Maze officers' bravery on day of jailbreak
TWENTY five years ago today, Billy McKane rammed his car into a prison food van containing armed IRA terrorists breaking out of the Maze Prison.
Ignoring an IRA man brandishing a gun – despite shouted warnings that he would be killed – he pursued the fleeing prisoners and returned four terrorists to the jail.
COMMENT ON THE BREAKOUT DOCUMENTARY ON THE BIG DEBATE
Documentary branded a 'disgrace'
Yesterday, for the first time since 1983, Mr McKane decided to speak publicly about what actually happened on that day.
The 68-year-old said he did not want to be feted for bravery but rather wished to set the record straight after the "blatant lies" of the IRA prisoners broadcast in Monday night's BBC documentary Breakout.
"I was on duty in the car park area of the prison – about 500 yards from the main gate," he recalled. "I was cleaning the area with two colleagues but was finishing at tea time because that Sunday was the Harvest Thanksgiving service in my church and I wanted to get home early.
"I had turned the car and was facing the gate of the prison, getting ready to head on home.
"That evening staff were reporting for duty and everything seemed normal but suddenly there was an officer who went to go through a door. But when the door opened he staggered back, pulled out his whistle and started to blow it.
"I wound down the window and asked what was wrong. 'There's an escape,' he said. 'The IRA have taken over the Tulley Lodge – McFarland's standing in there in a prison officer's uniform and they are in the meal lorry."
Mr McKane, who joined the Prison Service in 1975 and served until his retirement in 1999, recalled what happened next.
"At that point the main gate started to open to let the lorry out. I started the car and as the gate opened I spun round and drove it straight to the front of the lorry.
"I got out and drew my baton and walked up to the passenger door of the lorry."
He didn't recognise the man wearing a prison officer's uniform in the passenger seat, but thought he may have been a new officer.
"I said: 'Get out'.
"He spun round, pointed a gun at me and said 'Keep quiet or you're dead'.
"I slammed the door of the lorry and then they piled out of the back of the lorry and headed towards me.
"I shouted at them: 'Get back, get back!', but one of them pulled a gun out and said 'F*** off or you're dead'.
"Most of them started running and clambered over a fence, dashing up through the fields.
"One of them called Murray got stuck in the fence and that was the point at which (fellow prison officer) Campbell Courtney ran at him."
Then, as the fleeing IRA prisoners got closer to the fields beyond the prison, they became more ruthless. The pursuing prison officers bravely went to tackle them, despite the prisoners being armed.
"Murray pointed the gun at Campbell but he was very brave and kept on and grabbed him. There was a bang and Campbell fell back holding his leg.
"Murray got over the fence but dropped the gun and I went forward and lifted it.
"I went to fire it but it jammed. I cleared the blockage and fired a single shot after him but by now the squaddie in the watchtower realised what was happening.
“He put his rifle out and shouted ‘Halt or I’ll fire’ but he kept running. There was a bang out of the rifle and Murray fell down with a bullet through his leg.”
Mr McKane joined three other prison officers in pursuit across the fields.
The officers followed the banks of the River Lagan until they found some of the prisoners who came out of the water with their hands above their heads.
“We went on up and there was a fella called Sean McGlinchy in the water on our side of the river.
“I pointed the gun that I’d taken off Murray at him and told him to come out with his hands up.
“He came out and we brought the four of them down to the bridge.”
Mr McKane said that he felt Monday night’s documentary did not portray the efforts of the prison officers to be even-handed as they upheld the law – despite the prisoners having murdered one of their colleagues during the escape.
“In the film on Monday night, Storey was interviewed and said that we ripped the clothes off him and kicked him into a police Land Rover.
“That was absolute lies – the police and Army were there at the time but we wouldn’t have done that anyway.”
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Weather for Belfast
Monday 28 May 2012
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Temperature: 12 C to 23 C
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