Paramilitary Imprisonment in Northern Ireland

This book offers a unique analysis of paramilitary imprisonment in Northern Ireland. The central focus of the book is the struggle between inmates and the state concerning the prisoners' assertion of their status as political prisoners. Drawing upon interviews with former Republican and Loyalist prisoners as well as prison managers and staff, this book locates that experience within the broader theoretical literature on imprisonment.

Kieran McEvoy is a Reader in law at The Queen's University, Belfast

General Editors' Introduction

vii

Acknowledgements

ix

List of Figures and Tables

xvii

Background and Definitions

1

(22)

Introduction

1

(1)

Definitional Issues and the Recognition of Political Motivation

1

(6)

Background to Prison Research in Northern Ireland

7

(2)

Background to the Conflict in Northern Ireland

9

(6)

Background to the Prisons in Northern Ireland

15

(3)

Outline of Book Structure

18

(5)

Coping, Resistance, and Political Imprisonment

23

(25)

Introduction

23

(1)

Coping with Imprisonment

24

(7)

Resistance as Political Struggle

31

(3)

Resistance and Power

34

(3)

Resistance as Collective Action

37

(5)

Resistance and Control of Space

42

(1)

Techniques of Resistance Employed by Paramilitary Prisoners in Northern Ireland

43

(5)

Escape: Resistance as Ridicule

48

(24)

Introduction

48

(2)

Escape as Ideological Conflict

50

(1)

The Attitudes of Republican Prisoners Towards Escape

51

(2)

Escapes in the Early 1970s: Opportunism and Adventure

53

(2)

The Risks Involved in Escapes and Escape Attempts

55

(2)

Prison Escapes in England

57

(1)

The Maze Escape

58

(3)

Post-Ceasefire Escapes and Escape Attempts

61

(3)

Loyalist Prisoners' Attitude Towards Escape

64

(3)

Conclusion

67

(5)

Hunger Strike and Dirty Protest: Resistance as Self-Sacrifice

72

(36)

Introduction

72

(1)

Hunger Strike: The Political-Historical Context

73

(2)

Historical Background to Republican Hunger Strikes

75

(3)

Hunger Strikes and Special Category Status in the Early 1970s

78

(2)

Political Status and the Transfer of Prisoners from England

80

(2)

The Body, Dirty Protest, and the Origins of the 1980-1981 Hunger Strikes

82

(9)

The 1980-1981 Hunger Strikes

91

(3)

The Second Hunger Strike and Political Mobilization

94

(3)

The Implications of the 1980-1981 Hunger Strikes

97

(3)

Loyalist Dirty Protest and Hunger Strikes

100

(5)

Conclusion: Hunger Strike and Dirty Protest as Resistance

105

(3)

Resistance and Violence: Power, Intimidation, and Control of Space

108

(29)

Introduction

108

(1)

Prison Violence and Resistance

109

(4)

Assassinations and Intimidation of Prison Staff and their Families

113

(7)

Organized Destruction within the Prisons

120

(6)

Inmate on Inmate Violence

126

(4)

Intimidation, Conditioning, and the Struggle for Control of Space within the Prisons

130

(4)

Conclusion: Power, Space, and Violence as `Part of the Furniture'

134

(3)

Resistance and the Law: Prisons and the Political Struggle

137

(41)

Introduction

137

(2)

Paramilitary Defendants, the Legitimacy of the Courts, and Law as Dialogue

139

(8)

Law, Dialogue with Legal Professionals, and `Adopting the Evidence'

147

(3)

Law as External Dialogue: The Strategy of Internationalization

150

(7)

Law and Struggle in the Prisons

157

(10)

The Prisons, Sinn Fein, and Law as Political Struggle

167

(4)

Law as Absorption or Reconfiguration of Struggle?

171

(4)

Conclusion

175

(3)

Prison Management and Prison Staff

178

(26)

Introduction

178

(1)

Models of Prison Management

179

(3)

Models of Prison Management in the Northern Ireland Context

182

(2)

Prison Management and Relations with Organized Groups of Prisoners

184

(3)

Prison Management and Power Relationships with Prisoners

187

(4)

Prison Management and Prison Staff

191

(4)

Prison Officers in Northern Ireland

195

(9)

Reactive Containment, 1969-1975

204

(23)

Introduction

204

(2)

The Deployment of British Troops, and the Ownership of Security Policy

206

(3)

Internment: Incapacitation of the Enemy

209

(7)

Special Category Status: Political Status and Negotiation with the Enemy

216

(4)

The Diplock Courts and Emergency Legislation: Processing the Terrorists

220

(5)

Conclusion

225

(2)

Criminalisation, 1976-1981

227

(23)

Introduction

227

(1)

Criminalisation and Ulsterisation

228

(4)

Implementing Criminalisation: The Characteristics within the Prisons

232

(2)

Rules Enforcement and the Assertion of Power

234

(5)

The Internalization of Propagandist Positions

239

(4)

Brutality, Violence, and Dehumanization

243

(3)

Hothouse Management and Political and Security Interference

246

(2)

Conclusion

248

(2)

Managerialism, 1981-2000

250

(64)

Introduction

250

(4)

What is Managerialism?

254

(8)

Managerialism as the Articulation of Existing Ideology and Working Practices

262

(1)

The Aftermath of the Hunger Strikes and the Demise of Defeating Terrorism through the Prisons

263

(3)

The Disruption and Quarantining of Paramilitary Influence in the Prison System

266

(14)

Treatment as Individuals and the Struggle Against Paramilitary Influence

280

(5)

Dialogue and Recognition: Managerialism and the Paramilitary Command Structures

285

(3)

Life Sentenced Prisoners and the Pragmatic Assessment of Risk

288

(7)

The Reliance on Paramilitary Discipline

295

(6)

Partnership with Stakeholder Organizations and the Reduction of Conflict with Prisoners' Families

301

(3)

Managerialism, Autonomy, and the Struggle for Organizational Power

304

(5)

Conclusion

309

(5)

Prisoner Release, the Peace Process, and the Political Character of the Conflict

314

(40)

Introduction

314

(1)

The Historical Context of the Early Release of Politically Motivated Prisoners in Ireland

315

(5)

Prisoners and the 1994 Ceasefire Declarations

320

(3)

The British Government Response to the 1994 Ceasefires: `Minimalist and Begrudging'

323

(7)

Prisoners, the Renewed IRA Ceasefire, and Negotiating the Agreement

330

(3)

Prisoners and the Referenda Campaigns

333

(2)

The Prisoner Release Legislation

335

(14)

Prisoner Release and the Acknowledgement of Political Motivation

349

(5)

Epilogue: Political Prisons and the Construction of Memory

354

(7)

Appendix I. A Selected Chronology of Prison Events, 1971-2000

361

(9)

Appendix II. Notes on the Research Process

370

(5)

Bibliography

375

(38)

Newspapers and Magazines Cited

413

(8)

Table of Cases

421

(1)

Table of Statutes

422

(1)

Westminster Debates

423

(2)

Index

425

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Paramilitary Imprisonment in Northern Ireland Resistance, Management, and Release

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials