All language subtitles for Great_Escapes_with_Morgan_Freeman_S01E06_Belfast_Breakout_720p_HEVC

- The most secure prison
in all of Europe.

- There were barbed wires.
There were concrete walls.

There were checkpoints.

It was a multilayered security.

- A tight-knit group
of hardened inmates...

- I had to stay in the jail
for the rest of my life.

- People want to escape.

- Embroiled
in a bloody conflict...

- Prisoners would be beaten
on a daily basis.

[dramatic music]

- In 1983, we had
22 prison staff murdered.

- Plan an escape
of epic proportions...

- The more people
that you're trying to get out,

it's a bigger operation,
more things can go wrong.

- Hoping to pull off
one of the largest

and most elaborate
prison escapes...

♪ ♪

In all of history.

♪ ♪

Some of the greatest stories
ever told start behind bars.

♪ ♪

Locked up in the most
notorious prisons

in the world.

Spied on by guards
and fellow prisoners.

It takes a devious mind
to find a way out.

♪ ♪

It could lead you to freedom

or it could cost you your life.

[gunshot]

But wouldn't you try...
[all shouting]

When you have
nothing left to lose?

♪ ♪

This is a typical cell

in one of the most notorious
prisons ever built in Europe.

The accommodations are sparse:

bed, the chair,

and this pot here?

That's the toilet.

This is not
some Victorian dungeon.

This is 1980s Northern Ireland.

It's a prison built next
to a British military base.

Its name: the Maze.

Over the years,
the legend of this prison's

impenetrable security has grown.

No one can get out
of this godforsaken place.

♪ ♪

But in the early 1980s,

a group of inmates decide
to attempt the impossible.

- What makes the Maze escape
in 1983 so controversial

is the fact that it was

the largest escape
in British penal history.

It was also composed
of prisoners who were deemed

some of the most dangerous
in British prison.

And finally,
it was done from a prison

that was deemed the most
secure complex in Europe.

♪ ♪

- The Maze is not just secure.

It's a hellhole.

Guards control the prisoners
with an iron fist.

- The situation between
the guards and the prisoners

was one of enemy combatants.

♪ ♪

Guards were beating
prisoners daily.

And then on the outside,

prisoners went out of their way

to kill prison guards
when they get out of the Maze.

- This is because
the Maze prisoners

aren't ordinary prisoners.

Most are here for taking part
in a bloody conflict

known as the Troubles.

[explosion]

[whistling]

- Troubles is what the Irish,

in their penchant
for understatement,

called their unsettled
uncivil war.

It's about the status
of Northern Ireland.

♪ ♪

- At the Maze,
many of the prisoners

belong to the Irish
Republican Army

or IRA for short.

They are Catholics fighting
to reunite Northern Ireland

with Ireland.

The guards, on the other hand,
are largely Protestant,

who want the country to remain
a part of the United Kingdom.

Inside the walls of the Maze,

these opposing sides are
forced into close contact.

The atmosphere
is highly charged,

which demands intense security.

♪ ♪

- I've been
in high-security prisons

throughout the United States

and in various parts of Europe.

And walking in there felt like
the most secure prison

I had personally ever been in.

There were barbed wires.

There were concrete walls.
There were checkpoints.

It was a multilayered security.

- No combination of tunneling,
cunning disguises,

or brute force
is going to solve the riddle

of getting out of this lockbox.

But of the 833 prisoners here

in 1983,

there are some
who are willing to try.

♪ ♪

- I was doing two lives
and 25 years.

That meant
I would stay in the jail

for the rest of my life.

If I didn't escape,

that was my life
from that point on.

- Gerry Kelly was convicted
in 1973 for his involvement

in the Old Bailey bombs
at the Law Courts in London,

in which 200 people were injured

and one person died
of a heart attack at it.

- Gerry Kelly isn't alone
in his desire to escape.

Another IRA member
is also desperate to get out.

