On the Brinks Read online

  “On The Brinks tells the story of an IRA activist imprisoned in the worst jails in Ireland, prior to one of the most famous robberies in American history. It this were fiction, it would be an excellent thriller, but it’s a true story, sustained by terrific writing.”

  Rolling Stone

  “The indomitable Irish. On The Brinks is an amazing book built in two stages. Belfast, firstly, New York, each other. Two cities for two extraordinary lives. The story of those years is terrible humiliation, torture, acts of barbarism, man reduced to the level of a beast. Between Nazi concentration camps and gulags, Long Kesh finds its place among these horrors.”

  Le Figaro

  “The life of Samuel Millar is worthy of an extraordinary film noir. And for once, the expression is not overused.”

  Le Parisien

  “This man [Millar] is a true force of nature … with a strong will, a spirit unswervingly tough. On The Brinks is a piece of history narrated with humor, humility and simplicity. How can such a combination be possible? Yet it is true and an incredible story of Sam Millar, the indomitable Irish. Grab a copy now.”

  Corine Pirozzi, Huffington Post

  “Cleverly structured as a succession of short, incisive chapters, the earthy titles despite the darkness of the story, the story grabs us from the very first lines. Humorous and self-deprecating … you are insured of a terrific and poignant read.”

  La Croix

  “Security guards told the police that they were surprised by assailants who had somehow evaded the sophisticated security system. They could not say how many robbers there were … it appears to be one of the biggest robberies in U.S. history.”

  New York Times, front page

  “Michael Mann’s Heat meets In the Name of the Father. Powerful …”

  Village Voice, New York

  “Naked … for years on end in a freezing cell … beatings … whatever … Millar went through it all.”

  Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Sherman, Esquire magazine

  “… fascinating …”

  “Dateline NBC”, New York

  “His extraordinary life …”

  Irish America magazine

  “One of the most powerful thrillers of the year.”

  Olivier Van Vaerenbergh, Le Vif, Belgium

  “A book that will become a classic …”

  Irish Herald, San Francisco

  “While most writers sit in their study and make it up, Irish crime writer, Sam Millar, has lived it. Read this remarkable book and see how.”

  Cyrus Nowrasteh, award-winning writer/director, Warner Brothers

  “Powerful. Brilliant. On The Brinks is the kind of book all writers wish they had written – but thank the gods they didn’t have to live it! Millar’s the genuine tough guy personified who makes all other crime writers look like wimps.”

  Jon Land, New York Times bestselling author, Betrayal: Whitey Bulger and the FBI Agent Who Fought to Bring Him Down

  “Mesmerizing and fascinating, On The Brinks is one of the most revealing and powerful memoirs you will ever read.”

  New York Journal of Books

  “Hollywood couldn’t have done it better.”

  Irish Voice, New York

  “… many twists and turns … perfect for a film …”

  Irish Times

  “His brilliant memoir, On The Brinks, is a tale of surreal childhood in Belfast, of years of horror and torture and brutality in Long Kesh … The title of the book is testament to the author’s blackest humour which courses through the dark red memories of prison torture …”

  Irish Examiner

  “By any standards Sam Millar has led a remarkable life. This memoir divides comfortably between the North [of Ireland] and New York. Millar’s vivid recollection of privations withstood during the blanket protest offers grim testimony to the limits of human endurance. Like others around him Millar would not be broken, even when political conviction was reduced to dogged resistance against a repressive prison regime. He then emigrated to New York, worked in illicit casinos. The American chapters unveil a gambling underworld run by New York’s Irish gangs. The empire wasn’t built to last but Millar eyed a much bigger prize … teaming up with an associate to rob $7.2 million from the hitherto impregnable Brinks Security operation in Rochester. It was a daring and bloodless heist … No one can dispute Sam Millar is an incredible survivor. Most certainly, a life less ordinary … compulsive reading …”

  Irish Independent

  “Incredible … a masterpiece. A story Millar details in breathtaking panache.”

  Verbal Magazine

  “His memoir, On The Brinks, has all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster … cool narration of a life on the edge … he has a distinctive style and a compelling story. With the right marketing, this book will become a bestseller.”

