One of the guns used in the escape by 38 IRA prisoners from the Maze prison had been smuggled into the jail by the organisation’s leader in Fermanagh, Seamus McElwaine, it has been revealed.

It is one of several connections to Fermanagh which are referred to in a new book published by Gerry Kelly.

Mr. Kelly, now a prominent Sinn Fein MLA, was one of those who escaped and he has written “The Escape” to mark the 30th anniversary.

The book is to be officially launched by him in Donagh this evening (Thursday).

One of the men who escaped is from Donagh; Marcus Murray was recaptured a short time later at Banbridge and was returned to the Maze. He was released in 1991 and is now living in Sligo.

In the book, Kelly reveals early conversations between himself and Bobby Storey, when Kelly was seeking approval from the leadership for the escape plan.

On the subject of weapons needed, Storey knew that they already had at least one which had been smuggled in by Seamus McElwaine, who was already planning his own escape when he would appear later at an Appeal Court hearing.

McElwaine, who was originally from County Monaghan, had joined the IRA at the age of 16 and was active in County Fermanagh where he was described as OC (Officer Commanding).

The book reveals he was considered vital to the escape because of his “rural craft”, which was needed to hide outside the prison.

Serving life in the Maze, he was one of those who escaped in 1983, and was on the run until he was shot dead by the SAS in Fermanagh in 1986. During that incident, fellow IRA-man Sean Lynch was shot and arrested.

Mr. Lynch is now an MLA for Fermanagh-south Tyrone.

Another of the men who escaped from the Maze was to die later in Fermanagh.

Kieran Fleming drowned in the Bannagh River near Kesh just before Christmas in 1984.

His IRA unit had been involved in a gun battle on the Fermanagh Border, when Antoine MacGiolla Bhrighde and an SAS soldier died. Fleming had tried to escape but died in the river.