Glengarry cap and whistle, Mountjoy Prison escape, November 1921

Glengarry cap and whistle, Mountjoy Prison escape, November 1921

This Glengarry cap and whistle was used by Liam Troy in the escape from Mountjoy Prison on the 12^th November 1921, when seven prisoners disguised as Auxiliaries walked out the front gate.
This escape took place during the Treaty negotiations, and was the last IRA jailbreak before the general release of prisoners after the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed.  
The prisoners disguised themselves as Auxiliary guards, dressed in trench coats, leggings and Auxiliary glengarry caps; three were made inside the prison from blankets, and the others obtained and smuggled in by Miss Merryman and Mrs Ryan who also smuggled in revolvers and ammunition. On the night of the escape the disguised men made it to the gates where they were detected, forcing them to hold up the wardens for the keys.
A couple of days later Paddy Rigney, one of the escapees, and came face to face with one of the Auxiliaries who had guarded him in Mountjoy. The Auxiliary walked up to him and shook his hand saying ‘Hello Paddy, that was a pretty cool little stunt you fellows pulled off the other day’, before congratulating him and walking away.