Armagh Women's Prison
Encyclopedia
Armagh Prison in Armagh
, Northern Ireland
is a former prison. The construction of the prison began in the 1780 and it was extended in the style of Pentonville in the 1840 and 1850s. For most of its working life Armagh Gaol was the primary women's prison in Northern Ireland. Although the prison is often described as Armagh women's Gaol, at various points in its history, various wings in the prison were used to hold male prisoners.
On 19 April 1979, Agnes Wallace (40), a prison officer, was shot dead and three colleagues were injured in a Provisional Irish Republican Army
(IRA) gun and grenade attack outside the prison.
The prison was the scene of a protest by female Irish Republican prisoners demanding political status, although the numbers involved were much smaller than in the Maze
(also known as Long Kesh) men's prison. As all women prisoners in Northern Ireland already had the right to wear their own clothes, they did not stage any sort of blanket protest, but in their case the dirty protest included smearing their menstrual blood on the cell walls. Three women in Armagh took part in the 1980 hunger strike: Mairéad Nugent, Mary Doyle and Mairéad Farrell
, who was shot by the SAS
in Gibraltar
in 1988. No Armagh prisoners took part in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike
.
The prison closed in 1986. In 2009 it was announced that the prison was to become a hotel.
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
is a former prison. The construction of the prison began in the 1780 and it was extended in the style of Pentonville in the 1840 and 1850s. For most of its working life Armagh Gaol was the primary women's prison in Northern Ireland. Although the prison is often described as Armagh women's Gaol, at various points in its history, various wings in the prison were used to hold male prisoners.
On 19 April 1979, Agnes Wallace (40), a prison officer, was shot dead and three colleagues were injured in a Provisional Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
(IRA) gun and grenade attack outside the prison.
The prison was the scene of a protest by female Irish Republican prisoners demanding political status, although the numbers involved were much smaller than in the Maze
Maze (HM Prison)
Her Majesty's Prison Maze was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from mid-1971 to mid-2000....
(also known as Long Kesh) men's prison. As all women prisoners in Northern Ireland already had the right to wear their own clothes, they did not stage any sort of blanket protest, but in their case the dirty protest included smearing their menstrual blood on the cell walls. Three women in Armagh took part in the 1980 hunger strike: Mairéad Nugent, Mary Doyle and Mairéad Farrell
Mairéad Farrell
Mairéad Farrell was an Irish volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army . She was killed by SAS soldiers during Operation Flavius, a British Army operation to prevent a bombing in Gibraltar.-Early life:...
, who was shot by the SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
in Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
in 1988. No Armagh prisoners took part in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike
1981 Irish hunger strike
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...
.
The prison closed in 1986. In 2009 it was announced that the prison was to become a hotel.
Further reading
- Official Pictures of the Prison
- Three Gaols: Images of Crumlin Road, Long Kesh and Armagh Prisons; Author: Robert Kerr. Publisher: MSF Press, [2011] ISBN 9780956806901