  Books Ireland

  “Millar takes the reader into the centre of one of the biggest robberies in US history. An extraordinary book … a gripping story of his life in prison to best-selling author … readers of On The Brinks will be on the edge of their seats waiting for another from Millar …”

  Books, Belfast Telegraph

  “Once you put On The Brinks down, you will immediately pick it up again. Breathtakingly honest … a compelling tour de force …”

  Irish News

  “Sam Millar is a fascinating guy. One of Ireland’s top crime writers … On The Brinks is an electrifying memoir …”

  Irish World, London

  “An extraordinary life … a terrific book – absolutely.”

  Pat Kenny, Today With Pat Kenny, RTÉ

  “Pat Kenny on RTÉ Radio 1 was positively revelling in the presence of Belfast writer Sam Millar and his memoir On The Brinks. It wasn’t too hard to hear why … we remain unused to hearing such conviviality from Kenny, or indeed most other RTÉ presenters … Kenny will be kicking himself that he hadn’t saved this for his Late Late Show …”

  Harry Browne, Radio Review, Irish Times

  “A remarkable life by any standards … a fascinating read …”

  Mark Cagney, TV3

  “On The Brinks is a tremendous read. The treatment of character is tremendous and the narrative is entirely gripping. The style is a well-controlled first-person telling which could very well not work if you were not so sure of what you are about. It belongs in the wider sense to the same literature as On Another Man’s Wounds, or rather the sequel The Singing Flame.”

  Dr Bruce Stewart, The Oxford Companion to Irish Literature

  “On the Brinks is compelling and powerfully written with a style that makes it hard to put down … it is Millar’s ability to give a detached view of the brutalities and mistakes of his own life that makes On the Brinks read more like a work of fiction than the memoir it actually is.”

  Irish Emigrant, Book Review

  “On The Brinks is an epic tale … his amazing life story … Millar is a great story teller who takes us right into the darkest recesses of his mind … gripping as he gives readers a rare insight into the US system of justice … an extraordinary journey … I have read many accounts of the H-Block/Blanket Protest, but Millar’s intensely personal account of the routine deprivation, brutality and isolation is by far the best I have read to date.”

  North Belfast News

  “A masterpiece. Make no mistake about that.”

  Andersonstown News

  “Millar who is wrongly imprisoned for being part of an ‘illegal organisation’ is sent to the notorious fortress boasted by Thatcher as the ‘H-Blocks’. In On The Brinks we encounter some of the most inhuman acts of this century, as we follow the plight of the prisoners, their hardship and their horrific human endurance. Even though Millar describes these times in a brutal, honest a
nd disturbing way, he also exerts humour which takes your mind off the brutality for a moment and creates a perfect juxtaposition. On The Brinks deals with human suffering and endurance which is so horrific it makes it hard to believe that it actually happened. It is Millar’s ability to relieve his suffering in such a brutality honest way that gives the book its real strength.

  Emma Horgan, The Voice

  “A remarkable life … reads like a movie script … an amazing story … riveting.”

  Marty Whelan, Open House, RTÉ

  “It is not often that a reader is fortunate enough to strike gold and come across a gem of this quality. On The Brinks is one that reviewers sometimes take to awkwardly describing as unputdownable. That rings as gawkily as unletgoable. A term like ‘stunning’ better fits the elegance with which Sam Millar conveys his story. His early life prior to going to jail is fascinating for his story telling ability alone. This former republican prisoner came up on the outside track unnoticed, eventually leaving his literati comrades watching the dust kicked up by his heels. Riveting … brilliant …”

  Dr Anthony McIntyre, Good Friday: The Death of Irish Republicanism

  “Read this brilliant memoir from the creator of the equally brilliant Karl Kane books. A review couldn’t do it justice. It goes from Millar’s depressing and oppressed childhood as an Irish nationalist in the North of Ireland, to his long stint in prison where he is tortured for his political activities, to his time in New York as a blackjack dealer, and finally to his famous caper – a Brinks robbery in upstate NY. Goes from sad to funny to exciting. Good advice: don’t expect an old van to start with eight million dollars in the back – it’s heavier than you think! Absolutely unputdownable!”

