Sites of Confinement: The Stories of Armagh and Maghaberry Prison

This chapter establishes the context for the changing contours of women’s experiences of imprisonment, outlining the history and layout of Armagh Prison and the way that conditions there developed as British government policy towards politically motivated prisoners went through a series of changes, and as the population of political prisoners rose during the period known as the Troubles. It examines the women’s initial reactions to imprisonment and their early struggle for political status, establishing their resistance to the prison regime as a continuation of the wider political struggle of which events behind the prison walls were to become a key component. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.