Flowers Grew up Through the Concrete | A Real Peace Settlement Needed | Gearóid Ó Cairealláin

 And Flowers Grew up Through the Concrete is Laurence McKeown’s second prison memoir. Big Laurny, is a very fine writer. This latest book is an account of his journey through imprisonment, hunger strike, brutality and growing self-awareness. It is beautifully written and unashamedly honest in its emotion.

Laurence is one of those gifted republican POWs who spent years – decades in some cases – in British prisons and who have written about their experience. Together they have generated a huge body of prison literature comparable to previous periods in the independence struggle.

Among them are Eoghan MacCormaic and Jazz Jim McCann; Pat Magee; Gerry Kelly; Síle Darragh’s inspirational account of the women in Armagh - ‘John Lennon Is Dead’; Danny Morrison, Roseleen Walsh; Tony Doherty, Chrissie McAuley, Jim McVeigh; Jake MacSachais, Richard McAuley and others. I apologise to any I have left out - always a danger when you produce a list of any kind.

Perhaps the best known of all the prison writers is Bobby Sands whose poems, songs and accounts of life in the H-Blocks and on Hunger Strike still resonate over four decades after his death. Writing on scraps of paper to be smuggled out, Bobby’s poetry, prose, political polemic, songs and other writings in Irish and English are now part of the tradition.

Laurence’s previous books include, with Brian Campbell and Felim O’Hagan, ‘Nor Meekly Serve My Time” which covers the blanket protest from 1976 to 1981; ‘Out of Time: Irish Republican Prisoners Long Kesh 1972-2000’; and with Brian Campbell the script for the film H3.

Laurny’s first prison memoir - Time Shadows: - was published four years ago. This latest memoir - And Flowers Grew up Through the Concrete - now completes his account of his jail experience.

It covers the many challenges the political prisoners faced after the hunger strike ended, including the Mass escape of 1983 and its aftermath; the ongoing prison struggle as the prison system continued its efforts against the prisoners; and the differences in approach and politics that emerged among the political prisoners themselves. Laurny gives his views on this in a measured but clear and honest way, without rancour.

Professor Phil Scraton in his Foreword quotes Nelson Mandela who described the apartheid South African approach to prison as “designed to break one’s spirit and destroy one’s resolve”. So too it was our experience of British penal policy. The accounts of Republican POWs reflect their courage and determination not to be criminalised. It is an amazing story of human endeavour - of men and women overcoming enormous adversity.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Laurny’s evocative and deeply moving account of his last hours on the hunger strike and the decision by his mother to order medical intervention when he slipped into unconsciousness.

He writes:

“… That evening I said to her, ‘I’m sorry all this came about for you’. She leaned across to me and whispered, ‘You know what you have to do and I know what I have to do’.

I didn’t understand at the time what she meant, but I think I do now, years later. If I were to die suddenly, then that was how it was intended to be. It would be God’s will. But if my life ended up in her hands and the decision was hers, then she would give me life.”

And that’s what his mother, Mary did – on Laurny’s 70^th day of hunger strike - she gave him life.

Just as she had when she gave birth to him.

In one part of the book Laurny writes about the way emotions are expressed in the Irish language. How emotions are ‘on you’. He writes about the numerous events he has spoken at and the countless interviews he has given and how over time he has learned to do these competently. But there are times, as he describes it, when: “I can be in the middle of a sentence when a word, an image, or a sound comes to mind and I’m flooded with emotion. I either openly weep or need to pause mid-sentence and wait until I can compose myself again.”

It happened to Laurny the night of his book launch in Áras Uí Chonghaile as he spoke about his experience. It happened me also that same night speaking of the hunger strike. It just comes at you out of the blue and you find yourself choking. Or reduced to silence. Or tears.

Laurny writes honestly about this. His book is a compelling and accessible piece of story-telling. It exemplifies the power of memory and of the written word and the personal and individual understanding of events. Well done Laurny.

And well done Beyond the Pale for publishing this very fine book. If you do nothing else as 2025 draws to a close buy this book and read it. You will not be disappointed.

And Flowers Grew up Through the Concrete – A Prison Memoir by Laurence McKeown

Available from Beyond the Pale, info@beyondthepalebooks.com

And at An Fhuiseog 55 Falls Road, BT12 4PD and www.anfuiseog

A Real Peace Settlement Needed

Last week the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Irish state. In the course of his meetings President Zelensky also addressed the Oireachtas in which he called for a peace without humiliation.

His visit came at a time when there is widespread speculation that the US government is pressuring Ukraine to accept a peace deal that would force it to cede land to Russia.

My starting point as a republican is clear. The people of Ukraine have a right to self-determination and the Russian invasion is a breach of international law. With Russia intensifying its drone attacks on Ukraine, especially its targeting of civilian infrastructure like energy, health care and water, there is an urgent need for an intensification of the peace efforts.

That means establishing a sustainable, permanent, and just outcome to the war through a negotiated peace settlement. It also means that Ukraine must be part of all negotiations. Concocting a deal behind the backs of the people of Ukraine is a recipe for disaster.

Gearóid Ó Cairealláin

Reáchtáladh deireadh seachtaine d’imeachtaí in An Chultúrlann cúpla lá ó shin chun Gearóid Ó Cairealláin, a fuair bás anuraidh, a chomóradh agus chun ár meas a léiriú dá fhís agus dá chrógacht. Scrúdaigh na himeachtaí téamaí an agóid

Mo bhuíochas ó chroí le hEoghan Ó Néill agus na daoine a chuir Scoil Gheimhridh Uí Chairealláin le chéile. Obair iontach, agus sílim go bhfuil Gearóid an-sásta leis. Diaspóra, ceol, siúlóid, fáthanna éagsúla… agus an taispeántas galánta fosta ar shaol Ghearóid — go han-maith.

Seo mar chara é agus mar fhear a raibh go leor fiontar aige. Agus é ag baint sult as an saol. Tá gá le gach streachailt le glór ciotach – ach glór dearfach. Bhí Gearóid lón smaointe geala.

Tá a fhios againn go bhfuil smaointe móra ag a lán daoine, ach ba é Gearóid ceann de na daoine ba ghníomhaí – Gaeilgeoir iontach, beart de réir briathair.

Chuir Gearóid agus a chairde a lán tograí ar bun: Preas an Phobail; Lá; An Ceathrú Póilí (le meangadh i dtreo Flann Uí Bhriain), Raidió Fáilte, Aisling Ghéar, an Mheánscoil/Coláiste Feirste, An Cheathrú Ghaeltachta agus araile.

Ealaín de ghrá na healaíne – ceol, drámaíocht, scríbhneoireacht, craoltóireacht. Craic agus spórt. Tobar domhain saibhir.

Ag tógáil ar obair na gceannairí i Sráid Bombay, Bóthar Seoighe, Garáiste an Phobail agus tograí pobail eile. Chuir siad dúshraith dhaingean síos agus thógail Gearóid agus a chairde ar na bun-chlocha sin.

Ag tógáil an Dream Dhearg agus eile ar an obair sin. Táimid fíorbhuíoch díobh. Tá difríocht mhór idir dreamers agus visionaries. Ba visionary é Gearóid.