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Gerry Conlon has died

Tipsy McSwagger

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0621/625499-gerry-conlon/

Gerry Conlon, the Belfast man who was wrongly jailed for an IRA bombing, has died.

Mr Conlan, who was 60, had been ill for some time.

He died this morning at his home off the Falls Road in west Belfast.

The Guildford Four - Gerry Conlon, Paul Hill, Carole Richardson and Paddy Armstrong - were jailed for life in 1975 for an IRA bombing campaign that killed five people and injured 65.

Gerry's father, Giuseppe, was jailed later that year. He had one lung, and emphysema and had just undergone chemotherapy. He died in prison five years later.

The Guildford Four were freed in 1989.

Finally, 16 years after their release, then British Prime Minister Tony Blair apologised for the miscarriage of justice.

RIP

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scuba8

Busted Flat. wrote: »

I feel embarrassed for you now. There will be no further comment from me to your posts.

The truth is the truth whether you like it or not.

[Deleted User]

scuba8 wrote: »

This was meant to be a tribute to Gerry Conlon. However the hypocracy of Gerry Adams on rte news and the shiners on this post is sickening. They behave as if they cared what had happened to Gerry Conlon. They could have helped have him released but chose to do nothing and left him rot in jail for fifteen years.
As I said spare me the crocodile tears.

And what do you propose they could have actually done about it?

michael999999

scuba8 wrote: »

Statements from the dock years later does not cut it. At the time Gerry Conlon was convicted they could have made written statements through a solicitor in which they put in details of the bombing that only those involved could know. Then go with their solicitor and their written statements to say a police station in Belfast. Notify the press of what they were doing and confess. The Brits would have had no option but to quash the convictions. They chose to let innocent men take the blame for the bombing.

Really?

Like the families of the Hillsborough disaster got justice?

You obviously haven't a clue about British 'justice'.

padma

R.I.P

Shakespeare's Sister

Banjo String wrote: »

Some Irish think so too.

Doubt they really do. But you know yourself, some Irish people, like that Anto... person, like to say stuff Willie Frazer would be proud of.

scuba8

Deleted User wrote: »

And what do you propose they could have actually done about it?

Read my posts to see what could have been done.

scuba8

michael999999 wrote: »

Really?

Like the families of the Hillsborough disaster got justice?

You obviously haven't a clue about British 'justice'.

We will never know what might have happened because the Ira did nothing to help Gerry Conlon.

R P McMurphy

scuba8 wrote: »

We will never know what might have happened because the Ira did nothing to help Gerry Conlon.

You are destroying the thread. Why dont you look at the trial of the balcome st gang and the breaking of IRA protocol at trials during the period and stop with your ill informed tirade.

end of the road

scuba8 wrote: »

Statements from the dock years later does not cut it. At the time Gerry Conlon was convicted they could have made written statements through a solicitor in which they put in details of the bombing that only those involved could know. Then go with their solicitor and their written statements to say a police station in Belfast. Notify the press of what they were doing and confess. The Brits would have had no option but to quash the convictions. They chose to let innocent men take the blame for the bombing.

they wouldn't have quashed the convictions, in the unlikely event they didd, they would have fitted up the 4 boys for something else

Micky Dolenz

scuba8 wrote: »

We will never know what might have happened because the Ira did nothing to help Gerry Conlon.

Mod

Ok, we get it.

Move on please.

Dyr

scuba8 wrote: »

So you are saying the Ira did not let them rot in jail for 15 years.
This was not meant to be a bash the Ira thread. How ever when the shiners do not accept their part in the suffering of Gerry Conlon and pretend it had nothing to do with them then the hypocracy needs to be pointed out.

I don't need you to interpret what I said sham. Reading comprehension does'nt seem to be one of your strong points so I'd refrain from it in future if I was you.

My post is there in black & white. Just like the post that I quoted which showed the lame point you're trying to make out for the horse ****e that it is.

corks finest

Lapin wrote: »

R.I.P.

