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. 

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. 

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.