Pat McGeown; Former Sinn Fein Leader

Pat McGeown, 40, who barely survived a 12-day hunger strike as a prisoner of the British in 1981 and who later became a leader of the Irish Republican Army-allied Sinn Fein party. McGeown, who joined the IRA’s Fianna youth wing in the late 1960s, was imprisoned without trial for IRA activities from 1971 to 1975. He was convicted in 1976 of bombing the Europa Hotel in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After his release from prison in 1985, McGeown became active in the party as a member of its executive committee and won election to Belfast’s 52-seat City Council. On Tuesday in Belfast of unknown causes.