Brendan "Bik" McFarlane.

♪ ♪

Bik McFarlane is in the Maze

serving a life sentence
for his part

in an attack and bombing
of a bar,

which killed 5
and injured more than 60.

♪ ♪

- Bik and Gerry had
both tried to escape

and had escaped from
various jails and prisons.

And Gerry escaped from a prison

when he was just a kid.

And Bik had tried to escape
from the Maze

dressed as a priest,
but they caught him.

- Trying to focus on escaping,
wasn't just me personally.

People want to escape.

- Gerry and Bik began working
with a larger group

of IRA inmates
on an escape plan.

- The escape plan started

after the IRA camp in the prison

noticed that so many prisoners

were trying to come up
with escape ideas.

They pulled together a team
to form an escape committee.

♪ ♪

- The IRA escape committee

wants to do
something unimaginable:

break out not just
one or two men,

but dozens,

an escape so big
and unprecedented

that it will embarrass
the British government

and its Prime Minister,
Margaret Thatcher.

That is, if it succeeds.

♪ ♪

- The more people
that you try to get out,

it's a bigger operation,
more things can go wrong.

♪ ♪

- The Maze is just that:
a maze.

And it will not give up
its security sequence easily.

- We had to demystify the jail.

It's a huge jail.
It's 360 acres.

♪ ♪

- The IRA prisoners
pass information

about the layout
of this huge, sprawling prison

using an ingenious
communication system.

- They were basically written
on cigarette papers,

which were very fine
and very small writing.

Usually had to prep it
so that it could be read.

- And you covered it
with stretch and seal.

Stretch and seal is that
for wrapping up sandwiches,

which is airtight
once you wrap it.

- These prisoners passed notes
to one another during meals

and at Sunday Mass.

And hidden inside a cheek,

these communications
can even be passed

to and from outside visitors.

- That was a great excuse
to kiss someone.

[laughs]

- These illicit comms begin

to paint a picture
of the Maze's layout.

It's not one prison.
It's several.

There are eight
self-contained prison blocks

known as H-Blocks.

♪ ♪

- The H-Blocks were
in the shape of an H

if you view them from the air.

- Each one of these H-Blocks

has its own security system
of fences and checkpoints

that lead to the prison's
main gate.

The escapees desperately need
a map of these checkpoints.

But their tiny comms can't
convey diagrams or pictures.

That's where
the IRA's large network

comes into play.

♪ ♪

- To get around that,
the IRA was able

to get aerial photos
of the prison

in one
of the British newspapers.

And so that's how the IRA
got around the whole idea

of knowing the layout.

- Once that photo
gets smuggled in,

the Maze's secrets
are laid bare.

- We were able to build up
a complete profile

of the entire prison.

And I was able to draw maps.

- With the layout
of the prison in hand,

the next challenge is
how to make this

a mass escape.

Scaling the walls would be sure

to attract attention quickly.

Digging a tunnel is better

for getting many prisoners
out at once.

But the size
of the prison complex means

digging it could take years.

Only one plan seems feasible:

commandeering a delivery truck

and filling it with prisoners.

But in order to hijack a truck,

you first have to have control
of an H-Block.

- And I came up with this idea
of taking over a H-Block.

♪ ♪

- The escape committee decides
to target H-Block 7

because all the prisoners
within that block are IRA.

There will be no chance
that prisoners not escaping

would rat out the plan.

The IRA maintains strict control

of all its members.

The committee elects
as its leader

famed IRA veteran Bobby Storey.

♪ ♪

- Bobby was kind of a legend

because he was such
a highly active operator.

He finally got jammed up
on a gun possession charge.

And that's what he landed
in the Maze for.

♪ ♪

- Bobby Storey was capable
of reading situations

very, very quickly,

very astutely,
and very clinically

and was one who inspired people
in getting things done.

