Brendan Hughes’s Escape and Recapture

Say Nothing

This flow traces Hughes’s daring escape, the adopted identity that briefly restores his freedom, and the eventual arrest that ends the disguise.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

An Escape Plan An Escape Plan from "Say Nothing". Leaving Long Kesh A new method After priest disguises become less plausible, prisoners consider hiding Hughes on a refuse lorry.

An Escape Plan from "Say Nothing". Leaving Long Kesh A new method After priest disguises become less plausible, prisoners consider hiding Hughes on a refuse lorry.

Leaving Long Kesh A new method After priest disguises become less plausible, prisoners consider hiding Hughes on a refuse lorry. A mattress plan replaces the dangerous idea of clinging beneath the vehicle. Intelligence proves imperfect The escape relies on a belief that guards no longer use probes. Hughes knows that one mistaken search could end the plan or kill him.

Inside the Mattress Inside the Mattress from "Say Nothing". A Close Call The lorry moves slowly Hughes lies inside a mattress as rubbish is piled on top of him.

Inside the Mattress from "Say Nothing". A Close Call The lorry moves slowly Hughes lies inside a mattress as rubbish is piled on top of him.

A Close Call The lorry moves slowly Hughes lies inside a mattress as rubbish is piled on top of him. Sawdust makes breathing difficult, and the vehicle stops repeatedly. The spike descends A probe passes near his body during a search. He nearly surrenders, but the lorry moves on and carries him beyond the prison perimeter.

No Car at the Roadside No Car at the Roadside from "Say Nothing". An Escape into Danger The plan slips Hughes cuts himself out of the mattress and jumps from the lorry after it leaves the camp.

No Car at the Roadside from "Say Nothing". An Escape into Danger The plan slips Hughes cuts himself out of the mattress and jumps from the lorry after it leaves the camp.

An Escape into Danger The plan slips Hughes cuts himself out of the mattress and jumps from the lorry after it leaves the camp. The arranged getaway car is not waiting. Hostile territory He is exposed in a loyalist area and must reach the Republic before authorities discover his absence. The escape shifts from a prepared operation to a desperate improvisation.

The Toy Salesman The Toy Salesman from "Say Nothing". A Legend for Belfast A civilian identity Hughes becomes Arthur McAllister, a toy salesman with an ordinary suit, briefcase, and licence.

The Toy Salesman from "Say Nothing". A Legend for Belfast A civilian identity Hughes becomes Arthur McAllister, a toy salesman with an ordinary suit, briefcase, and licence.

A Legend for Belfast A civilian identity Hughes becomes Arthur McAllister, a toy salesman with an ordinary suit, briefcase, and licence. The persona lets him cross boundaries and resume clandestine work. Intelligence reverses direction Hughes taps military communications, but his home is under surveillance. The man who has evaded capture is again being watched by the state.

The Disguise Collapses The Disguise Collapses from "Say Nothing". Arrest in the Suburbs A raid ends the legend Police and soldiers raid the house and identify the toy salesman as Hughes.

The Disguise Collapses from "Say Nothing". Arrest in the Suburbs A raid ends the legend Police and soldiers raid the house and identify the toy salesman as Hughes.

Arrest in the Suburbs A raid ends the legend Police and soldiers raid the house and identify the toy salesman as Hughes. They find weapons and recordings of army communications. Refusal to turn Special Branch offers money and recruitment, but Hughes refuses. His capture returns him to prison and closes a rare period in which he could move freely under a fabricated identity.

Late 1973

December 1973

Early 1974

May 1974