Audio interview with Laurence McKeown, former member of the Provisional IRA, by the BBC in 2000. The Belfast Agreement/Good Friday Agreement provided a programme for the release of republican and loyalist prisoners if the paramilitary organisation they were affiliated with had established and maintained a ceasefire. Laurence McKeown discusses the difficulties of re-integrating these prisoners into society and outlines the work of his organisation Coiste na n-Iarchimí in this regard. This interview forms part of the BBC Northern Ireland A State Apart online resource which documents thirty years of peace and violence in Northern Ireland from the Troubles to the Belfast Agreement/Good Friday Agreement.
Date of Release/Broadcast: 2000
Name of First Interviewee: Laurence McKeown
Role at time of Interview: Development Officer for Coiste na n-Iarchimí
Interviewer: Unknown
Purpose: News, Research
Media: Audio
Copyright: BBC © 2012
Link: Listen to the interview
Programme/Book/Article: BBC Northern Ireland A State Apart
Time Period covered: 1998-2000
Key Individuals: Laurence McKeown, Martin McGuinness
Key Words: Republican, prisoner, loyalist, political status