  Noir Journal, USA

  Dedication

  I dedicate this new edition of On The Brinks to the memory of my father, Big Sam, a rebel and nonconformist in the true sense of the word. And to my mother, Elizabeth. The dark place has finally gone, and redemption has been granted to both of us.

  An Appreciation

  Many thanks to my family circle here in Ireland as well as Europe, Argentina, Australia, Canada and USA, and all my relations and friends for their support of my previous books. To all the clans: Millars, O’Neills, Morgans, Clarkes and McKees. A special thank you goes to my brothers and sisters, Mary, Danny, Joe and Phyllis. To all those who helped On The Brinks win the prestigious Aisling Award, and making it a bestseller. A special mention to Dr Roger Derham, Brenda Derham, Valerie Shortland and all at Wynkin de Worde, for having faith in the original book, and the dedication and kindness you granted me. Also, Gaye Shortland, author of Rough Rides in Dry Places, for leading me to their doorstep. Also, The O’Brien Press for bringing the book to a new generation of readers, and special thanks to Eoin O’Brien for his meticulous eye to detail. Finally, and most importantly, a big kiss and thank you to my best friend and wife, Bernadette, and children, Kelly-Saoirse, Ashley-Patricia, Corey-Joseph and Roxanne. Now that On The Brinks is ready for my publisher, once again I no longer have an excuse not to cut the grass, make the tea, see the latest movie, go for a walk, stop drinking so much damn coffee …

  A writer without interest or sympathy for

  the foibles of

  his fellow man is not conceivable as a writer.

  Joseph Conrad

  We have always found the Irish a bit odd.

  They refuse to be English.

  Winston Churchill

  Contents

  Reviews

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Introduction

  Prologue

  Part One Belfast Bloody Belfast

  Chapter One The House

  Chapter Two Leaving

  Chapter Three A Very Hot Summer

  Chapter Four Hares or Rabbits? Or Just Hairy Rabbits?

  Chapter Five Blood On Their Bloody Hands

  Chapter Six A Catholic with Protestant Blood? An Explosive Combination!

  Chapter Seven Bloody Hell! All The Meat Ye Can Eat!

  Chapter Eight A Sticky Situation Called Welsh Taffy

  Chapter Nine Have You Got the Bottle for the Battle of Long Kesh?

  Chapter Ten Bloody Hand-to-Hand is Never Handy but Always Bloody

  Chapter Eleven Return of the Native

  Chapter Twelve The Nightmare Journey Begins

  Chapter Thirteen Bare Soles and Bare Souls

  Chapter Fourteen Footprints in History Aren’t Made Sitting Down

  Chapter Fifteen The Volunteer

  Chapter Sixteen Squeaky Booters

  Chapter Seventeen Dead Heroes of Our Youth Now Breathing

  Chapter Eighteen Forced Fingers up your Hairy Bum, Really isn’t any Fun

  Chapter Nineteen Josef Mengele and the Human Wart

  Chapter Twenty John Wayne, Where are Ye when we Need Ye?

  Chapter Twenty-One Hospital, Tobacco And Vietnam

  Chapter Twenty-Two Never Kick a Man when he’s Down? Name Me a Better Time!

  Chapter Twenty-Three A Word in your Ear, Much Later in Time

  Chapter Twenty-Four The Angel of Death Comes A-Strutting Minus Strutts

  Chapter Twenty-Five Tony Blackburn and Pan’s People

  Chapter Twenty-Six Hope

  Chapter Twenty-Seven Tragedy

  Chapter Twenty-Eight Catch 22

  Chapter Twenty-Nine The Real Great Escape, Minus Steve McQueen

  Chapter Thirty Unfinished Business

  Part Two Beautiful New York

  Chapter Thirty-One Casino

  Chapter Thirty-Two A Meeting of Minds and Minders

  Chapter Thirty-Three Brothers and Sisters, Thicker than …

  Chapter Thirty-Four Have You Ever Ridden a Harley D? Me Neither!

