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Anthony McIntyre  ⚑ To his fellow prisoners in the H Blocks he was simply known as Big Snooge. 

Kevin Snooge Crilly

Had anyone asked for Kevin, they would have got a quizzical stare. And he was big - and had the physicality to go with it which he was adept at applying on the soccer pitch. Such was his ardour for the game that a friend from the jail said: Jesus, he would have gone through you. An all-round sportsperson, when the time came to get down to the all weather pitch everybody wanted Snooge on their side. This in spite of him having sustained a leg injury during an exchange of fire with a UDR soldier. 

There were a few players like that in the jail, matchwinners, game changers, people who had that something special with which they could turn a game on its head: Leonard Ferrin, Geek O'Halloran, Brendy Mead, Jock Holme, Dominic Adams, Charlie McKiernan, Brian Campbell - memorable names pulled from memory. Snooge in the view of many ranked among that top tier.

He came into jail after the blanket protest and hunger strikes, and like more than a few of his generation had no problem with people smoking a joint. Many did high tea in the jail. I had not not been on a wing since 1982 where someone wasn't using it. It was not an open culture but something people did at evenings in the quietude of their cells. One man used to shout to a friend that it was time to listen to Mr Brownstone - a number by Guns N' Roses - indicating that he was lighting up a joint. It was the same with Porn - officially frowned upon, the same guy coined pornographic literature 'Connolly Books'. These things were part of the jail subculture, officially denied but treading away like an odd sock being pressed down by the best foot forward. 

Snooge unfortunately, while enjoying the illicit pleasure one evening in his cell after nighttime lockup took a panic attack and hit the bell. He took a fierce slagging when he returned from the hospital after an overnight stay. Nobody really cared apart from a few Heads as they were called. One guy who gave Snooge the worst ribbing ended up hitting the bell himself after taking too much of it with his coffee at lunchtime. What Snooge got was nothing in comparison to this unfortunate - it was merciless. We tormented him about asking the screw to hold his hand as he was dying. None of it said by the unfortunate bellringer but why let the truth get in the way of a good wind up?

Former prisoners, when asked about their memories of Snooge, flag two features: his skill on the sports field and his ability as a musician. One ex-prisoner said he was:

very friendly and welcoming, he was a great musician and not a bad singer. He was also a good footballer and all round sports man who was liked by everyone.

Downtown Radio used to run a feature where a listener could write in with a hour long choice of music. I tried my luck once and it got played. I had chosen a list of long tracks, with a heavy rock emphasis including Since I've Been Loving You by Led Zeppelin. The presenter announced that it was one he hadn't heard in a long time. Pretty pleased that my selection had been played, the following day I met big Snooge and was even more pleased when he told me the collection was the best yet to feature on the show. That was praise indeed as Snooge knew his music.

After release he played the Armagh pub circuit for a while, and there is said to exist a demo tape of his musical collaboration with Bik McFarland and others, made in the H Blocks.

Snooge was of of that generation seriously motivated by the hunger strikes, which saw republicanism experience a resurgence, with many young people, outraged at the brutal treatment of the prisoners, drawn to the armed ranks. The Brits had managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory through their repression and had breathed rejuvenation back into armed republicanism. Imprisoned for an INLA attack on a member of the UDR in February 1982, when he was a teen, Snooge was sentenced fourteen months later to 18 years. Armagh was a dangerous place in the '80s and shoot-to-kill became a byword for British forces described by the Manchester Guardian Weekly as “no different from the death-squads operating in South America”. 

Big Snooge, a man with a big heart and a big talent, faced even bigger demons after release, often seeking solace in alcohol. The bane of many former prisoners, loyalist and republican, it can often better the best of us.

Father to Michelle, Noeleen, Saoirse and Niamh, comrade to hundreds, it was a privilege for many to have made the journey with him. In the words of a man who was in the jail alongside him he was 'a good republican and someone who will never be forgotten.'

⏩Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

Snooge Crilly

Anthony McIntyre  ⚑ To his fellow prisoners in the H Blocks he was simply known as Big Snooge. 

