A new season of Scannal returns to RTÉ ONE and features the stories of The Birmingham Six, The Priory Hall building standards scandal, Newbridge or nothing, relives the week in the life of the GAA scandal that saw Kildare refuse to leave their pitch to play in Croke Park and the disturbing disappearance of young man, Trevor Deely in Dublin is revisited.
SCANNAL: THE BIRMINGHAM SIX
TX: TUESDAY 23RD NOVEMBER 2021
Billing
In the first of a new series of Scannal, the team look back at the extraordinary case that saw six Irishmen sentenced to life in prison for a brutal crime they knew nothing about. Thirty years after their release, the question remains, could a similar miscarriage of justice happen today?
Press Release
The Birmingham pub bombings were, at the time, the biggest loss of life in Britain since World War Two. 21 people were killed, and hundreds seriously injured. There were calls for the reintroduction of the death penalty by an outraged British public and anti-Irish sentiment was rampant. Within hours of the bombs Six Irishmen had been arrested and were soon charged and sentenced to life in prison. They spent years protesting their innocence and fighting for justice.
The British legal system thwarted them at every turn, utterly convinced of their guilt despite growing evidence of police brutality, coerced confessions and discredited forensic evidence.
Finally, 16 years into their life sentences, the six men walked free. Thirty years after their release Scannal looks back and asks if the families of the victims will ever see justice served and if we have learned from the mistakes of the past.
Could a similar miscarriage of justice happen today?