Talk:1973 Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape

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	1973 Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape has been listed as one of the History good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can delist it, or ask for a reassessment.
March 22, 2008 Good article nominee Listed

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Article Grading: The following comments were left by the quality and importance raters: ([{{fullurl:Talk:1973 Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape/Comments|action=edit}} edit] · refresh) rated as: B-class for quality, because it' comprehensive and well-written, and it's a good article nominee; mid-importance because it is probably the best-known prison escape in the Republic of Ireland, and entered into popular culture --BrownHairedGirl (talk) • (contribs) 11:38, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

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A fact from 1973 Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know? column on 24 March 2008.

[edit] GA on hold

Hi there, I have reviewed this article against the Wikipedia:good article criteria and although I am not quite prepared to pass the article for GA immediately, I don't think there is a long way to go. I have listed below the principle problems which prevent this article from achieving GA status and I have also appended a list of other comments which, whilst they are not essential for GA, may help in the future development of the article. The article now has seven days to address these issues, and should the contributors disagree with my comments then please indicate below why you disagree and suggest a solution, compromise or explanation. Further time will be granted if a concerted effort is being made to address the problems, and as long as somebody is genuinely trying to deal with the issues raised then I will not fail the article. I am aware that my standards are quite high, but I feel that an article deserves as thorough a review as possible when applying for GA and that a tough review process here is an important stepping stone to future FAC attempts. Please do not take offence at anything I have said, nothing is meant personally and maliciously and if anyone feels aggrieved then please notify me at once and I will attempt to clarify the comments in question. Finally, should anyone disagree with my review or eventual decision then please take the article to WP:GAR to allow a wider selection of editors to comment on the issues discussed here. Well done on the work so far.

[edit] Issues preventing promotion

(These issues must be satisfactorily addressed, in the article itself or here, before GA promotion can go ahead)

• I assume that when you say the word "government" you ar talking about the Irish government, but given that the IRA was a cross-border issue it might be better to claify "Irish" or "British".

• Which particular use of "government" are you worried about? It's not used that often, and when it is it seems relatively clear to me. If I'm missing something obvious, just say! One Night In Hackney₃₀₃ 19:42, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

The one which stood out was in the lead. Looking at it again, you've got the Irish music charts just before it, so I'll leave it as it is.--Jackyd101 (talk) 19:54, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

• Some prose needs looking at again in a few places: Some examples below.

• "that sought to end Northern Ireland's status within the United Kingdom" - this doesn't make it clear what the problem with NI's status is. Either give a short, simple explination or perhaps substitute "status" for "membership" or similar.

• Done, assuming you're happy with it? One Night In Hackney₃₀₃ 19:42, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

• "The IRA began making plans to break Twomey, O'Hagan and Mallon out of the prison." - when? Can you provide a little more context here?

• It doesn't say as such. Twomey was imprisoned in September and they escaped at the end of October. When you take into account the abortive previous escape and the time required to plan the helicopter escape, you'd expect it to be almost straight away. One Night In Hackney₃₀₃ 19:42, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

I'll insert the word immediately in there then if its not a problem.

Fine by me. One Night In Hackney₃₀₃ 20:09, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Other comments

(These comments are not essential to passing GAN)

• Do (or should) O'Hagan and Mallon have their own articles? The IRA clearly thought they were important at the time. If they do have them then link, if they don't then consider creating them. Twomey should also be linked when he appears in the main text for the first time as well as the lead (as should the Wolfe Tones and the Helicopter Song).

These are all fairly minor issues, and I'm sure that it won't take very long to deal with them. Congratulations, this is a very good article and once the above are addressed I will be very happy to pass it.--Jackyd101 (talk) 19:25, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Mallon is unlikely, though possible. O'Hagan is slightly more possible. The problem with Mallon is the information is very patchy, for example it's unclear what he was imprisoned for in the first place, although as it was in the RoI it was most likely to be IRA membership or arms possession. Then the information is a bit clearer for a few years while he's in and out of prison, it's unknown (at least in the sources I have access to) when he was actually released from prison, although he pops up again in the early-mid 80s as allegedly being involved in the Shergar kidnap. Both of them are covered more in relation to the Border Campaign which they were both involved in. Looking at the material I have access to which is plenty, I wouldn't really recommend writing articles on either. One Night In Hackney₃₀₃ 19:47, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Fair enough.--Jackyd101 (talk) 19:54, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

It good, I'm going to pass it.--Jackyd101 (talk) 19:57, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. One Night In Hackney₃₀₃ 20:05, 22 March 2008 (UTC)