“Even the prison guards joke with him, they have a laugh with him, he just wants to get out of prison. He can’t wait to live a proper life and paint with real paintbrushes.”
This is how Irene Dunroe, the ex-wife of Charles Bronson, describes the now 73 year old prisoner who was once labelled as Britain’s most violent inmate. Also aged 73, Dunroe has in recent years reconnected with her former husband as he continues his battle for freedom from an indefinite prison sentence, asserting that the pensioner is far from a threat to others.
Bronson, who now goes by the name Charles Salvador, is one of the UK’s most infamous prisoners, renowned nationwide for his historically violent episodes whilst incarcerated. However, Dunroe claims she sees a different side to him, a changed man who sends her artwork and calls her daily.
In conversation with the ECHO about their revived relationship, she emphasises that she only refers to him as Mick, alluding to his birth name Mick Peterson which he altered after their separation. She asserts “no one will ever understand” their unique dynamic as she has never been able to distance herself from him – despite the fact he has spent minimal time outside of prison since his initial conviction for armed robbery in 1974.
Irene, now residing in Barnston, Wirral, reflected on the past with a sense of immediacy: “It doesn’t seem like 50 years ago [he went to prison], it feels like a week or two ago. It’s not like a normal divorce where you finish and never know them again, Mick has always been in the newspapers, I’ve never got away from it. No one will understand what our relationship is like.”
The couple first crossed paths at 19, tied the knot, and welcomed their son Michael while living in Little Sutton. Their union was short-lived as Bronson was incarcerated for the first time in 1974, just two years post-marriage.
Irene admitted her shock upon learning of his criminal activities during his trial.
She recounted their early family life: “We got married really young and had our son, Mike, who’s the spitting image of Mick. We were happy together but then Mike started disappearing and he never used to tell me anything about what he was doing but I really never knew a thing. He would disappear for a week or two at a time and we didn’t have mobile phones at the time so I couldn’t find out where he was.”
Irene described the challenges she faced during his absences: “I would go out with the pram and we would walk round for miles. Then we he would just come back and say he stayed with a friend because he had a really bad hangover. I would just believe him, I never knew what he was really up to. It wasn’t until he was in crown court and they just listed one after another of all the things he’d done, I couldn’t believe it.”
While incarcerated in Walton Prison, Bronson assaulted a fellow inmate with a glass jug, resulting in an additional nine months to his sentence for unlawful wounding. His violent tendencies persisted and between 1975 and 1977, he was frequently transferred between prisons, spending most of his time in solitary confinement.
This included an incident in 1976 at Wandsworth prison where he attempted to poison the inmate in the adjacent cell.
Subsequently, he was moved to Parkhurst, where he formed a friendship with the notorious Kray twins, before being relocated back to Wandsworth. In Wandsworth, his disdain for the prison system escalated as he attacked two prison officers, reportedly leaving one permanently scarred.
Following a suicide attempt, he was transferred to Broadgreen Hospital and sectioned under the Mental Health Act. During his stay at Broadgreen in 1982, Bronson staged several rooftop protests causing £250,000 worth of damage.
His third rooftop protest took place in 1984, which he followed up with an 18-day hunger strike. After this, he was transferred to Ashworth Hospital, where another three years were added to his sentence following an attack on a patient.
In 1985, he was returned to Walton Prison, but quickly violated the rules again, causing £100,000 worth of damage during another rooftop protest. He was continually moved around prisons throughout his original seven-year sentence, until his release in 1988.
Upon his release, Bronson adopted the moniker Charles Bronson for his boxing career. However, his freedom was short-lived as he found himself incarcerated once again in 1988 when he robbed a jewellery shop and received a seven-year sentence.
Back in prison, Bronson’s troublesome behaviour led to transfers between institutions; during one stint he was attacked before being released in November 1992. Yet merely 53 days later, he was imprisoned once more, this time for intent to commit robbery.
His notorious antics escalated in 1996 at Belmarsh prison when he took three fellow inmates hostage, demanding to be addressed as “General” and threatening to consume one of them unless given a helicopter to Cuba and a cheese and pickle sandwich. However, it was the 1999 incident that resulted in a life sentence: Bronson kidnapped Phil Danielson, a prison art teacher who had criticised his artwork, holding him captive for nearly 48 hours.
Years have passed, with Bronson’s ex-wife Irene speaking out to the ECHO about what she deems the cause of his violent tendencies over the years—his treatment in prison. Now in his later life, Bronson has turned to art, dedicating himself to painting during the long hours of solitary confinement.
Bronson has even donated his artwork to charities and in 2014, he sold several pieces of his artwork. At the time he said he planned to use his art to support charities going forward.
Irene now regularly receives pieces of his work, with the pensioner – who Irene claims is extremely fit and doing up to 1,000 sit ups a day – sending her and their son Mike, 52, paintings.
The prisoner was due to face a parole board in March this year but it was pushed back, with Irene telling the ECHO she believes it will now take place at the end of the year, with Bronson adamant he will make it out of prison before his death. The former bare-knuckle boxer was previously denied parole in March 2023.
Speaking about what her former lover will do when he eventually feels the fresh air of freedom, mum-of-three Irene said: “He wants to live in the country, near a beach, in a little cottage. We’ve made so many plans together.”
She continued: “We’re going to go out and have some days out together. Mick used to love his clothes, he used to have his suits made to measure. You didn’t wear jeans and a t-shirt go back out then, he used to always wear a suit.
“Mick said he can’t wait to go to the shop and get lots of new suits. He can’t wait to go out with Mike, he wants to take him out for a pint because they’ve never had that.”
Not long ago, Irene had her latest meeting with Bronson at HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire where Bronson humorously proposed they get married again. Irene quickly dismissed the notion: “I’m 73 and he is 73 as well, you get past all of that,” she commented.
“You just want to go home and get in your pyjamas. We both like our own space.”
Irene has collaborated on a book with Bronson, with the assistance of author Julie Shaw. Entitled ‘Bronson: Inside and Out’ by Julie Shaw, Irene Dunroe and Charles Bronson, it is published by Mirror Books and retails for £9.99.
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