Nessan Quinlivan

Nessan Quinlivan
Bornc. 1965 (age 58–59)
Limerick, Ireland
AllegianceProvisional Irish Republican Army
Years of service1983–1997
RankVolunteer
ConflictThe Troubles

Nessan Quinlivan (born c. 1965), is a former Provisional IRA member who escaped from Brixton Prison in London on 7 July 1991 along with his cellmate Pearse McAuley, while awaiting trial on charges relating to a suspected IRA plot to assassinate a former brewery company chairman, Sir Charles Tidbury.

In April 1993, he was arrested in the Republic of Ireland on firearms charges, and was sentenced to four years in prison. In November 1996, he was released from Portlaoise Prison as part of the Irish government's early release programme for republican prisoners.[1]

In April 2000, the High Court stated that he should be extradited to Britain, to face charges of conspiracy to murder and to cause explosions as well as escaping from prison and wounding with intent. Quinlivan claimed that it would be pointless to extradite him, because under the terms of the Belfast Agreement, he would have had to be freed by July 2001.[1]

In August 2009, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in England and Wales announced it was no longer seeking the extradition of Quinlivan and McAuley.[2]

His brother Maurice is a Sinn Féin TD for Limerick City. In early 2009, the arrest of three women, who were running a brothel in an apartment Nessan Quinlivan owned and was leasing to them, triggered a series of events that would lead to the resignation of the Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea.[3]

  1. ^ a b "High Court rules Nessan Quinlivan should be extradited". RTÉ News. 14 April 2000. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Were overtures made to deter the extradition of two IRA men Pearse McAuley and Nessan Quinlivan?". Belfast Telegraph. 6 August 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  3. ^ "Maurice Quinlivan fails in Willie O'Dea legal action". Limerick Leader. 22 April 2016. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2010.