Brian Keenan CBE (born 28 September 1950) is an Irish writer whose work includes the book An Evil Cradling, an account of the four and a half years he spent as a hostage in Beirut, Lebanon from 11 April 1986 to 24 August 1990.
Other writers there at that time included Gerald Dawe and Brendan Hamill who were collectively known subsequently as the Coleraine Cluster.
Throughout the kidnap they also provided support to his two sisters, Elaine Spence and Brenda Gillham, who were spearheading the campaign for Brian's release.
His sisters were flown by Irish military executive jet to Damascus to meet him and bring him home to Northern Ireland.
The book revolves heavily around the great friendship he experienced with fellow hostage John McCarthy, and the brutality that was inflicted upon them by their captors.
The Observer called it "Scriptural in its resonances and its broad artistry, while being as gripping as an airport thriller" and John Simpson stated that it was "Unforgettable... a remarkable achievement" An Evil Cradling was adapted into a 2003 film, Blind Flight.