father and working on construction sites. One of McFeely's first encounters with Irish Republicanism was during the 1966 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland, in which he voted for the republican Neil Gillespie instead of the Nationalist Party candidate Paddy Gormley in the Londonderry constituency. In 1968 McFeely briefly relocated to England before returning to Northern Ireland at the outset of the Northern Ireland civil rights movement. McFeely has claimed to have been involved in riots that occurred in that period such as the Battle of the Bogside. It was during this period that McFeely heard speeches by political activists such as Bernadette Devlin and Eamonn McCann and became intrigued by their socialist stances. Membership of the Provisional IRA By the early 1970s, McFeely was actively involved in the Provisional IRA, which lead to his arrest and sentencing to six months of jail time. Instead, McFeely went on the lamb and fled over the border to the Republic of Ireland. He soon returned to Northern Ireland, moving his wife and children to County Antrim, where he soon set out to bomb the local dole office. However, McFeely was caught in the act by members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. In 1974 McFeely fled once again to the Republic, however this time he was subsequently caught in County Leitrim and imprisoned on a charge of illegally possessing firearms. In August 1974 McFeely and 18 other republicans escaped from Portlaoise prison when they used gelignite to blow a hole in the perimeter wall. Involvement in the Claudy bombing Although McFeely denies any involvement, McFeely has been attributed by a number of sources as having taken part in the botched July 1972 no-warning bombing of the village of Claudy in County Londonderry, just a few miles from his birthplace. Nine civilians were killed in the attack, including an eight-year-old girl and two teenage boys. McFeely has stated he was not there, "but if I'd been there, I would have planted the bombs. It is the reality of war. I only regret I wasn't able to do more". Imprisonment In the mid-1970s McFeely was involved in the robbery of a post office in Northern Ireland; following the robbery McFeely and his accomplice, another member of the IRA, were pursued to a rural house by the RUC. The authorities lay siege to the house and during the course of events, McFeely shot (but did