’s weapon, or if he tried to reach an alarm button or attempted to raise the alarm in any way. In any of those situations warning shots should not be fired because the screw would be beyond talking to. The aim would be to shoot to stop the target, not to scare him. What had for months been known only to a handful of men was now spreading to include more and more. It was a security headache. Airtight security does not last forever and there would eventually be a slip. Someone who did not know about the escape would notice the preparations or overhear an unguarded comment. Or someone would speak out of turn or be unable to resist the temptation to tell his wife or his best friend – everyone has friends whom they trust and those friends have themselves got friends they can trust. Experience showed that once 9