Dónal Donnelly

Who is Dónal Donnelly?

Dónal Donnelly was the only man to escape from Crumlin Road Prison, Belfast during “Operation Harvest” which was also called “The Border Campaign” from 1956–1962.

He escaped from the high security prison on St. Stephen’s Day 26 December 1960 . He had been sentenced to ten years in prison, at the age of 18, on the charge of membership of the Irish Republican Army on 22 October by Lord Chief Justice MacDermott. A second charge of conspiracy to cause explosions which destroyed several B Special drill halls in County Tyrone was dropped in January 1958 as there was insufficient evidence to support it.

Dónal, also known as “Danny” grew up in Omagh, County Tyrone, where he was born in September 1939. He was the youngest of six sons born to Peter Donnelly, a station foreman in Omagh's GNR station and his wife Margaret from a small farming family in Newtownstewart. Dónal was educated at the Christian Brothers Mount St. Columba Grammar School. While in jail, he convinced London University to designate Crumlin Road Prison as an examination centre in 1958 and successfully sat six GCE subjects before he escaped.