He was sworn in by Billy McMillen , and described joining as " a big occasion , like joining the priesthood " . In 1968 he was arrested for the first time , after he assaulted a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary ( RUC ) during a civil rights march in Derry . During the August 1969 riots in Belfast he was one of a handful of IRA members who tried to defend Catholic areas from attacks by Ulster loyalists , and resigned as a result of the organisation 's failure to adequately protect Catholic areas . Meehan was arrested on 22 August 1969 for riotous behaviour , and was badly beaten before being imprisoned . The beating was so severe Meehan was given the last rites , the first of four occasions on which he received last rites . He was released after spending two months in prison . After his release Billy McKee convinced Meehan to rejoin the IRA . Meehan sided with the Provisional IRA following its split with the Official IRA in January 1970 , and by mid-1970 was a senior IRA leader in the Ardoyne area . On 27 June 1970 rioting broke out across Belfast following a parade by the Orange Order , and a gun battle started in the Ardoyne area . Meehan stated : Meehan was questioned in relation to the 1971 Scottish soldiers ' killings but never charged . In the six weeks following the beginning of Operation Demetrius in August 1971 , six soldiers from the Green Howards regiment were killed by the IRA in north Belfast . Meehan became one of the most wanted IRA members in the area , and when arrested he was badly beaten by soldiers and needed 47 stitches to the back of his head . Meehan was imprisoned without charge under the Special Powers Act in Crumlin Road Jail . Meehan and two other IRA members including Joe B. O'Hagan escaped from prison on 2 December 1971 . The men covered themselves in butter to keep warm , then hid inside a manhole for six-and-a-half hours before scaling the prison walls using ropes made from knotted blankets and sheets
1971 Scottish soldiers ' killings
1971 Scottish soldiers' killings
Martin Meehan (Irish republican)