Political Prisoners and the Irish Conflict 100 Years On
| Published date | 01 October 2021 |
| Author | ANNA BRYSON,KIERAN McEVOY,ALLELY ALBERT |
| Date | 01 October 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12436 |
The Howard Journal Vol60 No S1. October 2021 DOI: 10.1111/hojo.12436
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 79–91
Political Prisoners and the Irish
Conflict 100 Years On
ANNA BRYSON, KIERAN McEVOY
and ALLELY ALBERT
Anna Bryson is Senior Lecturer in Law; Kieran McEvoy is Professor of Law
and Transitional Justice; Allely Albert is a PhD student, School of Law and
the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice,
Queens University Belfast, Northern Ireland
Abstract: This article traces the impact of Irish political prisoners on the prison landscape
in Ireland, north and south, over the past 100 years. Forthe post-1969 period in Northern
Ireland, it explores three different styles of prison management: reactive containment,
criminalisation, and managerialism. It also examines the ways in which political prisoners
sought to resist, including through strategic use of law, dirty protests and hunger strikes,
escapes and the use of violence. The article then discusses the early release of prisoners
under the Good Friday Agreementand the role that ex-prisoners have played in the peace
process. It concludes with some reflections on the ongoing tensions between the state and
dissident republican prisoners, asking what lessons (if any) can be gleaned from the past
100 years.
Keywords: conflict; Ireland; Northern Ireland; political prisoner
The plight of political prisoners in Ireland was discussed at the first annual
meeting of the Howard League for Penal Reform in June 1921.1The
Committee registered ‘grave concern’ regarding ‘very serious allegations
with regard to the treatment of prisoners … in Ireland’. In light of the
Irish authorities’ refusal to facilitate an inspection of places of detention
in Ireland (in contrast to normal practice in England and Scotland), the
Committee requested an immediate and impartial inquiry into their treat-
ment (Howard League for Penal Reform 1921). In a subsequent report
published in October 1921, a series of concerns were highlighted includ-
ing: accusations of torture and inhumane treatment; lack of oversight
regarding political prisoners and internees held under military control
(inaccessible even to Justices of the Peace); and the treatment of women
and girls in male-controlled settings (Anon 1921). Political prisoners and
the challenges that they present remained a constant feature of the penal
79
C
2021 The Authors. The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice published by Howard League
and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which per-
mits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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