- With Bobby's guidance,
the men quickly decide

that the only way
to pull off a mass escape

is by taking over
H-Block 7's restricted area,

the crossbar of the H.

- The guards would have been
in that sort of middle area.

♪ ♪

- The crossbar also contains
the H-Block's only exit.

And it's where
the delivery trucks arrive.

Their escape hinges on somehow
getting access to this area.

They have an ingenious idea.

And it involves a mop
and a broom.

- Jobs were crucial
to the escape.

♪ ♪

- An orderly's job
in any prison is maintenance.

You clean, you brush, you mop.

Generally things like that.

- The escape crew
slowly infiltrates

H-7's secure areas as cleaners.

And the guards get used to them.

♪ ♪

All is on track

until a guard from another block

recognizes Bik McFarlane

in this secure area.

- He knew me by first-name terms

and engaged
in conversation with me.

Said, "What are you doing?"

I said, "I'm just tidying up
a few things out here."

He immediately went down
to the senior officers' room.

And he said to the two of them,

"What is he doing
out of his cell?"

And they said, "Well, he's one
of the orderlies."

"Doing what?"
"Cleaning up here."

And he told 'em,
"You will rue the day.

"I wouldn't let him or Storey
or Kelly out of their wing.

"Let them sit in their cell.

"You should not allow
people like that

out into sensitive areas."

- These guys were the hardest
of the IRA men in there.

♪ ♪

For this guard to see
these guys all of a sudden,

"Oh, yeah, we'll go along
with the prison regime,"

that didn't add up.

It smelled.
And he was right.

♪ ♪

- If the prison's
administration decides

that Bik or his coconspirators
can't work

in this restricted area,

they'll never get out
of their H-Block,

let alone drive
out of the prison

in the back of a delivery truck.

They will be trapped
in the Maze for years.

♪ ♪

- A group of IRA members
in Her Majesty's Prison Maze

is planning an escape,
an audacious one.

It involves dozens of men

and getting access to this
off-limits control room.

[dramatic music]

The plan is working
until one man, Bik McFarlane,

is flagged as a security risk.

Now the whole escape
is in jeopardy.

- There was an argument ensued
because he had said,

"If I were the governor
in this block,

they wouldn't be
out of their cells."

To which he was told,

"Well, you're not
the governor in this block.

And this is the way
we run it."

So he says,
"Well, you're making a mistake

and you will rue the day."

And I didn't see him after that.

♪ ♪

- The IRA conspirators
can keep their jobs

in the restricted crossbar
of their H-Block.

And they can focus on accessing

its most secure area,

the control room.

This is the main point
of communication

between the outside world
and the block.

♪ ♪

- You don't control that,
you're not getting to step two,

step three, step four.

You had to get in there.

You had to be able to disarm
the person

who would raise the alarm
during an escape.

♪ ♪

- Prisoners may be allowed in
the restricted areas to clean,

but under no circumstances

are they allowed
in the control room.

Its door must remain
locked at all times.

♪ ♪

The conspirators realize

their only chance of getting in

is to cultivate friendships
with the guards.

That's an almost impossible task

considering the current
political climate

in Northern Ireland

and especially within the Maze.

♪ ♪

- They took it out on the staff

by attacking them
in their homes,

attacking their families,
and by murdering staff.

In 1983, the time of the escape,

we had 22 prison staff murdered.

[gunshot]
[glass shatters]

- Prisoners were being beaten
on a daily basis.

There was an atmosphere
of complete distrust

from both sides.

So we were trying to shift
from that atmosphere

into an atmosphere
which was needed to get

a substantial number
of prisoners out of jail.

♪ ♪

- The IRA prisoners

suddenly started
being nice to the guards.

Start talking
about football, soccer.

And very, very purposely,

prisoners started
referring to guards

by their first names.

It was a disarming tactic.

♪ ♪

- With the guards more relaxed,

tea becomes
a potential lubricant

to get past that locked
control room door.

