A History of Ireland in Song

Review of The Guineapigs

%T The Guineapigs
%S
%A John McGuffin
%I Penguin; Minuteman Press
%C London; San Francisco
%D 1974; 1981
%O paperback
%G ISBN
%P 192pp; 75pp

John McGuffin is perhaps best-known for his book "Internment", which blew the whistle worldwide on the concentration camp system which the British had set up in the six counties. Following that, he wrote "the Guineapigs", an exposé of the systematic torture of 14 Irish political prisoners by the British Army, first published by Penguin Books in 1974. The entire print run of 20,000 copies sold within a week; but the book was promptly banned by the British government. Penguin never reprinted it. A second edition appeared under the Minuteman press imprint in San Franciso in 1981; that too is out of print.

From the back cover (2nd edition):

"The Guineapigs in the title were fourteen Irish political prisoners on whom the British Army experimented with sensory deprivation torture in 1971. These 'techniques' are now outlawed, following Britain's conviction at the International Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg, but have been exported and used by Britain's allies throughout the world. This book first appeared in 1974, published by Penguin Books in London. It sold out on its first print run and was then abruptly taken off the market following pressure from the British Government.
In Ireland in 1971 there was deliberate and careful use of modern torture techniques, not merely to get information but to perfect the system of Sensory Deprivation for use against civilians. The author, an ex-internee himself spent two years researching the book following his release from Crumlin Road jail where he had been held without charge or trial. In this new edition he is at last able to name the torturers and those responsible for this sordid episode in British Imperial history. No member of the British Army or the Royal Ulster Constabulary has ever been convicted of torture or brutality to prisoners, although the Government has been forced to pay out over $5 million in compensation to torture victims.
This re-issue of The Guineapigs is dedicated to the blanket men in Long Kesh concentration camp and the women political prisoners in Armagh jail. Na reabhloidi Abu."

This book is out of print, but is available on the web at John McGuffin's website.

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