Brian Keenan (born 28 September 1950) is an Irish writer whose work includes the book ''An Evil Cradling'', an account of the four and a half years he spent as a hostage in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, Lebanon from 11 April 1986 to 24 August 1990.

Life

Keenan was born into a working-class family in East

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland, in 1950. He left Orangefield School early and began work as a heating engineer. However, he continued an interest in literature by attending night classes and in 1970 gained a place at the

University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, No ...

. Other writers there at that time included

Gerald Dawe Gerald Dawe (22 April 1952 – 29 May 2024) was an Irish poet, academic and literary critic. Life and career Gerald Dawe was born in north Belfast, Northern Ireland, and grew up with his mother, sister, and grandmother. He lived mostly in the S ...

and Brendan Hamill who were collectively known subsequently as the

Coleraine Cluster The Coleraine Cluster of poets and writers (a name coined later) was an informal collection of writers associated with the New University of Ulster in the early 1970s. Origins The ''New University of Ulster'' had been established near the town of C ...

. In the mid 1980s Keenan returned to the

Magee College The Ulster University Derry~Londonderry campus, better known as Magee College, is one of the four campuses of Ulster University. It is located in Derry, Northern Ireland, and was opened in 1865 as a Presbyterian Christian arts and theological ...

campus of the university for postgraduate study. Afterwards he accepted a teaching position at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

, where he worked for about four months.

Hostage

On the morning of 11 April 1986, Keenan was kidnapped by Islamic Jihad. After spending two months in isolation, he was moved to a cell shared with the British journalist

John McCarthy John McCarthy may refer to: Government * John George MacCarthy (1829–1892), Member of Parliament for Mallow constituency, 1874–1880 * John McCarthy (Irish politician) (1862–1893), Member of Parliament for the Mid Tipperary constituency, ...

. He was kept blindfolded throughout most of his ordeal and was chained hand and foot when he was taken out of solitary. The British and American governments at the time had a policy that they would not negotiate with terrorists, and Keenan was considered by some to have been ignored by them. Because he was travelling on both Irish and British

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

s, the Irish government made numerous diplomatic representations for his release, working closely with the Iranian government. Throughout the kidnap they also provided support to his two sisters, Elaine Spence and Brenda Gillham, who were spearheading the campaign for Brian's release. He was released from captivity to Syrian military forces on 24 August 1990 and was driven to

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. There he was handed over by the Syrian Foreign Ministry to the care of Irish Ambassador, Declan Connolly. His sisters were flown by Irish military executive jet to Damascus to meet him and bring him home to Northern Ireland. In 1993, he married Audrey Doyle, a physiotherapist. They have two children and live in Dublin. He returned to Beirut in 2007 for the first time since being released 17 years earlier. He wrote of the trip, "I couldn’t say I was happy and excited to be back – it was far more than that. I was falling in love."

Works

''An Evil Cradling'' is an autobiographical book by Keenan about his four years as a hostage in Beirut. The book revolves heavily around the great friendship he experienced with fellow hostage

, and the brutality that was inflicted upon them by their captors. It was the 1991 winner of the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' Literature Prize for Non-fiction and the

Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize The Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize was created in 1977, in memory of Christopher Ewart-Biggs, British Ambassador to Ireland, who was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provi ...

. It was also enthusiastically reviewed.

Sebastian Faulks Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – '' The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', ''Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''. He has also pu ...

in the ''

Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' said "The scope and grandeur of his reflections is supported by the concrete detail of his narrative. It is a moving and remarkable triumph." In the ''

'',

Frank McGuinness Professor Frank McGuinness (born 1953) is an Irish writer. As well as his own plays, which include '' The Factory Girls'', '' Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme'', '' Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'' and '' Dolly West's Kitche ...

claimed that "From the horror has come something wonderful. ''An Evil Cradling'' is a great book... With the publication of ''An Evil Cradling'', Brian Keenan is not letting the world forget. This is a mighty achievement by a magnificent writer". ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' called it "Scriptural in its resonances and its broad artistry, while being as gripping as an airport thriller" and John Simpson stated that it was "Unforgettable... a remarkable achievement" ''An Evil Cradling'' was adapted into a 2003 film, ''

Blind Flight ''Blind Flight'' is a 2003 British prison film directed by John Furse and starring Ian Hart and Linus Roache. It is based on the true-life story of the kidnapping and imprisonment of the Irish academic Brian Keenan and the English journalist Jo ...

''.

Bibliography

* ''An Evil Cradling'', 1991 * ''Turlough'', 1996 * ''Between Extremes: A Journey beyond Imagination'' (With J. McCarthy) 2000 * ''Four Quarters of Light: A Journey through Alaska'', 2004 * ''I'll Tell Me Ma'', 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keenan, Brian 1950 births 1980s missing person cases 21st-century writers from Northern Ireland Alumni of Ulster University British people taken hostage Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize recipients Foreign hostages in Lebanon Formerly missing Irish people Irish people taken hostage Kidnapped British people Living people Male non-fiction writers from Northern Ireland Missing person cases in Lebanon Writers from Belfast

Life

Hostage

Works

Bibliography

See also

References