  Chapter Thirty-Five Titanic: Built by a Thousand Irishmen. Sunk by One Englishman

  Chapter Thirty-Six Dodgy Drilling Dentist Devouring Danish

  Chapter Thirty-Seven Beers, Hotdogs and Money. Lots of Money. Did I Mention Money? Lots of it?

  Chapter Thirty-Eight Opening Doors

  Chapter Thirty-Nine The Whale Hunter

  Chapter Forty A Telling of Truth

  Chapter Forty-One Wrong Turn? Wrong Person?

  Chapter Forty-Two Showtime!

  Chapter Forty-Three Room for Heroes

  Chapter Forty-Four Once Again, The Hulk

  Chapter Forty-Five The Rat

  Chapter Forty-Six Money? Don’t Mention that Word to Me

  Chapter Forty-Seven Fly Men

  Chapter Forty-Eight Money Money Money, in a Rich Man’s World

  Chapter Forty-Nine Brother Can You Spare a Dime?

  Chapter Fifty A Room With a View

  Chapter Fifty-One Caught by the Balls. Again

  Chapter Fifty-Two Arrest and Diesel Therapy

  Chapter Fifty-Three Making Headlines Again for All the Wrong Reasons

  Chapter Fifty-Four A Lawyer. A Very Expensive One

  Chapter Fifty-Five Hey! What the Hell are You Doing with all those Bags of Money?

  Chapter Fifty-Six A Judge. A Real Good Honest To Goodness Judge

  Chapter Fifty-Seven Our Strategy

  Chapter Fifty-Eight Jury Selection

  Chapter Fifty-Nine The Trial Begins

  Chapter Sixty A Horseshoe up my Arse? An Entire Stable!

  Chapter Sixty-One The Verdict

  Chapter Sixty-Two Thoughts From a Court – A Gathering

  Chapter Sixty-Three Execution (The Millar’s Song)

  Chapter Sixty-Four Millar’s Crossing

  Au revoir et prendre soin

  Other Titles by Sam Millar

  Copyright

  Other Books

  Introduction

  By James Thompson, critically acclaimed bestselling American author, Snow Angels and the Inspector Vaara series.

  On the Brinks is a story of the Old Gods. The Fenians. Bran, Sceolan, Lomair, others. Sam Millar. Belfast boy. IRA man. Political prisoner. Long Kesh. The Maze. The H Blocks. T
he protests. On the blanket, freezing and naked, covered in human filth. An engineer of the largest prison break in European history. The mastermind behind the fifth-largest heist in US history.

  Millar is our Oisín, and like Oisín, when he entered the gates of Long Kesh Prison, three hundred years of age fell upon him. He suffered unimaginable torment for his beliefs. He could have stopped that torment at any time with two simple words. ‘I relent.’ But he never uttered those words, and relent he never did. To read On the Brinks is to feel shame. To feel shame because almost all of us know, deep in our hearts, that we would have relented within hours, that we would have lacked the inner strength of will to stand up for our beliefs, the courage of our convictions, while our minds and bodies were ravaged, year after insufferable year. To feel shame because we belong to a race which inflicts such savagery upon its own kind. Yet On the Brinks leaves us with hope, because no manner of brutality led to the destruction of Millar’s spirit. Despite all, his remains a powerful voice today.

  Well over a hundred years ago, in his poem “The Wanderings of Oisín”, William Butler Yeats summarised the story of Millar and those that suffered with him, predicting it as if he were Nostradamus peering into still water and watching the future of Ireland unfold. I leave it to Yeats, in his conversation between Oisin and St Patrick, to tell the tale.

  James Thompson

  Prologue

  Hollywood couldn’t have done it better.

  Irish Voice, New York

  Security guards told the police that they were surprised by assailants who had somehow evaded the sophisticated security system. They could not say how many robbers there were … it appears to be one of the biggest robberies in U.S. history.

  New York Times, front page

  When I met him later that night, he was smiling, hand outstretched, as if greeting me for the first time in years.

  “Don’t say a word in the car,” I whispered, a plastic grin on my face. “There’s a possibility of it being bugged.”