Laurence McKeown
Encyclopedia
Laurence McKeown is an author
, playwright
, screenwriter
, and former volunteer
in the Provisional Irish Republican Army
(IRA) who took part in the 1981 Irish hunger strike
.
and when aged 16 he started working in the offices of a quantity surveyor
. When aged 17 he joined the IRA, and he was arrested in August 1976 and charged with causing explosions and the attempted murder of a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary
. At his trial in April 1977, McKeown was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Maze Prison.
and dirty protest
, attempting to secure the return of Special Category Status
for convicted paramilitary prisoners. In late 1980 the protest escalated and seven prisoners took part in a fifty-three day hunger strike
, aimed at restoring political status by securing what were known as the "Five Demands":
The strike ended before any prisoners had died and without political status being secured, and a second hunger strike began on 1 March 1981 led by Bobby Sands
, the IRA's former Officer Commanding
(OC) in the prison. McKeown joined the strike on 29 June, after Sands and three other prisoners had died. Following the deaths of six other prisoners, McKeown's family authorised medical intervention to save his life on 6 September, the 70th day of his hunger strike. He described his recollection of the events in an interview:
in social science from the Open University
while in prison before being released in 1992, and subsequently obtained a Ph.D.
from Queen's University Belfast. In the mid-1990s he co-founded the Belfast Film Festival
, and has written two books about republican prisoners in the Maze Prison–Nor Meekly Serve My Time: The H-Block Struggle 1976-1981 (co-written with Brian Campbell and Felim O'Hagan) was published in 1994, and Out Of Time: Irish Republican Prisoners, Long Kesh, 1972-2000 was published in 2001. McKeown and Campbell co-wrote a film about the 1981 hunger strike called H3
which was directed by Les Blair
, and premiered in cinemas on 28 September 2001. Before the death of Campbell in 2005, he and McKeown also wrote two plays together, The Laughter of Our Children which debuted in 2001, and A Cold House which debuted in 2003. McKeown's first solo play, The Official Version, debuted on 18 September 2006. In 2006 he appeared in a two-part documentary titled Hunger Strike, which was shown on RTÉ
to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1981 hunger strike. McKeown also works as a Development Officer for Coiste na n-Iarchimí, an umbrella organisation of republican ex-prisoners groups.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and former volunteer
Volunteer (Irish republican)
Volunteer, often abbreviated Vol., is a term used by a number of Irish republican paramilitary organisations to describe their members. Among these have been the various forms of the Irish Republican Army and the Irish National Liberation Army...
in the Provisional Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
(IRA) who took part in the 1981 Irish hunger strike
1981 Irish hunger strike
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...
.
Background and IRA activity
McKeown was born in 1956 in Randalstown, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. As a teenager, McKeown had ambitions of becoming an architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and when aged 16 he started working in the offices of a quantity surveyor
Quantity surveyor
A quantity surveyor is a professional working within the construction industry concerned with building costs.The profession is one that provides a qualification gained following formal education, specific training and experience that provides a general set of skills that are then applied to a...
. When aged 17 he joined the IRA, and he was arrested in August 1976 and charged with causing explosions and the attempted murder of a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
. At his trial in April 1977, McKeown was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Maze Prison.
Imprisonment and hunger strike
While in prison McKeown took part in the blanket protestBlanket protest
The blanket protest was part of a five year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison in Northern Ireland. The republican prisoners' status as political prisoners, known as Special Category Status, had...
and dirty protest
Dirty protest
The dirty protest was part of a five year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison and Armagh Women's Prison in Northern Ireland.-Background:Convicted paramilitary prisoners were treated as ordinary...
, attempting to secure the return of Special Category Status
Special Category Status
In July 1972, William Whitelaw, the British government's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, granted Special Category Status to all prisoners convicted of Troubles-related offences...
for convicted paramilitary prisoners. In late 1980 the protest escalated and seven prisoners took part in a fifty-three day hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
, aimed at restoring political status by securing what were known as the "Five Demands":
- The right not to wear a prison uniform;
- The right not to do prison work;
- The right of free association with other prisoners, and to organise educational and recreational pursuits;
- The right to one visit, one letter and one parcel per week;
- Full restoration of remission lost through the protest.
The strike ended before any prisoners had died and without political status being secured, and a second hunger strike began on 1 March 1981 led by Bobby Sands
Bobby Sands
Robert Gerard "Bobby" Sands was an Irish volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and member of the United Kingdom Parliament who died on hunger strike while imprisoned in HM Prison Maze....
, the IRA's former Officer Commanding
Officer Commanding
The Officer Commanding is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit , principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, the term Commanding Officer is applied to commanders of minor as well as major units.Normally an Officer Commanding is a company, squadron or battery...
(OC) in the prison. McKeown joined the strike on 29 June, after Sands and three other prisoners had died. Following the deaths of six other prisoners, McKeown's family authorised medical intervention to save his life on 6 September, the 70th day of his hunger strike. He described his recollection of the events in an interview:
You're very sleepy and very, very tired and you're sort of nodding off to sleep but something's telling you to keep waking up. This was the thing that kept everybody going through the hunger strike in trying to live or last out as long as possible. I knew death was close but I wasn't afraid to die - and it wasn't any sort of courageous or glorious thing. I think death would have been a release. You can never feel that way again. It's not like tiredness. It's an absolute, total, mental and physical exhaustion. It's literally like slipping into death.
Freedom
McKeown completed a bachelor's degreeBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in social science from the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
while in prison before being released in 1992, and subsequently obtained a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Queen's University Belfast. In the mid-1990s he co-founded the Belfast Film Festival
Belfast Film Festival
Founded in 1995 by author Laurence McKeown, in its early stages of development the West Belfast Film Festival was part of Féile an Phobail. In its third and fourth year, it was autonomous and under the stewardship of Michele Devlin and Laurence McKeown, the Film Festival ran as a citywide event...
, and has written two books about republican prisoners in the Maze Prison–Nor Meekly Serve My Time: The H-Block Struggle 1976-1981 (co-written with Brian Campbell and Felim O'Hagan) was published in 1994, and Out Of Time: Irish Republican Prisoners, Long Kesh, 1972-2000 was published in 2001. McKeown and Campbell co-wrote a film about the 1981 hunger strike called H3
H3 (film)
H3 was a film released in 2001 about the 1981 Irish hunger strike, events leading up to it, and subsequent developments in the prisoners' struggle for Prisoner of War status...
which was directed by Les Blair
Les Blair
Leslie "Les" Blair is an English television, film and theatre director.Gaining notoriety for his controversial mini-series Law And Order , Blair has gone on to direct films characterised by their political and social awareness.Blair currently teaches at the London Film...
, and premiered in cinemas on 28 September 2001. Before the death of Campbell in 2005, he and McKeown also wrote two plays together, The Laughter of Our Children which debuted in 2001, and A Cold House which debuted in 2003. McKeown's first solo play, The Official Version, debuted on 18 September 2006. In 2006 he appeared in a two-part documentary titled Hunger Strike, which was shown on RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1981 hunger strike. McKeown also works as a Development Officer for Coiste na n-Iarchimí, an umbrella organisation of republican ex-prisoners groups.