Patrick Magee (bomber)
Encyclopedia
Patrick Joseph Magee is a former Provisional Irish Republican Army
(IRA) volunteer
, best known for planting a bomb in
the Brighton
's Grand Hotel
, targeting Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
and her cabinet, which killed two men and three women. He is sometimes referred to as the Brighton bomber.
but moved with his family to Norwich
when he was two years old. He returned to Belfast at the age of 18 in 1969, and joined the IRA soon afterwards.
By the height of the Troubles
in the 1970s, Magee had been made an officer and was responsible for the development of bombs. In 1973, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment after admitting to being a member of the IRA, and was released in November 1975. In 1978, he travelled to England and planted sixteen bombs in cities across the country, including London, Manchester, Liverpool, Coventry and Southampton.
and other republican
hunger-strikers
who were demanded political status in prison.
Magee had stayed in the hotel under the false name
of Roy Walsh four weeks previously, during the weekend of 14–17 September 1984, when he planted the bomb, with a long-delay timer, in the bathroom wall of his room, number 629. The bomb exploded at 2:54 a.m. on 12 October 1984, killing five people and injuring 34. Magee escaped to Holland, but later returned to England. He was arrested in the Queen's Park
area of Glasgow
on 24 June 1985 with other members of an active service unit
, including Martina Anderson
, while planning other bombings. At his trial in September 1986 he received eight life sentences, with the judge branding him "a man of exceptional cruelty and inhumanity." While in prison, he earned a PhD in 'Troubles' fiction. In August 1997, he was married for a second time, to novelist Barbara Byer.
. He has since indicated that he did not act alone at Brighton. He continues to defend his role in the blast, but he has expressed remorse for the loss of innocent lives.
One of the victims of the bombing was Sir Anthony Berry
, whose daughter, Jo Berry
, publicly met with Magee in November 2000, in an effort at achieving reconciliation as envisioned in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement.
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
(IRA) volunteer
Volunteer (Irish republican)
Volunteer, often abbreviated Vol., is a term used by a number of Irish republican paramilitary organisations to describe their members. Among these have been the various forms of the Irish Republican Army and the Irish National Liberation Army...
, best known for planting a bomb in
Brighton hotel bombing
The Brighton hotel bombing happened on 12 October 1984 at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England. The bomb was planted by Provisional Irish Republican Army member Patrick Magee, with the intention of assassinating Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet who were staying at the hotel for the...
the Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
's Grand Hotel
Grand Hotel (Brighton)
The Grand Hotel is a Victorian hotel in Brighton on the south coast of England. It is located on Kings Road, the main carriageway along the seafront; one of several major hotels along this road. Following the fashion to include a hotel's parent company in its name, it is also known as the De Vere...
, targeting Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and her cabinet, which killed two men and three women. He is sometimes referred to as the Brighton bomber.
Early life and IRA career
Magee was born in BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
but moved with his family to Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
when he was two years old. He returned to Belfast at the age of 18 in 1969, and joined the IRA soon afterwards.
By the height of the Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
in the 1970s, Magee had been made an officer and was responsible for the development of bombs. In 1973, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment after admitting to being a member of the IRA, and was released in November 1975. In 1978, he travelled to England and planted sixteen bombs in cities across the country, including London, Manchester, Liverpool, Coventry and Southampton.
Brighton hotel bombing
The plot to bomb the Grand Hotel had started in 1981 as an act of revenge for the stance Thatcher had taken over the death of Bobby SandsBobby Sands
Robert Gerard "Bobby" Sands was an Irish volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and member of the United Kingdom Parliament who died on hunger strike while imprisoned in HM Prison Maze....
and other republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
hunger-strikers
1981 Irish hunger strike
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...
who were demanded political status in prison.
Magee had stayed in the hotel under the false name
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Roy Walsh four weeks previously, during the weekend of 14–17 September 1984, when he planted the bomb, with a long-delay timer, in the bathroom wall of his room, number 629. The bomb exploded at 2:54 a.m. on 12 October 1984, killing five people and injuring 34. Magee escaped to Holland, but later returned to England. He was arrested in the Queen's Park
Queen's Park, Glasgow
Situated on the south side of the city of Glasgow, in Scotland, Queen's Park lies approximately two miles from the city centre, and can refer both to the park itself, the adjacent residential district, or the football team Queen's Park F.C.The park was developed in the late 19th century in...
area of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
on 24 June 1985 with other members of an active service unit
Active Service Unit
An active service unit was a Provisional Irish Republican Army cell of five to eight members, tasked with carrying out armed attacks. In 2002 the IRA had about 1,000 active members of which about 300 were in active service units....
, including Martina Anderson
Martina Anderson
Martina Anderson, MLA is an Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland who occupies the post of Director of Unionist Engagement for Sinn Féin and is a former volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army .-Biography:...
, while planning other bombings. At his trial in September 1986 he received eight life sentences, with the judge branding him "a man of exceptional cruelty and inhumanity." While in prison, he earned a PhD in 'Troubles' fiction. In August 1997, he was married for a second time, to novelist Barbara Byer.
After prison
Magee was released from prison in 1999, having served 14 years in prison, under the terms of the Good Friday AgreementBelfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement , sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process...
. He has since indicated that he did not act alone at Brighton. He continues to defend his role in the blast, but he has expressed remorse for the loss of innocent lives.
One of the victims of the bombing was Sir Anthony Berry
Anthony Berry
Sir Anthony George Berry was a British politician, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate, and a Whip in Margaret Thatcher's government...
, whose daughter, Jo Berry
Jo Berry
Joanna Cynthia Berry was born in 1957 and is the daughter of Anthony Berry and Hon. Mary Burke Roche an aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales and great-aunt of Prince William, the heir to the throne. Anthony Berry was killed by the IRA in the Brighton hotel bombing on 12 October 1984...
, publicly met with Magee in November 2000, in an effort at achieving reconciliation as envisioned in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement.
Books
- Gangsters or Guerrillas? Representations of Irish Republicans in 'Troubles Fiction (2001) ISBN 1-900960-14-1
External links
- Freedom for the Brighton bomber 23 June 1999
- Coming to terms: Brighton bomber's story 3 September 2000
- Brighton bomber thinks again 28 August 2000
- The Brighton bomb – no impact? 2004
- Book review, with full Appendix A: Troubles Fiction bibliography September 2007