Gearóid talks about growing up in the 1960s and the events that led to him being an active
republican.
He recalls being interned and the impact on his family.
He talks about the routine as an internee.
He reflects on internment and how it shaped his political journey through life.
Audio transcript
00:00:00.0 00:02:12.1 Family background. Early childhood and friendships in Belfast.
00:02:12.1 00:05:05.1 All changed from mid 60s. Sectarian murders. People burnt out of homes. Internment, Bloody Sunday.
00:05:05.1 00:11:35.5 Going on the run. On remand for a number of weeks, released and going on the run again to escape internment.
00:11:35.5 00:16:43.3 Captured by British army and interned. Incident over photograph. Forcibly stripped and photographed.
00:16:43.3 00:18:20.0 Family home attacked. Mother had to move a second time after death threats.
00:18:20.0 00:20:48.2 Had enrolled for Open University course. When camp was burned in 1974 all education material was lost with everything else.
00:20:48.2 00:23:23.6 Asking welfare officer to assist in getting parole to see his ill mother. Discovering years later that she had in fact written a derogatory report about his mother.
00:23:23.6 00:26:15.5 Reflecting on hardship faced by his mother and the sacrifices and trauma she endured.
00:26:15.5 00:32:21.9 Making crafts. Food parcels from home. Cooking their own food. Sharing food between groups.
00:32:21.9 00:35:52.3 Daily routine and structure for internees. Schoolboy internees. Routine to counter depression setting in. Classes and activities.
00:35:52.3 00:37:47.2 Different structures and duties for civilian internees and IRA volunteers.
00:37:47.2 00:40:10.1 Psychological difference in being an internee and a sentenced prisoner.
00:40:10.1 00:43:26.4 Internment made him a more determined Irish republican. Relatives interned at the same time. Inter cage visits.
00:43:26.4 00:45:23.2 Cage 5 escape after the camp was burned in 1974. Number one priority was to attempt to escape.
00:45:23.2 00:46:59.1 Family republican history traces back to 1798. Relatives interned in periods since the 1920s.
00:46:59.1 00:49:44.9 Growing up aware of history and his identity. Uncle on the run staying in his parents home.
00:49:44.9 00:53:24.3 Summing up his view in internment. Proud of the comradeship. Reflecting on the amount of former internees who are now dead.