Seamus talks about the family being put out of their home in 1969 and eventually settling in Lenadoon.
He recounts how as the conflict escalated it impacted his family. His brother, John, was interned and then was tragically killed after his release.
Seamus then became a target of British army harassment and eventually along with two other schoolboys was interned aged 16 years old.
He tells us about life as an internee, going into Long Kesh as a schoolboy and coming out an adult.
He reflects on the impact internment had on his life and the environment he was released into in 1975 with all its uncertainties and potential danger.
“Being released it was like going from darkness into light ..a lot can happen in two years and the opposite of that is also true, very little has changed at the same time… went in a schoolboy and came out an adult.”
Audio Description
00:00:00.0 00:06:06.1 Family put out of Percy Street in 1969. Ten in the family, they had to live in unsuitable dwellings before relocating to Lenadoon.
00:06:06.1 00:09:35.3 Recalling the morning of internment August 09th and the killing of schoolboy, Dessie Healey, by British paratroopers.
00:09:35.3 00:11:30.0 Internment and ongoing events from the period began to radicalise some of the community and the conflict intensified.
00:11:30.0 00:18:55.4 Seamus recounts the period when his brother John was interned then re-joined the IRA after his release. He and his comrade, Tony Jordan, were killed shortly afterwards, he had a wife and a young son.
00:18:55.4 00:22:20.6 After John’s death Seamus became a target for British army harassment. Received severe beatings. Lenadoon overall a heavily militarised area by the British.
00:22:20.6 00:30:27.0 Seamus talks about the morning as a 16 year old he was taken from his home and how along with three others were surprised to find themselves interned in Long Kesh.
00:30:27.0 00:35:29.3 Arrival in Long Kesh. Feeling bewildered. Known as ‘the schoolboy internees’.
00:35:29.3 00:39:51.0 Internees there who had been interned in the 1940s and 50s. Meeting people from different areas , hearing stories of brutality and torture.
00:39:51.0 00:43:45.7 School pupils protested about ‘schoolboy internees’ but schools for various reasons didn’t involve themselves.
00:43:45.7 00:46:22.1 Daily routine in internment.
00:46:22.1 00:50:33.0 First visit. Circumstances different for internees, whether single, married or a family. Dark humour and pranks. Home brew.
00:50:33.0 00:52:54.1 British army raids, destroying property and beatings. Brutal attack on Cage 3 after internee tried to escape.
00:52:54.1 00:54:22.1 Bad conditions led to protests. Tensions were high during the unionist Ulster Workers Council strike.
00:54:22.1 00:59:25.9 Release day. Returning home, ‘going from darkness to light’. Went into Long Kesh a schoolboy came out a man.
00:59:25.9 01:01:48.6 Reflecting on impact of internment on his life. Released in 1975 into a period of turmoil, uncertainty and danger.