Funeral being held for former senior IRA man Brendan McFarlane

The funeral of former senior IRA man Brendan “Bik” McFarlane is being held.

McFarlane, from the Ardoyne area of north Belfast, was known for taking part in the biggest escape in UK prison history.

He died at the age of 74 after a short illness on Friday.

Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly is set to deliver a graveside oration at Milltown Cemetery later.

The party’s president Mary Lou McDonald described McFarlane as “a giant of Irish republicanism”.

McFarlane was the officer in command of the H-Block prisoners during the 1981 hunger strike over conditions in the Maze.

He was among 38 IRA inmates who fled the Maze in Co Antrim in September 1983.

They used smuggled guns and knives to overpower prison staff before hijacking a food lorry and driving to the main gate.

He was later recaptured with fellow escapee Mr Kelly in the Netherlands.