A TALENTED athlete who became a sports journalist and broadcaster is set to launch his eighth book in the Culturlann next month.
'Running Away' is the latest work by Bangor native John McCreedy.
The personal memoir details his journey of escaping the conflict in the North to pursue an athletic scholarship at an American university.
A book 40 years in the making after returning home from USA, John reflects on the numerous challenges and victories that have defined his life, including enhancing his Irish identity.
Speaking to the Andersonstown News, John said: "I grew up in Bangor and the Troubles was at its worst. In August 1980, I had a chance to get away. I had risen to a fairly high standard of athletics. I ran in Paris and I got spotted by a number of scouts.
"I went off to America with this dream of going to the Olympics. That didn't transpire and my destiny wasn't to be an Olympic athlete.
"What it did do was drive me down the career of sports journalism. I worked for numerous newspapers in my early 20s including the Belfast Telegraph, Sunday Life and Sunday News.
"I then moved into broadcasting for about eight years. I worked for BBC NI and UTV.
"I've had quite a journey as well, politically throughout the last number of years but I believe America was the starting point of it because I got away from Troubles into a place where they accepted people from different backgrounds.
"I was brought up in a Protestant school that didn't teach Irish history. We didn't learn the Irish language. You were actually almost prevented from those things.
"I regret that big time now, because I now have a great love for Ireland, not just Northern Ireland and for the Irish language.
"I mean, why shouldn't we speak Irish?
"I think my first introduction to becoming Irish was when John Treacy won the cross-country world title. I talk in the book about the pride I felt when seeing someone from Ireland win."
John hopes that others who had a dream that didn't work out can take something positive from the book.
"Many people have a dream but sometimes it doesn't transpire but sometimes your dream is not necessarily your destiny," he added.
John McCreedy with his editor and close friend Patrick McGarry
"I wouldn't change anything about what happened. Looking back, of course, it would have been nice to go on and be an Olympic athlete but the writing and journalism was also something I could never have dreamed of doing.
"Writing this book has been 40 years in the making. During Covid I was sitting thinking about how I have changed as a person and my political views and everything.
"For me, a lot of it can be attributed back to my time in America. Since then, I've been on a kind of a journey and I felt it was something that was within me that needed to be put on paper.
"I think it fits in now with the way Ireland and Northern Ireland is changing."
John will hold a special launch and Q&A session at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich on Saturday, May 9 from 1-3pm.
You can RSVP to John by email- mccreedy61@hotmail.co.uk.
'Running Away' by John McCreedy is available to purchase on Amazon here.
