The Maze Prison Escape – Thirty‑Eight IRA Inmates Break Out

The episode follows the planning and execution of a 1978 escape from the Maze prison in Lisburn, where thirty‑eight Provisional IRA inmates seized hostages to gain freedom. It examines how the escape was orchestrated through smuggled weapons and inside cooperation, and what the event revealed about security policy, police responses, and the IRA’s propaganda machine. The discussion also looks at the longer‑term implications for Northern Ireland’s policing reforms and the eventual closure of Maze in 2000. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices