Richard McIlkenny, one of the Birmingham Six wrongly imprisoned for IRA bombings in the 1970s has died in a Dublin hospital.

Born in Belfast, Mr McIlkenny, who was aged 73, was released 15 years ago.

Six Irishmen resident in Birmingham were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 for pub bombings in the city which killed 21 people. They served 16 years.

Despite pleas that the confessions had been obtained through beatings, they were not freed until March 1991.

The six were Paddy Hill, Billy Power, Mr McIlkenny, Hugh Callaghan, Gerry Hunter and John Walker.

I was a friend of Richard and can say he held no bitterness for his injustice. The British government in recent years admitted they were wrong and that confessions were beaten out of the six men, no policemen ever faced charged for what they did..He had battled cancer for the past few years. My thoughts are with his wife Kathleen, his daughters and his only son.

Richard McIlkenny was a factory worker in the north of England and was living in Birmingham when he was detained along with friends by Special Branch detectives on 21 November 1974 after two pubs in the city were bombed.


He was interrogated by police for three days until he signed a false confession admitting to bombing the pubs in which 21 people died and 162 were injured.

On 24 November, 1974, Mr McIlkenny appeared in court along with Patrick Hill, Gerry Hunter, Hugh Callaghan, Billy Power and Johnny Walker, and was remanded into custody.

During their trial the men claimed their confessions had been beaten out of them, but the court did not believe them.

In August 1975 the Birmingham Six were sentenced to life in prison on the basis of their false confessions.and endured 16 years of hypocrisy and brutality.