Martina Anderson – Mná an IRA

Martina Anderson was born into a large republican family in the Bogside, Co Derry. In this programme she speaks of an early memory offering water and vinegar to tear gas victims during the Northern Ireland riots. She joined the IRA at an early age and at 18 was charged with possession of a firearm and causing an explosion. She managed to slip into the crowds of people at the courthouse on her sentence day and flee. Anderson was arrested again in 1985 in Glasgow, along with four others, and was held for just over a year in the all-male Brixton prison. The group was sentenced to life at the Old Bailey, before being moved to dire conditions at Durham prison, where they campaigned to be moved to Maghaberry Prison near Lisburn in Northern Ireland. Here, Anderson completed a degree in Social Science, receiving First Class Honours, before her release in 1998.

Since then, Martina Anderson has occupied the post of Director of Unionist Engagement for Sinn Féin and was a Member of the European Parliament for Northern Ireland.

This documentary series explores the involvement of women in active service with the IRA in modern times. It tells their personal stories and what impact their actions had on the conflict in the North of Ireland and on politics in the Republic.The series is part of The Loopline Collection Volume 2. To watch more of the collection click here.