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Brendan Hughes (not to be confused with the deceased Brendan ‘The Dark” Hughes) shares his truly extraordinary life story, a life shaped by his membership of the East-Tyrone PIRA in the early days of the conflict in the North. 

 Brendan tells us about his time ambushing British soldiers in the countryside and robbing banks to fund raise for the IRA and his thoughts on having to take human life for his cause. Brendan shares the incredible story of how masterminded the second ever prison escape involving a helicopter on Halloween 1973 and how he himself ended up leading a 19 man jailbreak from Ireland’s most secure lock-up.

His tale later involves a split form the movement and a team of assassins being spent to NYC to take out Brendan, one of whom Brendan would later meet.

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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Growing up in Tyrone, first contact with sectarianism 
07:20 Joining the IRA
13:10 Robbing banks 
24:40 AMBUSHING BRITISH SOLDIERS 
31:00 Becoming an intel officer 
35:50 Lead-up to MOUNTJOY HELICOPTER ESCAPE 
45:30 DAY OF THE ESCAPE
56:50 Getting caught & jailed 
1:05:27 Planning the Portlaoise prison escape 
1:14:20 DAY OF ESCAPE FROM PORTLAOISE 
1:22:25 Immediately after escaping 
1:36:25 Split from IRA (hit-team sent to NYC to get him)
1:42:40 Back to prison
1:44:25 Thoughts on united-Ireland