[New post] #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.

Stair na hÉireann posted: "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 d" New post on Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland #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. by Stair na hÉireann 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 man – I watched my father die in a British prison for something he didn't do. He is innocent, the Maguires are innocent, let's hope the Birmingham Six are next to be freed." Conlon, who died in June 2014, had his wrongful 1975 conviction for the Guildford pub bombings quashed that day, along with Paul Hill, Paddy Armstrong, and Carole Richardson. Gerry Conlon, Paddy Armstrong and Paul Hill – came from the Falls Road area of Belfast. Like many others of their generation, they had fled to London to escape the Troubles and in search of work. The teenager, Carole Richardson, was Armstrong's girlfriend. Conlon's father Giuseppe, who had been in ill-health even before his wrongful conviction, died in prison in January 1980. Paul Hill, speaking in 1994 after his wrongful conviction for the murder of a British soldier in Belfast was quashed. The IRA bomb attacks, on 5 October 1974, killed five people, including four British soldiers. Speaking at Conlon's funeral, his solicitor Gareth Peirce said his words that day "set something in motion that forced us, the rest of the world, Britain, to hold a mirror up to ourselves and see precisely who we were and what we had done," the Irish Times reported. The Maguire Seven – including Giuseppe Conlon, five members of Conlon's extended family, and Maguire family friend Patrick O'Neill – had their convictions quashed in 1991. Richardson, who was just 17 when convicted, lived in almost complete obscurity after being released, until her death in 2012, at the age of 55. Hill married Courtney Kennedy, the daughter of Senator Robert Kennedy, but their marriage ended in 2006. Paddy Armstrong now lives in Dublin with his wife Caroline and just recently released a book, "Life After Life: A Guildford Four Memoir. The Guildford Four and Maguire Seven were officially exonerated by British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2005. Paddy Armstrong, right, at the funeral of Gerry Conlon in Belfast, with wrongfully arrested Birmingham Six member, Paddy Hill. Stair na hÉireann | October 19, 2021 at 10:00 am | Tags: Belfast, Carole Richardson, England, Gerard Conlon, Giuseppe Conlon, Guildford Pub Bombings, IRA, Paddy Armstrong, Paul Hill, The Birmingham Six, The Guildford Four, The Maguire Seven, the Old Bailey | Categories: History, Ireland, Irish History | URL: https://wp.me/p3XCMr-gFU Comment    See all comments Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: https://stairnaheireann.net/2021/10/19/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-4/