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Today in History: 38 IRA prisoners hijack lorry, escape Maze Prison

By Drooid · Sep 25, 2026, 10:32 AM UTC · How we work

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Summary

Story summary

On 25 September 1983, thirty-eight Provisional IRA inmates seized a meals lorry and burst from H-Block 7 of HM Prison Maze in County Antrim, executing the largest peacetime prison break in Britain. The raid left one guard dead of a heart attack, twenty staff injured and exposed the IRA’s capacity to smuggle weapons into the facility.

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Story summary

On 25 September 1983, thirty-eight Provisional IRA inmates seized a meals lorry and burst from H-Block 7 of HM Prison Maze in County Antrim, executing the largest peacetime prison break in Britain. The raid left one guard dead of a heart attack, twenty staff injured and exposed the IRA’s capacity to smuggle weapons into the facility.