'Maze rubble' put up for auction
Rubble supposedly from the demolition of Northern Ireland's most notorious prison, the Maze, is being sold on internet auction site eBay.
The Belfast-based seller claims that the rubble is specifically from H-block 4 "where the republican hunger strike prisoners where held".
He goes on to refer to the five 5kg pieces of rubble he has for sale as "an absolute gem of memorabilia for anyone with an interest in the Northern Ireland Troubles and especially the republican hunger strikers".
They are offered for sale worldwide - the UK listing has a starting price of £1, an American listing $5.
However, the demolition of the Maze is still taking place and its H-blocks currently remain intact.
A spokesman for the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister said: "This office is aware that a number of artifacts purported to be from the former Maze/Long Kesh site have been offered for sale on the internet auction site eBay.
"Purchasers should be aware that in many cases it is impossible to authenticate these artifacts and no individual has been given permission to remove anything from the site."
Prisoners convicted of terrorist offences after 1 March 1976 were housed in the eight new H-Blocks that had been constructed at the site, also known as Long Kesh.
The hunger strike which would eventually see 10 republican prisoners die began on 1 March 1981.
They demanded a return to "special status" which included the right to wear their own clothes, the right not to carry out prison work and the right to associate freely with other republican inmates.
Bobby Sands, a 27-year-old who had served four years of a 14-year sentence for possessing firearms, began refusing food.
He was joined on 15 March by fellow IRA Maze inmate Francis Hughes, while a week later, IRA man Raymond McCreesh and INLA prisoners' leader Patsy O'Hara also joined.
Earlier this week, it emerged that workers demolishing the Maze - to make way for a possible national stadium for Northern Ireland - had uncovered a 60-ft long escape tunnel.
The tunnel is believed to have been abandoned more than 30 years ago before the prisoners who dug it could escape from the prison, situated outside Lisburn.
It ran from the Nissen huts within the complex towards the perimeter fence, and is never thought to have been discovered by wardens.
While the IRA is most associated with escapes from the Maze, given the tunnel's location, some have concluded that it may have been a potential escape route for the UVF.
The biggest jail break in the UK history took place from the high security Maze prison on 25 September 1983.
On that day 38 republican prisoners escaped. Prison officer James Ferris died of a heart attack after being stabbed while attempting to stop the jail break.
The Maze prison closed in September 2000 as a result of the Good Friday Agreement's early release scheme.
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