January 14 1975
A 29-year-old Derry dental technician, James Brendan Moyne, Cable Street, Bogside, died in the early hours of yesterday morning in The Maze Prison where he had been detained since April, 1973.
The family received the news of his death when Fr Desmond Mullen, Adm, St Eugene’s Cathedral, who had been informed by one of the prison chaplains, called at the Moyne home at 3am.
A police spokesman said Mr Moyne, who was in Compound 8, had a severe attack of asthma at 12:55am on Monday. A doctor and ambulance were called but he had a relapse and died at 1:45am. During the 50 minutes cardiac massage was tried.
Mr Moyne’s brother, Patrick, said his brother’s death came as a very great shock to the family because there had been no decline in his health. From an early age, he said, James had had bronchitis and was also prone to asthma. Shortly after his arrest he was taken to Royal Victoria Hospital to have a neck injury X-rayed but the prison guard refused to take off the handcuffs and no X-ray was taken.
He said James had never been charged and had never appeared before a court. In July, 1973, he spent two days in an oxygen tent in the Royal Victoria Hospital because of bronchitis and as soon as the tent was removed, he was taken back to Long Kesh.
Dr Raymond McClean, the family physician, said he visited Mr Moyne shortly after the Maze Prison burnings in October. He added that he had particularly wanted to examine him because of his complaint. Dr McClean said he was very satisfied with his state of health then.
Commenting on the death, the Bogside Community Association said yesterday that it was another indictment of the system of internment. A young man had died in a concentration camp where no proper medical facilities were made available to him. “It clearly displays the cheapness with which the present administration regards a young man’s life – a young man who everyone who knew him would assert was worthy of a much higher regard than those overlords who treated him so callously and with such indifference. The history of his illness was well-known by the authorities who chose to imprison him without charge or trial in horror conditions.
Despite his health conditions and even though he was never charged, Jim Moyne died in custody in Long Kesh in January 1975, nearly two years after he was first interned.
