 The story of the women whose partners were detained in the prison.
Ten years ago, Northern Ireland’s 30-year-long conflict came to an official end with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. The agreement allowed for power-sharing between nationalists and unionists as well as a raft of other measures, the most controversial of which was the release of paramilitary detainees, many of whom had been held in the infamous Maze prison. The first IRA, UVF and UDA prisoners left the Maze during the summer of 1998. The story of the men imprisoned within its walls is well-known. But what of the thousands of wives and partners who were left to raise families alone? Laura Haydon, has been talking to three women - Elizabeth Rea, Monica Culbert and Mairead Gilmartin - whose husbands were jailed for paramilitary offences in the 1970s and 80s. |
