The Facilitators
Laurence McKeown
I was born in 1956 in Randalstown, County Antrim in the north of Ireland. In 1973, at the age of 17, I joined the Irish Republican Army and one year later as a result of my involvement with the IRA I had to leave home. In August 1976 I was arrested and imprisoned in Belfast’s Crumlin Road Prison and in April of the following year sentenced to life imprisonment for the attempted murder of an RUC man and for causing explosions.
1976 was the year special category status was removed from political prisoners held in the north of Ireland. Thereafter they were to be treated as common criminals. There thus began five years of intensive prison protest for its return, culminating in a hunger strike in 1981 during which ten prisoners died. I was part of that protest for four and a half years and survived seventy days on the hunger strike. The hunger strike ended with us achieving just one of our five demands, the right to wear our own clothes instead of a prison uniform. However, within two years we had achieved most of our outstanding demands.
In later years I played an active part in the republican prisoner community of Long Kesh, especially in the development of an informal education programme based on the pedagogical theories of Paulo Freire. I was also very active in the promotion of poetry workshops and creative writings.
I was finally released from prison in June 1992 though as a life-sentence prisoner my release papers were not finally signed until 17 March 1993. During my time in prison I completed a BA Honours Degree. In 1993 I began studying for a PhD, graduating in December 1998.
I currently live in Belfast with my partner Deirdre and our two daughters,
Caoilfhionn aged 4 years and Órlaith aged 2. I am employed as Development
Officer with Coiste na n-Iarchimí
(Republican Ex-Prisoners’ Committee).