Poor Gerry never really settled after 15 years of his life were stolen from him.

jails in the n of ireland have had many gerry conlons,having lived a large part of my life in derry,i can def say there were,and are lots of gerry conlons ,innocent,but incarcinated at the behest of british justice,sad,but true.

pO1Neil

scuba8 wrote: »

So you are saying the Ira did not let them rot in jail for 15 years.
This was not meant to be a bash the Ira thread. How ever when the shiners do not accept their part in the suffering of Gerry Conlon and pretend it had nothing to do with them then the hypocracy needs to be pointed out.

Oh yeah sure it was all SF's fault. It was their fault Liverpool never won the league last season either. :rolleyes:

It was the SAS he did it or some sort of similar group.

pO1Neil

So,so, so sad, brought tears to my eyes.+

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNvZHDafi38

WilyCoyote

scuba8 wrote: »

The truth is the truth whether you like it or not.

Have you always been a sad individual? Or has life conspired?

Choochtown

scuba8 wrote: »

We will never know what would have happened because the Ira never did give statements of confession.

Please click on the link below. Read it carefully and then admit that your statement above is incorrect.

http://www.searcs-web.com/oconn9.html

Banjo String

scuba8 wrote: »

Statements from the dock years later does not cut it. At the time Gerry Conlon was convicted they could have made written statements through a solicitor in which they put in details of the bombing that only those involved could know. Then go with their solicitor and their written statements to say a police station in Belfast. Notify the press of what they were doing and confess. The Brits would have had no option but to quash the convictions. They chose to let innocent men take the blame for the bombing.

Lol tbh.

What would have stopped them releasing such statements in any subsequent bombing campaigns to get their men out? (Guilty or not)

You didn't think this through.

pO1Neil

Just wondering the IRA prisoners in England have POW type status like they did in the North from 71 - 76.? Afterall they were both the same country right?

pO1Neil

Doing a bit of research it looks like the IRA probably could have got the Guildford four & Birmingham six out or moved to Long Kesh a lot less hostile environment. Because the IRA leadership negotiated to have the 1973 Old Bailey bombers (Gerry Kelly, The Price Sisters, Hugh Feeney, a few others) moved from English prisons to the Maze during the 1975 ceasefire. Although the Old Bailey bombers were on hunger strike as well & one of them died from force feeding so it's hard to say for sure, nobody is sure if they actually tried to get the innocent people out or not.

tomwaterford

pO1Neil wrote: »

Doing a bit of research it looks like the IRA probably could have got the Guildford four & Birmingham six out or moved to Long Kesh a lot less hostile environment. Because the IRA leadership negotiated to have the 1973 Old Bailey bombers (Gerry Kelly, The Price Sisters, Hugh Feeney, a few others) moved from English prisons to the Maze during the 1975 ceasefire. Although the Old Bailey bombers were on hunger strike as well & one of them died from force feeding so it's hard to say for sure, nobody is sure if they actually tried to get the innocent people out or not.

why would they....they were not IRA members???

who would believe them to be innocent if they did that??

pO1Neil

tomwaterford wrote: »

why would they....they were not IRA members???

who would believe them to be innocent if they did that??

Exactly, the IRA leadership could have told the British government representatives while they were negotiating that the G4 & B^ were not in the IRA & were innocent. And if that didn't work they could have requested a transfer to Long Kesh (which would have been like heaven compared to a English jail). It worked with the Old Bailey bombers why not the Guildford four?

tomwaterford

pO1Neil wrote: »

Exactly, the IRA leadership could have told the British government representatives while they were negotiating that the G4 & B^ were not in the IRA & were innocent. And if that didn't work they could have requested a transfer to Long Kesh (which would have been like heaven compared to a English jail). It worked with the Old Bailey bombers why not the Guildford four?

as rough as it sounds the IRA had enough of its own in jail...they were always going to just look after there own (and also had a campaign of violence to conduct)....the british knew they were innocent anyway...(this shouldn't be forget)

as an aside....there campaign for realease would never have been heard/got off the ground if the ira took them under there wing....its like this if the ira negociated for there move to long kesh....would you really believe them to be innocent/not involved (I would struggle to tbh)

Red_Wake

I see the Shinners are attempting to draw away attention from their crimes and gain politically from their victims' suffering again.

