September University of Galway launches digital archive of Long Kesh journals

Newly released archive offers rare insight into life inside prison camp

A new digital archive of prison journals created in Long Kesh internment camp during the 1970s has been made available by University of Galway.

The Paddy McMenamin Collection includes unique hand-made journals and a rare album of photographs from inside the prison from 1974-1976.

Interned in Long Kesh in the mid-1970s, McMenamin served as Cage PRO and contributed to a number of prison journals, including Misneach, An Síoladóir, and Faoi Glas, as well as serving as editor of An Fuascailteoir.

Along with individual cover artwork, the journals featured articles and writings by Republican prisoners, poems, Irish language lessons and articles on Irish history and international politics.

The journals were smuggled out of Long Kesh over time, preserving the collection, before it was deposited with University of Galway Library.

The collection offers a unique perspective into the experiences of Republican prisoners in Long Kesh during a period of the Troubles marked by increasing sectarian violence. The journals and photographs provide a lens into life in the internment camp, including education, debate and daily life.

           Paddy McMenamin said: “As a University of Galway graduate in English and History, it is a pleasure to donate this collection of original Long Kesh Cage papers to University of Galway Library as a primary source for students studying and researching 20th century Irish history. It is a privilege for me to see the journals safely preserved for posterity within the University.”

The McMenamin archive adds to University of Galway’s already extensive collections relating to the politics and culture of Northern Ireland history, from the years of the Civil Rights Movement through to the Good Friday Agreement and its legacies. These include the archives of peacemaker Brendan Duddy, academic and barrister Kevin Boyle, and civil servant Maurice Hayes.

The digitised Long Kesh Prison Journals are accessible from the University of Galway Library Repository: https://digital.library.universityofgalway.ie/p/ms/categories/paddy-mcmenamin

            Monica Crump, University Librarian, said: “We were honoured to be entrusted to hold this truly unique collection and preserve it for future generations, so that scholars can get a glimpse into life in Long Kesh and indeed in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.  I am delighted to see the full collection catalogued and the prison journals digitised and made available online, so that an even wider audience can learn and experience some of the realities of this turbulent time in our history.”

           Dr Barry Houlihan, Archivist at University of Galway Library, said: The McMenamin Archive is an important collection that will help teach and inform generations into the future about the experiences of prisoners during The Troubles. It allows us to study and understand a difficult time in our island’s history, and reminds us why such archives from Northern Ireland, along with those already housed at University of Galway Library, are vital to preserving the memories and experiences of those directly affected by, during, and after the conflict.”

An event to mark the launch of the digitised prison journals and the release of the wider McMenamin collection featured a conversation with Paddy McMenamin and Professor Breandán Mac Suibhne, Professor of Modern Irish History at University of Galway. A panel discussion was also held, featuring Dr Mary Harris, Senior Lecturer in History at University of Galway; Dr Barry Houlihan, Archivist at University of Galway Library; and Dr Laurence Marley, lecturer in Modern Irish and British History.

McMenamin’s new book, Voices From Inside: The Hidden Journals of Long Kesh was also launched by Dr Mary Harris during the event.

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