♪ ♪

- We began to make them tea
when we made our own tea.

- But the tea is not enough

to have them
leave the door open.

♪ ♪

- Now, you can pass
a cup of tea through a grill.

When we made toast,
you can't put a plate through.

- Toast could be just what's
needed to open this door.

♪ ♪

But will the guards go for it?

- And we did this for weeks
and weeks and weeks

until we ended up,

padlock was off, door was open.

We could go over, set the tea
and toast in front of them,

walk out, and close it again.

That became the norm.

- With the door open,

the escapees still need
to figure out

how they can subdue a guard
in the control room,

because with a flick
of his wrist,

he could alert the authorities
in mere seconds.

They're going to need
something brazen and bold,

something that would be
impossible to obtain

within the walls of the prison.

- Weapons were necessary
to do it.

♪ ♪

- What they needed was arms
and ammunition

smuggled into the prison.

- To this day,
the IRA has never disclosed

how the guns got in there.

It's the $64,000 question.

But I think the IRA
is protecting people

that helped them get the guns.

- What we do know is that when
the guns come into the Maze,

they aren't delivered
to H-Block 7.

They are smuggled into
another part of the prison

and have to be moved
to H-Block 7.

♪ ♪

[gun cocks]

- The movement of guns
is a well-known strategy

and tactic by the IRA.

They move guns quite regularly
on the outside

under all sorts of scrutiny.

But moving it within the prison

obviously is a lot riskier.

- The guns come in,

and what they were
transported in was--

I don't know if they know them
in America,

but they're called
Dr. Marten boots.

- The soles of the boots
are hollowed out

so that they can fit

very small .22
and .25 caliber guns.

♪ ♪

- So one person would wear
a pair of boots

and take them on a visit
or to one of the workshops.

And they simply swapped them

out of the sight
of any prison guards.

- But the gun transfers don't
always go exactly to plan.

♪ ♪

On one transfer,

a nervous prisoner
is walking back to his cell

in H-Block 7

wearing shiny new boots
containing the guns.

He must remain calm, cool,
and collected.

He needs to get to his cell
before a guard stops him.

♪ ♪

And sure enough,
just 50 feet from his cell,

he is stopped.

♪ ♪

- One of the prison guards said,

"Did you get
a pair of new boots?"

- If the guard searches him

and finds the guns in his boots,

not only will the escape
be scrapped,

but this now friendly H-Block

will return to its brutal past.

- For several months,

a group of prisoners
has been planning a mass escape

from the Maze prison
in Northern Ireland.

The key to the plot:
small handguns

smuggled inside
in the soles of boots.

Without guns,
the escapees can't hope

to hold two dozen guards at bay.

But now, one prisoner
is being stopped at security

when a guard spots
his shiny new boots.

If the prisoners get searched
and the guns are found,

the whole escape
is certainly dead

and severe punishment
is in store

for all the conspirators.

- And he said in a friendly way,

his wife's name was Kith,
and he says, "That's from Kith.

"She sent me in these boots.

"I'm not that fond of them,

but I suppose
I have to wear them."

And he says,
"Yeah, I like the boots,"

you know, and went on.

- It's a close call,
but the guns arrive

in H-Block 7.

The weapons are in the block.

Now the prisoners must find
a secure place to store them.

And the best place is
right under the guards' noses.

[dramatic music]

- We found a place
in the storeroom

where you store everything
for the entire block.

- The storeroom is
in the secure area,

the crossbar of the H-Block.

- So we claim down under
the very, very bottom shelf.

We were able to hide them
in there, cover it over,

and then pack everything
back in on top of it.

So we were able to secure
the weapons

until the day
before we needed them.

- With access
to the control room

and an arsenal of guns
stashed close by,

the prisoners have all they need

to get out of H-Block 7.

But that doesn't get them
out of the Maze.

Not even close.

They need to secure the truck

that can get
dozens of them to freedom.

