Séamus McElwaine
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Séamus Turlough McElwaine (also commonly spelled Seamus McElwain) (Irish name: Óglach Séamus Mac Aloine) (b. April 1, 1961 – 26 April 1986), was a member (volunteer) in the South Fermanagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
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[edit] Background
McElwaine was born and grew up in Knocknacullion, near Scotstown, County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. At the age of 14, McElwaine made his first steps towards becoming involved in physical force republicanism when he joined Na Fianna Éireann. At the age of 16, McElwaine turned down an opportunity to study in the United States of America and joined the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
[edit] Paramilitary career
McElwaine served with the South Fermanagh Brigade was an active Volunteers and was said to have slept in ditches waiting to ambush British Army or RUC patrols, and carried out several attacks on British security forces.
McElwaine was arrested in 1980, an extremely active year for the South Fermanagh Brigade, and was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of an RUC reserve constable and a UDR soldier, both of which were off duty at the time of their murder.
[edit] Maze escape
On September 23, 1983, McElwaine was involved in the largest break-out of prisoners in Europe since the World War II and in British prison history. McElwaine, along with 37 other republican prisoners, armed with 6 hand-guns, hijacked a prison meals lorry and smashed their way out of HMP Maze past 40 prison wardens and 28 alarm systems. During the escape Gerry Kelly shot and injured a prison warden as the officer attempted to foil the escape.[1].
During that time he held a meeting with Pádraig McKearney and Jim Lynagh, members of the Provisional IRA East Tyrone Brigade, in which they discussed forming a flying cloumn independent of the IRA with the aim of going on the offensive by destroying police barracks and establishing liberated areas within Northern Ireland. However, this plan never materialised.
On April 26, 1986 McElwaine and another IRA volunteer, Séan Lynch from Lisnaskea, were preparing to ambush an army patrol near Rosslea in County Fermanagh when they were ambushed themselves by the SAS. Both were wounded but Lynch managed to crawl away. McElwaine was interrogated for several minutes and then died.[2][3][4]
[edit] References
- ^ Maze party with jelly and ice cream by Nicola Byrne, The Observer Special Reports, 21 September 2003
- ^ Remembering McElwain
- ^ File on paramilitary prisoners freed early
- ^ Urban, Mark (1993). Big Boys' Rules: SAS and the Secret Struggle Against the IRA. Faber and Faber, p. 219. ISBN 0-571-16809-4.
