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Donal (Danny) Donnelly was born September 8, 1939, to Peter and Margaret Donnelly, and raised in the family home in the 'Gallows Hill' area of Omagh, County Tyrone. He tells us that his family had a strong tradition of militant Republicanism, typified by his granduncle 'Red Mick' Gallagher, who was a member of the IRA Army Council in the 1930s, and to a lesser degree by 'Red Mick's' older sister, Granny Donnelly, who was the proprietor of 'The Tyrone Restaurant' in George's Street, Omagh. It was there, as a small boy, that Donal saw Eamon de Valera and Sean MacBride taking part in Anti-Partition League meetings.
Before long, Donnelly had joined the IRA and received military training in preparation for the forthcoming campaign from, amongst others, a young Corkman named Dave O'Connell. In the early 1970s that same Cork man, then known as Dáithí Ó Conaill, would play a prominent role in the leadership of the Provisional IRA. As Operation Harvest got underway December 12, 1956, Donnelly came into contact with many of the other southern-based flying column members, one of whom was my uncle, the late Willie Gleeson, who, in December 1958, helped plan and lead the successful escape of 14 IRA Volunteers from the Curragh Internment Camp in County Kildare.
Donnelly's description of the three years he spent in Crumlin Road provides a fascinating insight into not only the Northern Ireland prison system, but also the IRA command system within A-Wing, where convicted Republicans were confined. He writes with a lovely turn of phrase and each anecdote concerning the camaraderie, boredom, humour and loneliness of prison life are told with the genial ease of a skilled raconteur.
The lack of clear objectives, effective planning and decisive leadership, which Donnelly blames for the gradual collapse of the Border Campaign outside the prison, was also to be found among the Republican leadership within. He recounts how he became increasingly disenchanted with his senior colleagues' unwillingness to mount or authorize an escape attempt, and so with the aid of John Kelly, a native of Belfast, he began to make meticulous preparations for an unofficial breakout. The escape occurred on St. Stephen's Day, December 26, 1960, when, having used hacksaws to cut through the bars on Kelly's cell window, the two men attempted to scale the prison walls with a rope made from sheets and electric cable. Unfortunately, a tear in the rope at a critical moment saw both men crash down from the 25-foot-high wall. Kelly fell back within the prison but Donnelly fell to freedom. The author's account of the planning, preparations and the breakout itself is gripping, but it is matched in excitement by Donnelly's attempts to avoid the subsequent manhunt one of the largest ever mounted in the Six Counties. The successful outcome to the escape was only made possible by the assistance of members of the nationalist community, and Donnelly is generous in his praise and thanks to the many valiant people who, at great personal risk, sheltered, fed and clothed him and eventually spirited him to safety across the border. What is fascinating, and sad, as well, is how Donnelly's escape has never became part of the legacy of dramatic IRA escapes from British lockups. Donnelly tells how the senior IRA leadership would not recognize him as part of the IRA within the gaol because he had inadvertently recognized a British court in an earlier brush with the law. The same petty squabbles and jealousies also existed in
The Curragh, and when my uncle and his 13 comrades escaped from there
in 1958, the IRA prison leadership attempted to have them
court-martialled because they had not sought official permission from
them to escape. Donnelly mentions in the book how, after the Good Friday
Agreement, he was finally able to visit the prison and was surprised to
find no mention of his escape anywhere in the prison museum. Donnelly
told the prison/museum authorities his story and they were happy to
rectify the records. The concluding chapters of the book reveal much about the character of Donnelly. They speak of a young man who rejected self-pity and bitterness and instead strove to build a new life for himself in the Irish Republic. The same resourcefulness, perseverance and indomitable spirit that he displayed within Crumlin Road Gaol enabled Donnelly to become a successful businessman, while his sense of justice and innate humanity also made him a champion for workers' rights and the marginalized within Irish society. WGT Prisoner
1082: Escape from Crumlin Road, Europe's Alcatraz
This feature was edited by Gerry Regan and produced by Joe Gannon. Copyright © 2011 by Kieron Punch and GAR Media LLC. This article may not be resold, reprinted, or redistributed without prior permission from the author. Direct questions about permissions to permissions@garmedia.com.
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