♪ ♪

- So the idea came up,
we could take over the truck,

hijack the driver,

and use the truck to fill it up

with as many IRA prisoners
as possible.

And it was identified
as a potential weak spot

because it was discovered
that this prison truck

was used by prison guards
if they were moving house.

- So it would not
raise suspicion

leaving the Maze's main gate.

That is, of course, as long
as the guard driving it

does not give them away.

- We needed a prisoner
lying on the floor

to hold that prison guard,
the driver,

to drive the truck
out of the jail.

I was picked as the prisoner
who would take that job.

♪ ♪

- Even with the plan
to hijack a truck

and hold the driver hostage,
there is still

one more obstacle
between them and freedom.

To leave the Maze,
you have to pass the main gate

and then the external
British military checkpoint.

And you can't get past
the military gate

without a pass you receive
at the first gate.

♪ ♪

- The security building
was where you would get

that pass that you needed
to get out of the prison

through the British
military checkpoint.

Once you get through there,
you're free, you're gone.

- The security building
had to be physically taken over

to make sure that
under no circumstances

was any alarms given off.

We had to secure that
and put our people in it

while we exited

the main hydraulic gate
of the prison proper.

- The catch is that
this security building

is often full of guards,

especially at shift changes,
since all guards

going in and out of the prison
must check in here.

So the prisoners must time
the escape just right

or else they'll face
an army of guards.

♪ ♪

Finally, they have
all the elements

of their escape plan
figured out,

at least in theory,
but will it work in practice?

There's just one way
to find out.

- We did a full dress rehearsal

before the escape

to see that everything worked.

Everything had to go
like clockwork.

There was no time
for making mistakes.

- First, prisoners assigned
to stop guards

from hitting alarm buttons
throughout the block

get into position.

Then the core escape team

congregates in the restricted
zone on the crossbar.

- We all went
into the storeroom.

We didn't stay there long,

just gathered to make sure
that nobody said anything.

♪ ♪

- Will the guards notice
that something is afoot?

♪ ♪

And will this be the end
of their escape plans?

- It was noticed, but...

nobody paid any attention to it.

♪ ♪

- The dress rehearsal works.

The full plan is now in place.

Take over the control room
using guns to subdue the guards

and prevent any alarms
from being sounded.

Hijack the truck and its driver

at H-Block 7's loading dock,

put up to 40 prisoners
in the back of the truck,

get through the main gate

with the truck driver
at gunpoint,

overwhelm security
at the military gate,

and drive out
of the prison grounds.

Then meet up
with their IRA contacts

at the nearby road.

What can go wrong?

[dramatic music]

- September, 1983.

Her Majesty's Maze prison,

one of the most secure prisons
in Europe,

is about to be tested.

A small team of IRA prisoners
that spent five months

meticulously planning
a mass escape from H-Block 7.

Now they learn
from their IRA command

that a date is set,

Sunday, September 25th.

♪ ♪

The night before the escape,
Bik meets Gerry Kelly

in the cafeteria
where a movie is playing.

- They turned the lights off,

and they were starting
the video.

And the title came up
and it said,

"I Escaped
From Devil's Island."

That was the name of the video.

- The film is about an escape
from an infamous prison.

- And I went, "Oh."

I says, "There's a bit
of an omen for tomorrow."

- So the rest
of the conversation was about,

"Is everything okay?"

Everything was prepared.

It was just a matter
of waiting for the next day.

♪ ♪

- Sunday comes.

Bik makes his way
to the restricted zone.

He's tasked with making sure
the coast is clear

and giving the signal
to start the escape.

- My first thing that I did

was to check
that everything was clear,

there was no issues,
that it was calm.

The senior officer who was there

was supposed to leave,
but he didn't.

I was waiting for him
to leave the block.

- With the 4:00 p.m.
prison shift change

just an hour and a half away,
Bik has a choice to make.

