His father had been in the Royal Air Force but ran a pub in Derry.
[1] Concerns about the poor housing conditions in the city led him to join the civil rights movement.
[2] Later in life, McClean wrote about Bloody Sunday and the events leading up to it, holding a special interest in the long-term effects of the use of CS Gas.
[3] He held his seat on Londonderry City Council at the 1977 election, but did not stand in 1981.
[2] McClean authored two books, The Road to Bloody Sunday, and A Cross Shared, and jointly authored a report providing medical perspectives on the deaths of some marchers on Bloody Sunday.