Brendan McFarlane visited The Phoenix for a Q&A following a special screening of Steve McQueen’s outstanding film Hunger. Brendan was the leader of republican political prisoners in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh prison during the 1981 hunger strikes. He succeeded Bobby Sands in this role when he commenced a hunger strike on 1 March. In 1983 he was one of the key people involved in a mass jail escape, when 38 republican prisoners broke out of what was the highest security jail in Western Europe . Recaptured in 1986, he spent over 20 years in jail until his release in 1998. A strong participant in the development of the peace process, he currently works for Sinn Fein and is a vocal supporter of the current political direction.

This Q&A is available to listen to in the player below.
[audio:http://www.phoenixcinema.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/hunger.mp3|titles=Brendan McFarlane Q&A]