Does he wait for
the senior officer to leave,

or does he just go for it?

♪ ♪

- I just had to move.

♪ ♪

- The escape officially began
with Bik McFarlane yelling,

"Bumper," the name of the floor
polishing machines.

So once "bumper" was yelled,
it was on.

- So I shouted
to the prison guard down,

"Is the bumper down
in A and B?"

And someone shouted out,
"No, it's not here.

Try far side, C and D."

So that alerted everybody
on our wing, on A and B,

to get into position.

So when I shouted down
for C and D,

"Is the bumper down there?"

Bobby Storey shouted,
"Yes, it's here.

I'll bring it out."

So the prison guard let him out

through the double gates,

and he brought the bumper
into the storeroom.

And at the same time,
Gerry Kelly had come out

with something to be brought
and was allowed out.

♪ ♪

- The core escape team
congregates in the storeroom.

Each man grabs his weapon.

♪ ♪

- We were all in place to move.

♪ ♪

- Bobby Storey
and another prisoner

entered the officer's lunchroom

in the restricted zone

where there are
four prison guards.

- Bobby Storey
produced his weapon.

He cocked it for effect.

And he said--
And he said it quietly,

"Get on the ground."

And they looked up
and laughed at him.

Thought it was a joke
in the middle

of the most secure prison
in Europe.

♪ ♪

"It's not a joke.
Get on the ground.

"Do exactly what I say
and you'll be okay.

If youse don't,
we've got guns."

- Once they had the guns,

they had the power
and the control.

The prisoners didn't have
to prove they're bona fide.

Staff knew that
if the prisoners were intent,

that they were
in serious danger.

So they were going to comply.

- So what happened, it's almost
like a ripple effect.

If you drop a pebble
into a pool of water,

the ripples all go out
simultaneously,

concentrically.

- Then people who were
down in the blocks,

they knew that it was
their time then

to pull them away from the alarm

so you can't get out the alarm.

- I would say 20 seconds,

everybody was under arrest
in any vulnerable positions.

♪ ♪

- Gerry Kelly's next job

is to take over the control room

in the restricted zone.

This is one of the most
critical moments

in the escape plan.

If he fails, they will
all be caught for sure.

♪ ♪

- I point the weapon
in through the grill.

♪ ♪

I knew the prison guard
that was on.

And I said, "John,
this is an IRA operation.

"This is a gun.

I need you to do exactly
what I tell you."

- They didn't want
to hurt anybody.

But they would not hesitate
to hurt somebody

if they try to raise the alarm.

- Gerry tells the guard
to get down on the ground

so that he won't be able
to hit the alarm buttons.

- I could see him
just sizing it up.

- If the guard is going
to raise the alarm,

it has to be now.

- And I says, "John, don't."

♪ ♪

And he got down on the ground.

♪ ♪

- But just as John Adams
lies down on the ground,

an unaccounted for guard
comes out of the toilet

into the main lobby
of the restricted zone.

[toilet flushes]

- Gerry Kelly looked away
momentarily.

And Mr. Adams
took his opportunity,

despite the risk to himself,

did try to close the door
to secure the control room

so that he could
raise the alarm.

♪ ♪

- I can't see what's happening.
And I hear two shots.

[gunshots]

- It's about 2:50
in the afternoon on Sunday,

September 25, 1983.

Less than 20 minutes
into the escape

from Her Majesty's Maze prison,

things are already
getting out of control.

IRA prisoner Gerry Kelly

has secured the nerve center
of H-Block 7.

But in the process,
a guard has been shot.

- According to the official
report into the escape,

it was Gerry Kelly who shot
a prison officer in the head,

John Adams.

[gunshots]

[dramatic music]

He was attempting
to raise the alarm.

- When he came to,
I went over to him.

And I said, "Are you okay?"

I just wanted to know
if he could talk.

And I says, "What did you
do that for, John?"

And he says, "I know, I know."

