#OTD in 1980 – Guiseppe Conlon dies an innocent man in an English prison, wrongly convicted for the 1974 plot of the Guildford Bombing.

23/01/2018.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”: Gerard ‘Gerry’ Conlon, Patrick ‘Paddy’ Armstrong, Carole Richardson and Paul Hill are released in what is considered to be one of the biggest-ever miscarriages of justice in Britain.

19/10/2017.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 […]

#OTD in 1974 – Guildford Pub Bombing by the IRA leaves five dead and a further 65 injured.

05/10/2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated two 6-pound gelignite bombs at two pubs in Guildford, England. The pubs were targeted because they were popular with British Army personnel. Four soldiers and one civilian were killed, whilst a further sixty-five were wounded. The bomb in the Horse and Groom detonated at 8:30 pm. It killed Paul […]

#OTD in 1991 – The convictions of the Maguire Seven are quashed.

26/06/2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

The Court of Appeal overturns the sentences on the Maguire Seven. In 2005, Prime Minister Tony Blair apologised unreservedly for what happened. “I am very sorry that they were subject to such an ordeal and such an injustice. “They deserve to be completely and publicly exonerated.” Forced (beaten) confessions, contaminated forensic kits, a rush to […]