My Father's Watch: The Story of a Child Prisoner in 70s Britain

by Patrick Maguire

The intensely moving memoir of Patrick Maguire, one of the 'Maguire Seven' wrongly imprisoned as a teenager for making bombs for the IRA. On the night of October 5 1974, an IRA unit left bombs in two Guildford pubs: five people were killed. On the night of December 3 1974, on the strength of fabricated testimony extracted under duress from Paul Hill and Gerard Conlon (whom the police mistakenly believed had planted the Guildford bombs), Anne and Paddy Maguire, two of their four children, Vincent and Patrick, plus other family members and friends, a total of seven in all, were arrested at their home in West London. On 22 October 1975 the Guildford Four were wrongfully convicted of bombing the two pubs in Guildford. On the 4 March 1976 the Maguire Seven, as they had become known, were found guilty of possession of the nitro-glycerine used in those bombings. On 19 October 1989 the verdicts on the Guildford Four were quashed. On 26 June 1991 the convictions against the Maguire Seven of handling explosives were quashed and just over a year later, Sir John May, after producing a report on the Maguire Seven case, described it as the worst miscarriage of justice he had ever seen.Behind these dates lie human stories -- 'My Father's Watch' tells that of Patrick, who was the youngest of the accused, at fourteen years old. He was sentenced to four years and when he came out he had no home and no family, as both parents were still in jail. This book takes us through Patrick's entire life, from his working-class childhood in West London to the difficult life he has led since prison, the roots of which go back to the wrongful convictions and the destruction of the family that followed. Patrick Maguire and the novelist Carlo Gebler have written 'My Father's Watch' jointly. It is not a ghosted work -- told in Patrick's own voice, it is a lucid and inspiring account of one individual's experience of an appalling injustice, as well as a reminder, as the war against terror ratchets up, of just how much harm a state can do to its own innocent citizens in the name of security.

Genres: Memoir

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Linda-jaine]

This is a true story of a Patrick Maguire and six of his family wrongly imprisoned in the 70’s for 2 bomb explosions in Guildford. The beginning of the book starts with an ordinary family life with Mum, Dad, Brothers. Patrick served four years eventually coming out of prison to no support nor family home.

[Susie]

I read the play version which I could not locate.

[Sam Brackenbury]

Brilliant and Sad…
A sad reflection on anti Irish prejudice!!

[Fxaixy]

I read this book in March of 2025 it took me 3 weeks to finish due to me putting it down a couple few times, is there triggering inside? yes Did I cry? Yes I did Did it finish the story? oh yes I did, I had to tske breaks as well during thr f
read as well. but this book was so worth my time.
Heart wrenching that the whole family got accused and b3at3n by the local cops and h@rass3d by the locals? yes. I've cried a few times reading this book but it was amazing

[Lisa-Jaine]

I vaguely remembered the Guildford seven case so it was good to read about it. The terrible miscarriage of justice meant this 13 year old boy, his parents and his brother all served sentences in prison for a crime they did not commit. What horrifies me is the fact that even if this 13 year old boy had been found guilty, he should never have been sent to adult prisons and treated in the way he was. The Police brutality is an eye opener and quite shocking that this family were persecuted for so long prior to and post release.

[Ellen]

Not much is known about the Maguire 7, where as we've seen a lot about the Guildford 4. This book was a honest account of what it was like to be a child prisoner in the 1970's & the fight that the Maguire family had to clear their names.

[Brian Mc]

Really good read..what can i say..

[Fiona Grant]

A frank and honest account of a ruined childhood and the struggle to adapt to life outside. Are things better now? Let’s hope so!