Putin honour recalls day Irishman sprang Soviet spy

MEMORIES of late Limerick man Seán Bourke were revived this week, as a notorious Cold War spy George Blake received one of Russia’s top honours.

President Vladimir Putin conferred the Order of Friendship on Mr Blake who spied for the Soviets when he served with the British Secret Service MI6.

Mr Blake made a dramatic escape to Russia with the help of Bourke. When he was exposed as a Russian spy in 1961, Mr Blake was jailed for 42 years— then the longest jail term ever imposed by a British court.

However, he was sprung from Wormwood Scrubs prison in 1966 by an escape group that included Mr Bourke.

The Irishman, who had been serving seven years imprisonment for sending a bomb to a policeman, helped Mr Blake travel across Europe by land.

After a number of years in exile, Mr Bourke returned to Shannon Airport with the world media in attendance. He went on to write a best seller, The Springing of George Blake.

Mr Bourke became a drinking buddy of Mr Blake during his time in Moscow.

Earlier this week Mr Blake made one of his rare public appearances on his 85th birthday to accept his award from Mr Putin.

In an interview screened on Russia Today television, yesterday Mr Blake paid a brief tribute to his old Limerick friend.

Mr Blake betrayed the names of hundreds of British agents at the height of the Cold War until he was exposed as a mole in 1961. His friend, John Harnett, said yesterday: “Seán was serving a short sentence in Wormwood Scrubs. In prison, Seán had a library job. It was there he met and befriended Blake and they planned the escape with others on the outside.”