And I says, "Well, we're
getting you medical attention

as soon as we possibly can."

- The officer isn't
the only guard injured

during the taking of the block.

Several others are wounded.

The guards now know
that the prisoners

are deadly serious.

- All guards who were arrested

were brought to a classroom.

Took the uniforms
from whichever ones we needed.

And we gave them, like, a poncho

and we put pillowcase hoods
over their heads

so they couldn't see
who was guarding them,

who was staying behind
to guard them.

- The escapees now have
complete control

over the H-Block guards.

♪ ♪

The team moves into
the second part of their plan:

wait for the food truck
to arrive.

It's scheduled to get
to H-Block 7 at 3:15.

Timing is critical.

The chance of their takeover
being discovered increases

every second that ticks by.

If they are late
even by one minute,

they run the risk

of the prison
shift change occurring,

which will mean more guards
at the prison's main gate.

♪ ♪

And the truck is late.

♪ ♪

- The food truck came late.

And this was the part
of the escape

that you couldn't rehearse.

♪ ♪

- The driver is greeted
at gunpoint.

♪ ♪

The message is clear.

Do what we say, or else.

- So what happened then was,
they brought the driver,

and we had
taken over the medics room

and displayed a large board
with the maps

and the diagrams of the camp.

We put pistols and ammunition
on the table.

- And he's told he's now part
of the escape plan.

He is tied to a piece of cord

that is linked
to the hand grenade.

So alongside that,

Gerry Kelly,
he's donned a prison uniform,

he's lying there with his gun
trained on the driver.

- There was no grenade,

but at this stage,
he was believing

sort of anything
that we were telling him.

- Now that they were
in control of the food truck,

37 prisoners pile into back.

And that is now
this escape vehicle

that they hope will drive them

out of the Maze complex
into freedom.

- That is, if it can get
to the main gate

before the 4:00 p.m.
shift change.

The stakes are getting higher
every minute.

The driver, held at gunpoint,

tries to stay calm
as he starts the engine

and pulls out.

♪ ♪

There is no going back.

- Well, my nerves were
not exactly very calm

in the back of the truck.

I was standing up
as Bobby Storey was standing.

Everybody else was seated.
Complete silence.

We told everybody
when we got in,

"Nobody speak a word
until we're outside."

Total silence.
The adrenaline was pumping.

- The food truck
makes it through

several low-level
security checkpoints

without much fanfare.

♪ ♪

Finally, the truck reaches
the security building

near the main gate

with only ten minutes
to shift change.

Here, nine prisoners disguised
in guard uniforms

get out of the truck.

They force the security guards
in the building at gunpoint

to give them the official pass
needed at the next gate,

the British military gate.

♪ ♪

But as they are taking over
the security building,

it's getting closer and closer

to the shift change
at the prison.

- We were at least
20 minutes late or later

than we should have been
arriving at this area.

There should only have been
maximum six guards

in control of this area.

But because it was
20 minutes or more late,

so many guards
started coming on duty

and so many started
coming off duty.

So numbers began to build up
and build up.

♪ ♪

- The only option
for the nine fake guards

is to keep taking hostages.

But there are only
so many guards

the prisoners can control.

Time is running out.

♪ ♪

They've got to do something,
or else it's all over.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- It's just after 4:00 p.m.

The most secure prison
in Western Europe

is under attack from the inside.

38 IRA prisoners have succeeded
in breaking free

of the unbreakable H-Block
where they are imprisoned.

But they're late
to the main gate.

Now they are desperate
to control almost 40 officers

they're holding
in a security building

next to the gate.

♪ ♪

- Between 35 and 40 prison
guards lying down on the floor.

So they're starting to pile up
in the security building.

- The situation
in the security building

is quickly spiraling
out of control.

♪ ♪

- A guard coming off duty,

he looked in and he could see
there was something wrong,

and he ran

blowing the security whistle,
the alarm.

