Early Years
McFarlane was brought up in a strongly religious Catholic family in the republican Ardoyne area of North Belfast. He served as an altar boy at the local church, and at the age of 17 joined a missionary school in Wales, where he began his training to become a priest. McFarlane joined the Provisional IRA when he was 18 years old. This was in the summer of 1969 shortly after the religious/political conflict known as The Troubles had broken out in the North and he witnessed the violent disturbances first-hand.
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