Gerard Tuite (born 1955) was a senior member of the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

. Upon his escape from

Brixton prison HM Prison Brixton is a Category C training establishment men's prison, located in Brixton area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner- South London. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Before 2012, it was used as a loca ...

during the hunger strike in the winter of 1980, he was declared "Britain's most wanted man". Following his capture, at 26 years of age, in the spring of 1982 he made Irish legal history as the first citizen of the Republic of Ireland to be charged with an offence committed in another country. His prosecution in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

, for offences committed in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, was a landmark in international law.

Background

Tuite was born into a staunchly republican family in Mountnugent,

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

, one of the nine sons and two daughters born to Michael Tuite, a small farmer, and Jane (née Dermody) Tuite. His parents' wedding day on 30 September 1942 made national headlines when the wedding party was stormed by the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

."Irish Times Reporters", 'Quiet Heir to Legacy of Violence' ''The Irish Times'', Wednesday, 14 July 1982 According to the family the Garda shot a traditional musician called Finnegan in the leg and this was followed by a gun battle reminiscent of the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

. The Garda were seeking the bride's brother, Patrick Dermody, a commanding officer of the IRA's Eastern Command who was on the run at the time. By the end of the battle Patrick Dermody was dead and Detective Garda M. J. Walsh was fatally wounded and died later in hospital. Gerry Tuite attended Kilnacrott Abbey secondary school in

Ballyjamesduff Ballyjamesduff () is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. A former market town, it was the winner of the 1966 and 1967 Irish Tidy Towns Competition. History The first mention of Ballyjamesduff is found in The Registry of Deeds, Kings Inns, Henriett ...

. In 1982 a fellow student remembered him thus: 'The only thing remarkable about him in those days was that he was unremarkable. He was a very inoffensive person – a nice quiet fellow.' He was viewed locally as the one member of the family most likely to stay out of politics, and was better known as a motorcycle enthusiast. In his late teens he became a merchant sailor. Little is known about him from this point until 1978.

IRA activity

In that year, he was using the ''nom de guerre'' David Coyne and was believed to be a young businessman of German-Irish extraction when he met a nurse called Helen Griffiths at a party in London in the summer of 1978. Within a short time he had moved into Griffiths' flat in 144 Trafalgar Road, Greenwich. Her work allowed him much time in the flat on his own. Before the end of the year he was found guilty of possession of explosives with intent to endanger life. A sawn-off shotgun and Armalite rifle were also found at the flat. These and other items, including car keys and voice recordings, linked him to other bombings as well as the targeting of senior British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and

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figures. According to historian J. Bowyer Bell, he had been involved in no fewer than eighteen bombing attacks in five British cities with Patrick Magee, the Brighton bomber, alone. Tuite served his sentence in

Brixton Prison HM Prison Brixton is a Category C training establishment men's prison, located in Brixton area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner- South London. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Before 2012, it was used as a loca ...

. On 16 December 1980 he escaped with two British inmates, Jimmy Moody and Stan Thompson. They cut through the brickwork of their cells in the remand wing, dropping into a yard, where builders' planks and scaffolding were used to climb the wall.Rob Rodwel
'27 Maze escapers still free'
''The Guardian'', 26 September 1983. Coming during a major IRA hunger strike this was a boost to the morale of the movement, and consequently his escape was deemed to be a political emergency. The escape led the British police to immediately issue 16,500 posters of him under the heading "Terrorist Alert. This Man Must Be Caught." On 4 March 1982 Tuite was finally discovered, during a Special Branch raid on a flat in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, Ireland. In July 1982 he made Irish legal history when he became the first man sentenced in the

for offences committed in the United Kingdom. He was sentenced by the Special Criminal Court to 10 years imprisonment for possessing explosives in London.Google Newspapers
accessed 5 October 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuite, Gerard 1955 births Irish republicans Irish republicans imprisoned on terrorism charges Living people Provisional Irish Republican Army members Republicans imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict People from Ballyjamesduff Activists from County Cavan