LAWRENCE MCKEOWN, who went 70 days without food during the 1981 Hunger Strikes, will speak in NUI Galway about the Hunger Strikes and the 1916 Rising, both of which have anniversaries this year.
McKeown, a former IRA volunteer sentenced to life in the Maze Prison in 1976, took part in the blanket and “no wash” protest within the Maze and the 1981 hunger strike. Following the deaths of nine prisoners, McKeown's family authorised medical intervention to save his life on the 70th day of his hunger strike. Since then he has gone on to become a respected author and playwright.
As the centenary of the Easter Rising, and the 35th anniversary of the Hunger Strikes fall this year, McKeown will reflect on both events and the politics of memory and commemoration in Irish society, with Dr Niall Ó Dochartaigh, School of Political Science and Sociology, in Aras Moyola Lecture Theatre, NUI Galway, on Thursday March 3 at 6.30pm.
Members of the public are welcome to attend and admission is free.
