PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins has paid tribute to the late Gerry Conlon, who was wrongly imprisoned for an IRA bombing.
In a statement this morning, the President praised the “integrity and determination which Gerry brought to his fight for truth”.
Conlon, along Paul Hill, Carole Richardson and Paddy Armstrong, was jailed for life in 1975 for an IRA bomb that killed five people including four off-duty soldiers, and injured 65, but had their convictions quashed in 1989.
He passed away on Saturday morning aged 60.
President Higgins described Conlon as “the victim of a grave miscarriage of justice”, and said that he and his family “paid an enormous price for that injustice through the long years he and [his father] Giuseppe spent in prison”.
He also highlighted the work of those who supported not just the Guildford Four, but also the Birmingham Six and Maguire Seven campaigns, and it stands as “an inspiration to all who stand up for justice”.
His loss will be felt not only in Ireland but also amongst all those who struggle against injustice.
Hill, who was imprisoned with Conlon, said yesterday that the four had suffered a “greater miscarriage of justice than those who died in the Guildford, Woolwich and Birmingham bombings”, and critised some of those eulogising Conlon for not having any time for the Guildford Four while they were in prison.
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