Brian Keenan (born 28 September 1950) is a Northern 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, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, Lebanon from 11 April 1986 to 24 August 1990.

Life

Keenan was born into a working-class family in East

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, 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 sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

. Other writers there at that time included

Gerald Dawe Gerald Dawe (born 1952) is an Irish poet. Early life Gerald Dawe was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and grew up with his mother, sister and grandmother. He attended Orangefield High School across the city in East Belfast, a leading progress ...

and Brendan Hamill. In the mid 1980s Keenan returned to the

Magee College The Ulster University Magee campus is one of the four campuses of Ulster University. It is located in Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland and opened in 1865 as a Presbyterian Christian arts and Seminary, theological college. Since 1953, i ...

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) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

, 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. 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 contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

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 )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. There he was handed over by the Syrian Foreign Ministry to the care of Irish Ambassador, Declan Connolly. His sisters were flown by Irish Government executive jet to Damascus to meet him and bring him home to Northern Ireland. He now lives 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 John McCarthy, 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 launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' 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, List of Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Ireland, British Ambassador to Ireland, who was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army ...

. 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 pub ...

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 publis ...

'' 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 Kitchen'', ...

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. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' 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 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 John McC ...

''.

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 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