#OTD in 2014 – Author and activist, Gerry Conlon dies of cancer, aged 60.

21/06/2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

“I have been in prison for something I did not do. I am totally innocent. The Maguire Seven are innocent. Let’s hope the Birmingham Six are freed.” Gerry Conlon, was one of the so-called Guildford Four, convicted on fabricated evidence of the Guildford pub bombings in 1974 which killed five people and injured dozens more; […]

#OTD in 1976 – The Maguire Seven | Guilty in Law, innocent in Fact.

04/03/2021.Reading time 3 minutes.

‘Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail.’ Forced (beaten) confessions, contaminated forensic kits, a rush to justice following IRA atrocities in Britain and sloppy police practices ensures that Anne Maguire, her husband Patrick, sons Vincent 17, Patrick 14, brother, brother-in-law and a family friend are found guilty of […]

#OTD in 1980 – Guiseppe Conlon dies an innocent man in an English prison.

23/01/2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

Guiseppe Conlon was arrested while travelling to London from Belfast to help his son, Gerry Conlon. Guiseppe had one lung, emphysema, and had just undergone chemotherapy. He died in prison five years later. On 5 October 1974 the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) targeted Guildford, Surrey, because it was situated close to a number of […]

#OTD in 1989 – After serving 15 years in prison, the “Guildford Four” are released in what is considered to be one of the biggest-ever miscarriages of justice in Britain.

19/10/2020.Reading time 3 minutes.

On 19 October 1989, Gerry Conlon stormed out of the Old Bailey in London, with his sisters Bridie and Ann, and delivered an extraordinary, impromptu speech that has become iconic in recent Irish history: “I’ve been in prison 15 years, for something I didn’t do. Something I didn’t know anything about. I’m a totally innocent […]