Gerry Conlon wrote to Haughey asking him to intervene in his ...

Gerry Conlon, one of the Guildford Four who was wrongly convicted of being an IRA bomber, wrote from prison in 1988 to then taoiseach ... SignupforalertsfromTheIrishTimes NotNow Iaminterested Justclickon“AllowNotifications”onthemessageappearingonyourbrowsertoactivatethem. Wewillsendyouaquickreminderinthefuture,incaseyouchangeyourmind.         GerryConlon,oneoftheGuildfordFourwhowaswronglyconvictedofbeinganIRAbomber,wrotefromprisonin1988tothentaoiseachCharlesHaugheyaskinghimtointerveneinhiscase. Inaletter,whichhasbeendeclassifiedwithotherStaterecordsunderthe30-yearrule,ConlonremindedMrHaugheythathisfatherGiuseppehaddiedinaBritishprison(in1980havingbeenconvictedaspartoftheMaguireSeven)asaresultof“yearsofneglectandill-treatment”. Conlontoldthethentaoiseachthattheyhadbeenvictimsof“seriousmiscarriagesofjusticewhicharebeingcoveredupatgovernmentandjudiciallevels. “Butthesebodiesknowofourinnocencebutarefrightenedbytheprospectofourreleasewhichwouldexposethepartsplayedbybothinourrailroadingtoprisonforcrimeswearenotguiltyof.” ConlonandthreeotherswerearrestedfortheGuildfordpubbombingsofOctober1974whichresultedinthedeathsoffivepeople. Statepapers:MaryRobinson-GerryAdamshandshakeangeredNIoffice USconcernedoverreportsofpactbetweenUlsterUnionistsandTories Paisleyjnrraisedprospectof‘Borderadjustments’withUSdiplomat Conlon,PaulHill,PatrickArmstrongandCaroleRichardsonwereconvictedayearlaterforthebombingsandsentencedtolifeimprisonment.Theywereeventuallyreleasedin1989afteralongcampaignwhichexposedoneofthegreatestmiscarriagesofjusticeinBritishhistory. InhisletterfromFullSuttonprisoninYork,MrConlonrequestedthatMrHaugheyspeakoutontheirbehalfandonbehalfoftheBirminghamSixandMaguireSeven.HeaskedtheIrishgovernmenttotaketheircasetotheEuropeanCourtofHumanRights. “Youhavenothingtofearbecausewehavethetruthonourside,”ConlontoldHaughey.“TheBritishestablishmenthasonlyliesandeverylietheytellisaliewecanexpose. “Thatcher,recentlysaid,‘oneisoneitherthesideofjusticeortheterrorist’.Wheredoesshestandregardingusthen?Obviouslyonthesideofthejudicialterrorists.Pleasehelpusbytakingamorerobustattitudewithheronourcase. “IhopeyouwillgivesomethoughttowhatwesaidandfindthecouragetostandupforalltheinnocentIrishpeoplelanguishinginEnglishprisons.” HaugheydidraisetheissueoftheGuildfordFourthroughout1988andcalledforareviewofallthemiscarriageofjusticecasesinBritain. TheGuildfordFourwerereleasedinOctober1989andtheirconvictionswerequashed.ThestorywasmadeintothefilmIntheNameofFatherin1993. GerryConlondiedin2014attheageof60fromlungcancer. Topics: StatePapers CaroleRichardson GerryConlon PatrickArmstrong PaulHill ReadMore UlsterUnionistsadvisedUSgovernment‘nottohumiliate’IanPaisley HowBritaintriedtostopGerryAdamsgettingUSvisa Cardinal‘vexed’overGerryAdams’sclaimstorepresentnationalism BritishinterestinappointmentofKennedy-SmithasUSambassadorinDublin GnashingofteethafterOrangemencomparedto‘cannibals’ TheIrishTimesview:WhenAnglo-Irishtieswerefraying Statepapers:Irelandhas‘moralclaim’topaintings,UK’sNationalGalleryadmits StatePapers Highlightsfromthegovernmentarchivesandrecordsfrom30yearsago.  Subscribe.   MorefromTheIrishTimes Politics IrishTimes/IpsosMRBIopinionpoll:SupportforSinnFéinreachesnewrecord Opinion North’syouthfailedbypoliticsareforcedtovotewiththeirfeet EuropeanCup SmallerthanusualcrowdexpectedforLeinster’sclashwithBath Politics GovernmentwillobjecttoUK’sBordertravelclearanceplanfornon-Irishcitizens MoreinSponsored Bemoresustainablebyrustlingupsomethinglushwiththoseleftovers AllyourChristmasDayfoodneedsunderoneroof Settingoutaroadmaptozerocarbonwithsolar HowIrishcreativesbringexceptionaladvertisingcampaignstolife DailyToday Daily Stayontopofthelatestnewswithourdailynewsletterseachmorning,lunchtimeandevening Signup LatestIreland IrishTimes/IpsosMRBIopinionpoll:SupportforSinnFéinreachesnewrecord 04:00 Over50organisationsexpressconcernsoverfailuretoprogressBillofRightsinNorth 01:04 Gymsseeingwidespreadcancellationofmembershipsfromunvaccinatedusers 01:02 Covid-19:HSEmovestorampupboostervaccinecapacityamidOmicronthreat 01:00 HaulierstoholduptrafficinDublinagaininprotestatrisingfuelprices 01:00 Ireland'sHousingCrisis Fullcoverageofarguablythebiggestsocialandeconomicissuefacingthecountry   MostReadinNews 1 PassengersarrivinginIrelandfromBritainadvisedtotakeantigentestsforfivedays 2 DoctorincourtchargedwithdefraudingHSEof€266,330 3 PublicstayswithGovernmentonCovidmeasures–fornow 4 IrishTimes/IpsosMRBIopinionpoll:SupportforSinnFéinreachesnewrecord 5 Fallonwalkfrombedtodeskisworkplaceaccident,Germancourtrules RealnewshasvalueSUBSCRIBE InsidePolitics InsidePolitics-Freshrestrictionsbreedfrustration 42:16 InsidePolitics-ThelifeandlegacyofCharlesJ.Haughey-withprofessorGaryMurphy 01:23:48 InsidePolitics-WhathasBrexitdonetoIrish-Britishrelations? 47:11 InsidePolitics-"Noclearideawhattodonext" 45:30 Brexit WhathappensnowandwhatdoesitmeanforIreland?Fullcoveragehere   SubscriberOnly PublicstayswithGovernmentonCovidmeasures–fornow SinnFéinnowtheleadingpartyofmiddleclassIreland IrishTimes/IpsosMRBIopinionpoll:SupportforSinnFéinreachesnewrecord Coronavirus Exploreourguidestohelpyouthroughthepandemic   Galleries ImagesoftheDay ImagesoftheDay Weather Checkthefive-dayforecastinyourarea SignIn SignIn ForgotPassword? 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