So I ran over to Bobby
and I said,

"Bobby, that's the alarm."

Bobby said to me, "Open
the front gate of the jail."

♪ ♪

And there's a big hydraulic
lever on the hydraulic gate.

And as I opened that gate,

there were about
ten prison guards

waiting to get on duty.

And one of them recognized me.

And then I just produced
a pistol

and told him to stay back.

- Bik is able to open the gate,

but several guards
waiting on the other side

drive two cars
in front of the gate,

effectively blocking the truck.

♪ ♪

- At this point,

the original plan
of using the food truck

to drive the prisoners
out of the Maze complex

to freedom has collapsed.

♪ ♪

- Time is running out.

Bik turns to Bobby for guidance.

♪ ♪

- They said
they've drove cars in.

And he said to me, "Open
the back gate of the truck."

♪ ♪

- It's time for plan B,
or maybe plan C:

run.

- All of our guys
in civilian clothes

jumped out of the back
of the truck...

♪ ♪

- [groans]

- Which meant we now had
38 people.

The prison guards had a number
of people coming on,

30 to 40 inside,
so you had a melee

of anywhere up to about 80
or 90 people,

prison guards, IRA prisoners,
fighting in that area.

♪ ♪

- At this point,
it descends into a brawl.

And so there are prisoners
trying to get out of there.

There are guards
trying to detain them.

All hell broke loose.

♪ ♪

- So at this stage,

the prisoners knew
the game was up.

So it was every man for himself.

- So we made a run for the gate,

fought our way out to the front.

♪ ♪

- So the 19 that really got
beyond the perimeter

and got away,

they had to go over
a barbed wire fence.

♪ ♪

- It was actually
a British Ministry of Defence

outer fence, and I knew
it could cut you up.

And I just run and jumped
as far onto the wire

as I possibly could.

♪ ♪

And I fell flat.

When I was about to get up,
I can only describe it as,

if you watch a war film,
you know,

and a troops are going over,

there's a guy
who falls as a bridge

so his people can
get across it faster.

- While Gerry is stuck,
gunfire rings out.

[gunfire]

A prisoner and a guard
are shot in the chaos.

And now Gerry is a sitting duck

trapped in the barbed wire.

- All I was thinking was,
"Lads, lads, come on.

Pick me up."

♪ ♪

- Eventually, a fellow escapee
risks his life

to save Gerry's.

- And I get out.

I had blood on my face
from the barbed wire.

♪ ♪

- After clearing
the military fence,

the escapees split up
further into groups.

Some travel towards
surrounding farmhouses.

Some commandeer vehicles.

- It didn't take long, you know,

for the authorities
to set up checkpoints,

and news of the escape
spread fairly quickly.

- Roadblocks and foot patrols
are quickly established

to search
for the escaped prisoners.

Helicopters circle
the surrounding area.

A few prisoners are arrested

right near the perimeter
of the prison.

But many do make it
all the way to freedom.

♪ ♪

- Well, Bik and Gerry both
made their ways down south

and would have reported back
to the IRA for duty.

♪ ♪

They eventually got over
to Europe, mainland Europe.

- But the long reach
of the British government

eventually nabs both Gerry Kelly

and Bik McFarlane in Amsterdam.

They are sent back
to the same H-Block

they had worked so hard
to get free of.

♪ ♪

The Maze breakout cost the life
of one guard

and injured 20 more.

♪ ♪

It was a violent
and traumatic escape.

Bik McFarlane was released
from the Maze

for the last time in 1997.

Gerry Kelly got out in 1989
and became a politician.

He helped negotiate
the end of the Troubles

with the 1998
Good Friday Agreement.

Part of the agreement
was the release

of many prisoners at the Maze.

♪ ♪

In 2000, the notorious prison
was closed

and partially demolished.

Only one of the H-Blocks
was kept intact

in the hope that, one day,

it might be transformed
into a museum of peace.