Typical.

end of the road

Red_Wake wrote: »

I see the Shinners are attempting to draw away attention from their crimes and gain politically from their victims' suffering again.

Typical.

i see the loyalists are posting drivel to try take the thread off topic again, typical

pO1Neil

Red_Wake wrote: »

I see the Shinners are attempting to draw away attention from their crimes and gain politically from their victims' suffering again.

Typical.

It's hardly worse than Loyalist Godfather Paisley telling the Dublin and Monaghan victims they "brought it on themselves".

pO1Neil

tomwaterford wrote: »

as rough as it sounds the IRA had enough of its own in jail...they were always going to just look after there own (and also had a campaign of violence to conduct)....the british knew they were innocent anyway...(this shouldn't be forget)

as an aside....there campaign for realease would never have been heard/got off the ground if the ira took them under there wing....its like this if the ira negociated for there move to long kesh....would you really believe them to be innocent/not involved (I would struggle to tbh)

That's a good point. But if I knew for a fact I was going to do life in prison I'd definitely want to do it in Long Kesh with political status instead of English jails mostly in solitary confinement.

pO1Neil

It must have been absolute hell for the innocent people who doing time for the IRA bombs. I remember Paddy J Hill (Birmingham 6) on the late late show telling about how when he went to visit his dieing father he was surrounded by specials with hand guns & had pump action shotguns pointed to his head & when he leaned to kiss his father a shotgun was pointed at him his head & told "move another inch you Irish bast&rd & I'll blow your f*cking head off".

The Maguire family case was just absolute bonkers they weren't even convicted of a IRA action, they were convicted of a made up story. Because some black duck tape was found in their house they must have been using it as a bomb factory a 13 year child lost the best years of his life because of the anti-Irish hysteria in 1970's England.

old hippy

Knock Off Nigel wrote: »

The British government agencies and armed forces have far more blood on their hands and will never be brought to justice.

I know that sounds strange.
British and justice.

Not strange, just a little bit dubious. The courts are far removed from decent, ordinary British people.

onlyme! wrote: »

On the daily mail uk site, lots of rip messages are being red ticked on the article regarding gerry's death, so it looks like some british still believe gerry was guilty, why else the hatred?
unbelievable!

RIP Gerry!

Some idiots were out protesting when they were originally released. Lot of people in denial - and hey - it's The Daily Heil. The paper that once cheered on the Blackshirts....

Busted Flat. wrote: »

The war was over then.

Conflict, you mean. Ireland doesn't engage in wars. And rightly so.

Anyway, RIP to Gerry Conlon. I only spoke to him once but he didn't come across as bitter.

end of the road

pO1Neil wrote: »

when he went to visit his dieing father he was surrounded by specials with hand guns & had pump action shotguns pointed to his head & when he leaned to kiss his father a shotgun was pointed at him his head & told "move another inch you Irish bast&rd & I'll blow your f*cking head off".

well thats the sort of vermin that were in the british military and security forces at the time, which is why i shead no tear for any BA personal disposed of during the troubles, none what so ever

pO1Neil wrote: »

The Maguire family case was just absolute bonkers they weren't even convicted of a IRA action, they were convicted of a made up story. Because some black duck tape was found in their house they must have been using it as a bomb factory a 13 year child lost the best years of his life because of the anti-Irish hysteria in 1970's England.

well when you have gullible idiots willing to believe and support such genocide in the name of "national security" then this is what is going to happen

old hippy

end of the road wrote: »

well thats the sort of vermin that were in the british military and security forces at the time, which is why i shead no tear for any BA personal disposed of during the troubles, none what so ever

well when you have gullible idiots willing to believe and support such genocide in the name of "national security" then this is what is going to happen

Even the young, poorly educated kids just looking for work & not knowing what they were getting into? A tad harsh - whether you like them or not. And the word is "murdered", please don't downplay it. Because that's what happened - on both "sides".

I'm not sure what you mean by "genocide", though?

Btw, you know I'm neither an army or IRA supporter.