Danny tells us how his interest in politics developed during the 1960s .He recalls internment morning in August 1971 and the week of British army raids and gunbattles that followed it.
He describes life as an internee after his own internment in 1972.
He outlines the use of terminology and the strategy the British government used to cover up internment and their long-term strategy after ending internment.
He tells us about the impact of that period on his family and what people the people in his area suffered over the years.
Audio Transcript
00:00:00.0 00:01:53.7 Family background, mixture of pro British and Irish republican. Interest in politics from an early age. Involved in setting up Radio Free Belfast.
00:01:53.7 00:03:42.4 Recalling internment morning. A week of gun battles and British army raids. Dropped out of studies to join the Republican movement.
00:03:42.4 00:06:36.2 Interned in November 1972. Describing British government policy of using terminology to change the narrative around internment. Long Kesh to Maze Prison.
00:06:36.2 00:09:21.1 Describing life in Long Kesh. Financial strain on families. Meeting a variety of people, many of whom were later killed in the conflict.
00:09:21.1 00:11:50.9 A great educational experience being a teenager from Belfast meeting so many people from different areas. Forged great comradeship. Recalling his time with Sean Mc Kenna.
00:11:50.9 00:14:54.6 Recalling some of the conditions leading to a split in the Republican Movement. Internment did not work but the British strategy for ending it did not happen in a vacuum, they had a long term plan involving the prisons.
00:14:54.6 00:18:49.8 Initial internment raids based on wrong or old information. The old and sick were held to make up the statistics. Later internment used in token manner against loyalists. Loyalism used by state forces in strategy against republicans.
00:18:49.8 00:24:37.2 Impact on family. His father was in RAF in World War 2 but his job prospects were curtailed. Recounting how many house raids, imprisonment, brutality and deaths were suffered in his area alone.
00:24:37.2 00:27:46.9 Released in December 1973, house was raided by British army 2 weeks later so he went on the run again. Imprisoned in the H Blocks in 1990s, wrote two books and studied with Open University. Sees education as key to struggle.