Kevin Snooge Crilly

Had anyone asked for Kevin, they would have got a quizzical stare. And he was big - and had the physicality to go with it which he was adept at applying on the soccer pitch. Such was his ardour for the game that a friend from the jail said: Jesus, he would have gone through you. An all-round sportsperson, when the time came to get down to the all weather pitch everybody wanted Snooge on their side. This in spite of him having sustained a leg injury during an exchange of fire with a UDR soldier. 

There were a few players like that in the jail, matchwinners, game changers, people who had that something special with which they could turn a game on its head: Leonard Ferrin, Geek O'Halloran, Brendy Mead, Jock Holme, Dominic Adams, Charlie McKiernan, Brian Campbell - memorable names pulled from memory. Snooge in the view of many ranked among that top tier.

He came into jail after the blanket protest and hunger strikes, and like more than a few of his generation had no problem with people smoking a joint. Many did high tea in the jail. I had not not been on a wing since 1982 where someone wasn't using it. It was not an open culture but something people did at evenings in the quietude of their cells. One man used to shout to a friend that it was time to listen to Mr Brownstone - a number by Guns N' Roses - indicating that he was lighting up a joint. It was the same with Porn - officially frowned upon, the same guy coined pornographic literature 'Connolly Books'. These things were part of the jail subculture, officially denied but treading away like an odd sock being pressed down by the best foot forward. 

Snooge unfortunately, while enjoying the illicit pleasure one evening in his cell after nighttime lockup took a panic attack and hit the bell. He took a fierce slagging when he returned from the hospital after an overnight stay. Nobody really cared apart from a few Heads as they were called. One guy who gave Snooge the worst ribbing ended up hitting the bell himself after taking too much of it with his coffee at lunchtime. What Snooge got was nothing in comparison to this unfortunate - it was merciless. We tormented him about asking the screw to hold his hand as he was dying. None of it said by the unfortunate bellringer but why let the truth get in the way of a good wind up?

Former prisoners, when asked about their memories of Snooge, flag two features: his skill on the sports field and his ability as a musician. One ex-prisoner said he was:

very friendly and welcoming, he was a great musician and not a bad singer. He was also a good footballer and all round sports man who was liked by everyone.

Downtown Radio used to run a feature where a listener could write in with a hour long choice of music. I tried my luck once and it got played. I had chosen a list of long tracks, with a heavy rock emphasis including Since I've Been Loving You by Led Zeppelin. The presenter announced that it was one he hadn't heard in a long time. Pretty pleased that my selection had been played, the following day I met big Snooge and was even more pleased when he told me the collection was the best yet to feature on the show. That was praise indeed as Snooge knew his music.

After release he played the Armagh pub circuit for a while, and there is said to exist a demo tape of his musical collaboration with Bik McFarland and others, made in the H Blocks.

Snooge was of of that generation seriously motivated by the hunger strikes, which saw republicanism experience a resurgence, with many young people, outraged at the brutal treatment of the prisoners, drawn to the armed ranks. The Brits had managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory through their repression and had breathed rejuvenation back into armed republicanism. Imprisoned for an INLA attack on a member of the UDR in February 1982, when he was a teen, Snooge was sentenced fourteen months later to 18 years. Armagh was a dangerous place in the '80s and shoot-to-kill became a byword for British forces described by the Manchester Guardian Weekly as “no different from the death-squads operating in South America”. 

Big Snooge, a man with a big heart and a big talent, faced even bigger demons after release, often seeking solace in alcohol. The bane of many former prisoners, loyalist and republican, it can often better the best of us.

Father to Michelle, Noeleen, Saoirse and Niamh, comrade to hundreds, it was a privilege for many to have made the journey with him. In the words of a man who was in the jail alongside him he was 'a good republican and someone who will never be forgotten.'

⏩Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

Anthony McIntyre Obituary

2 comments:

  1. MickO4:06 PM, January 07, 2024

    He was definitely a funny character.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AM10:12 AM, January 08, 2024

    Cam comments

    Just read that obituary about Big Snooge.

    I can't believe he is dead - met him once in a bar in Armagh where he was playing and he looked burnt out then but still took time out to chat with me.

    Christ that has really thrown me - he was sound as a pound Mackers . . . him and drunk'n Duncan were mates. The last I heard about Duncan he was living in Donegal.

    Now that was an obituary I wasn't expecting.

    I'll have to pay more attention to the obituary columns from now on!

    ReplyDelete

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