Six Sinn Féiners escape from prison in Manchester

Manchester, 28 October 1919 - Six Sinn Féin prisoners who were being held in Strangeways Prison in Manchester have escaped.

They include two MPs, Piaras Béaslaí and Austin Stack, the four others being named as J. Dolan, Con Connolly, Daniel P. Walshe and Paddy McCarthy.

The escape began a little after 5pm on Saturday 25 October, while the prisoners were guarded by a lone warder. One of the men jumped on the warder’s back and dragged him to the ground. The other men gagged and bound him. At the same time, five accomplices outside the prison threw a rope ladder over the 35-foot wall of one of the yards.

Austin Stack was the first over the wall, followed by Piaras Béaslaí and then D.P. Walshe. The accomplices had another ladder which they leaned against the outside of the wall, allowing the escapees to climb down onto Sherbourne Street.

The prison is located in a well-populated area and as a result quite a number of spectators gathered, although most were held at either end of the street by armed men, who were helping with the escape. Those who did manage to witness the scene appeared to initially regard it as ‘moving-picture performance’.

One woman realised what was happening and attempted to raise an alarm, but was immediately held up by a man with a strong Irish accent who said: ‘You can’t pass this way.’

The escape has led to calls for an inquiry into the governance of the prisons, in particular the detention of political prisoners. The Pall Mall Gazette states that:

‘The story of the organised escape of the Sinn Féin prisoners is far from edifying, and reflects gravely upon those in authority at the prison, from which it was so easy to escape. The departure of the little group of Sinn Féiners seems to have been arranged quite methodically and conducted with a calm contempt for the guardians of the law. The contempt was justified and we trust that the Home Secretary will take such action as shall render the prisons throughout the country less easy of egress.’

In the case of Strangeways Prison, however, the Sinn Féin escape is the first since 1888 when a man named Jackson, who murdered a warder, escaped before being recaptured and later hanged.

The escape is the sixth by Sinn Féin prisoners within a year, the most high profile of these being that of Éamon de Valera and Seán Milroy from Lincoln Prison February 1919. In all, 40 Sinn Féin prisoners have escaped from jails in England and Ireland. Only two have been recaptured.

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]