Dr Laurence McKeown is a writer, playwright, and filmmaker though sees those roles within the broader context of political activism and academia, and the role that the arts can play in both. His involvement in creative works, political education, and academia began during his period of incarceration as a political prisoner (1976-1992).

Following his release from prison, Laurence completed a doctoral thesis at Queen’s University, Belfast which examined the development of Irish republican prisoners’ politics and methods of organisation over a period of two decades. Professor Phil Scraton was the External Examiner for Laurence’s thesis.

In the 1990s Laurence co-wrote a feature film, H3, based on the 1981 hunger strike within the prison which he participated in (70 days) and during which 10 prisoners died. Laurence then began to work as a playwright, using full-length plays and bespoke theatre to explore issues concerning the legacy of the conflict in the North of Ireland.

In December 2018, Salmond Poetry, Ireland published Laurence’s debut collection of poetry Threads.

In December 2021 Laurence published Time Shadows: a prison memoir (Beyond the Pale Books, Belfast) which details his first five years of imprisonment, 1976-1981, taking in the blanket protest which ended with the hunger strike of 1981. His new memoir And Flowers Grew Up Through The Concrete (Beyond the Pale Books, Belfast, December 2025), looks at the eleven years Laurence continued to serve in prison post the 1981 hunger strike and the central role he played in the political, creative, and cultural developments that took place during that time.