Her Majesty's Prison Maze (known colloquially as The H Blocks, Long Kesh, or The Maze) was a prison used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Northern Ireland Troubles from mid-1971 to mid-2000.
It is in the former Royal Air Force station at Long Kesh near Lisburn, nine miles (14 km) outside Belfast, in County Down, Northern Ireland. The prison and its inmates played a prominent role in recent Irish history, notably in the 1981 hunger strik...
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Her Majesty's Prison Maze (known colloquially as The H Blocks, Long Kesh, or The Maze) was a prison used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Northern Ireland Troubles from mid-1971 to mid-2000.
It is in the former Royal Air Force station at Long Kesh near Lisburn, nine miles (14 km) outside Belfast, in County Down, Northern Ireland. The prison and its inmates played a prominent role in recent Irish history, notably in the 1981 hunger strike. The prison was closed in 2000 and razing began on 30 October 2006.
Following the introduction of internment in 1971 "Operation Demetrius" was implemented by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and British Army with raids for 452 suspects on 9 August, 1971. The RUC and army arrested 342 Catholics, but key Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) members had been tipped off and 104 of those arrested were released when it emerged they had no paramilitary connections. Those behind Operation Demetrius were accused of bungling, by arresting many...
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