The greatest escape story never told finally brought to light

In a new biography, Peter’s Key – Peter DeLoughry and the fight for Irish Independence by Declan Dunne, the story of the Irish patriot and politician who helped to mastermind the daring escape that sprang de Valera from Lincoln Jail in 1919 is recounted.

 

It was the most creative jail escape of all time, reports of which knocked stories off the front pages of newspapers throughout the world. The complete story of the escape has never been told.
The book features much on Eamon de Valera, who was an MP and TD for Clare and went on to become President of Ireland and makes specific references to his involvement in politics in Clare.
Mr Dunne recounts one such occasion when a chance meeting occur following the East Clare by-election in 1917.

“In July 1917, leading Sinn Fein figures from around Ireland converged on the constituency of East Clare to support their candidate, Éamon de Valera, who was fighting a by-election against Patrick Lynch of the Irish Party.

“James Lalor recounted, ‘We travelled on two motor cycles and remained for about 10 days there, until the day after the declaration of the count, which resulted in a tremendous victory for de Valera and Sinn Féin…

“Peter DeLoughry and I assisted the Volunteers in the regulation of the crowds at meetings, escorting speakers, etc. On the way back from Clare, Peter DeLoughry and I passed a number of men from Dublin, who were halted on the road with car trouble.

“They were Sinn Féin supporters who were returning to Dublin after the election and whose acquaintance we had made while in Clare. After the usual salutations, one of them said, ‘We will see you down in Kilkenny in about a month’s time for the election there.’ We then learned that Mr Patrick O’Brien, the Irish Party (Redmondite), MP for Kilkenny city, had just died’,” Mr Dunne outlined.

In February, 1919, three Irish revolutionary prisoners walked out of Lincoln Jail without having dug a tunnel or fired a shot. The escape was the culmination of months of planning that involved some of the greatest intellects in Ireland and Britain. Peter DeLoughry (1882–1931) was one of the founding fathers of modern Ireland.

“His most famous achievement was to make the key that was central to the escape of three of his fellow prisoners. The key became a symbol of the success that could be achieved by co-operation and hard work. However, as the years went on, the key became a matter of poisonous dispute between DeLoughry and Michael Collins on one side and Eamon de Valera and Harry Boland on the other,” Mr Dunne said.

DeLoughry was also Mayor of Kilkenny for six consecutive years, a record not surpassed before or since. He served in the upper and lower houses of the Irish Parliament where he became embroiled in issues such as divorce, film censorship and, most important of all, the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which he championed. He lived through an age of political and social turbulence; his childhood and adulthood bridged the time of Parnell and the birth of the Irish Free State.

Author Declan Dunne is a native of Wexford and works as a journalist with RTÉ. He is a grandson of Peter DeLoughry.