Brendan McFarlane (1951 – 21 February 2025) was an Irish republican activist. He was born into a Roman Catholic family and raised in Ardoyne, a predominantly nationalist area in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. At the age of 16, he left Belfast to pursue priesthood training at a seminary in north Wales. However, in 1969, he became involved with the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Early Life
McFarlane grew up in a devout Catholic household in Ardoyne, a stronghold of republican sentiment in North Belfast. He actively participated in church life, serving as an altar boy, and later, at 17, he entered a missionary school in Wales with aspirations of becoming a priest. However, his path shifted after witnessing the intensifying violence of The Troubles firsthand. By the time he turned 18, he had joined the Provisional IRA in response to the escalating conflict.
Bayardo Bar Attack
Main article: Bayardo Bar attack
In 1976, McFarlane received a life sentence for his involvement in the Bayardo Bar attack, which took place on 13 August 1975. The attack targeted the bar on Aberdeen Street in Belfast’s Protestant and loyalist Shankill Road district, resulting in five fatalities—three men and two women—while injuring 60 others.
During a House of Lords debate in 1995, former SDLP MP for West Belfast, Gerry Fitt, alleged that McFarlane had opened fire on three pedestrians as the explosion occurred. The IRA initially denied responsibility for the attack, which had been aimed at the bar due to its alleged frequenting by members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).
The attack unfolded amid a backdrop of significant sectarian strife. Between 1974 and 1976, the IRA carried out similar operations, leading to the deaths of 88 Protestant civilians in retaliation for loyalist attacks that had killed around 250 Catholic civilians in the same period.
According to journalist Peter Taylor, the Bayardo Bar bombing was carried out in response to the UVF’s ambush of the Miami Showband on 31 July 1975, which resulted in the deaths of three band members. Among those killed in the Bayardo attack was Hugh Harris, a member of the UVF.
In 1978, Brendan McFarlane attempted to escape from the Maze Prison by disguising himself as a priest. However, his plan was unsuccessful, and as a consequence, his Special Category Status was revoked. Following this, he became part of the dirty protest in the H-Blocks.
McFarlane was widely known by his nickname, “Bik”, a reference to the McFarlane Lang biscuit company, later rebranded as United Biscuits. Fellow prisoner Richard O’Rawe, author of Blanketmen: An Untold Story of the H-Block Hunger Strike, described him as “six feet tall and full of bonhomie”, a talented singer, and someone with a striking personality. O’Rawe also noted that McFarlane was a passionate supporter of Gaelic football.
Role in the 1981 Hunger Strike
During the 1981 Irish hunger strike, McFarlane was appointed Provisional IRA Officer Commanding in the Maze Prison, taking over leadership from Bobby Sands in March 1981. When asked why McFarlane was chosen, Sands reportedly responded: “Because you will let me die.” Reflecting on that period, McFarlane later described 1981 as the worst year of his life, acknowledging the political gains but emphasizing the personal and emotional toll of the losses suffered.
Maze Prison Escape (1983)
In 1983, McFarlane played a key role in orchestrating the Maze Prison escape, the largest breakout in British penal history, during which 38 republican prisoners managed to flee. One prison officer suffered a fatal heart attack during the escape. While 15 of the escapees were recaptured near the prison and four more were caught later that day, 19 managed to evade capture, with three never being found.
Following the escape, McFarlane and several others seized a farmhouse in rural County Down, taking the residents hostage, including two small children and a baby. Despite taking supplies such as a map and compass, no harm came to the family. McFarlane and his group successfully crossed the Irish border, avoiding immediate recapture.
IRA Activities and the Don Tidey Kidnapping
After the escape, McFarlane resumed his involvement in IRA operations. In December 1983, he was accused of taking part in the kidnapping of supermarket executive Don Tidey. The IRA had launched a series of kidnappings and robberies during the early 1980s as a means of securing funding.
Tidey was abducted at what he believed was a Garda checkpoint while driving his 13-year-old daughter to school. He was forced into a car at gunpoint, and a ransom of IR£5 million was demanded from Associated British Foods.
On 16 December 1983, Gardaí traced the kidnappers to Derrada Wood in Ballinamore, County Leitrim. A gunfight ensued, allowing Tidey to escape, but it resulted in the deaths of Garda recruit Gary Sheehan and Irish Army soldier Patrick Kelly. The kidnappers managed to flee the scene.
Arrest, Extradition, and Legal Proceedings
McFarlane was eventually recaptured on 16 January 1986 in the Netherlands alongside fellow escapee Gerry Kelly. He was extradited back to Northern Ireland and remained imprisoned until his release on parole in 1997. By 1993, he had served the longest sentence of any prisoner in the Maze.
Legal Challenges Over the Kidnapping Charges
McFarlane faced charges in 1998 in the Republic of Ireland for Tidey’s kidnapping. However, he contested the case, arguing that the loss of fingerprint evidence by Gardaí undermined the trial. The Irish Supreme Court ruled in March 2006 that the case could proceed despite the missing evidence.
Gardaí had relied on forensic fingerprints recovered from a milk carton and a plastic container found at the kidnap site. Even though the physical evidence had been lost during renovations, the fingerprints had been photographed and analyzed beforehand.
Scheduled to stand trial in October 2006, McFarlane’s legal team filed a second judicial review, arguing that delays in prosecution had compromised his right to a fair trial. This led to further legal disputes, delaying proceedings until June 2008, when the trial finally began. However, the case collapsed within weeks when the Garda evidence was ruled inadmissible.
In September 2010, McFarlane was awarded compensation after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the lengthy legal proceedings over the Tidey case had been unreasonably prolonged. The Irish government was ordered to pay him €5,400 in damages along with €10,000 in legal costs.
He passed away on 21st February 2025 following a short illness.
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