Former London gangster comes to North Galway schools

A FORMERLY notorious figure in the shady underworld of London's gangland scene will be the unlikely guest of honour at the Cathedral of the Assumption when he visits Tuam early next month. [private] Feared enforcer turned motivational speaker John Pridmore will also visit secondary schools in North Galway during his tour of the area from October 8 to 14. He will address the dangers of drugs and the criminal life in his speeches and explain how he made the transition from gang member to Christian advocate. Throughout his late teens and much of his twenties, John cut an intimidating sight on London's criminal circuit as he flitted between prison sentences and bouts of serious crime on the streets. At one stage, the six-foot-one part-time bouncer took to carrying a machete around with him as a form of protection against rival gangsters. For many years he led a luxurious highlife fuelled by the illicit proceeds of drug sales and other criminal ventures. 'By 27, I had more money than I could spend. I had everything the world says should make you happy but I was empty inside,' says John. The champagne flowed and the steady string of glamorous ladies continued right up until one chilling night in 1991, during which John left a man for dead outside a London nightclub following a drug-fuelled rampage. 'I honestly believed I'd killed him. I thank God he lived,' he explains. This eye-opening experience led to John re-examining how he lived his life. Turning to God for inspiration as to how to turn his life around, he ended up visiting many disadvantaged areas across the world and even worked with Mother Teresa in rough areas of New York before the famous nun died in 1997. 'I want to show that Christ can transform lives, no matter how broken or messed up they are, like mine was,' says John. Since last visiting Co Galway in February 2007, John has been to places as diverse as Chicago, where he spoke to prison inmates, and Liberia, where he met former child soldiers who fought in the country's brutal civil war. He has had three books published, including a biography that tells the story of his criminal past and of his personal road to Damascus. John now works as a motivational speaker with St Patrick's Community in Carrick-on-Shannon and estimates that he has spoken to over 2.5 million people about his experiences ever since he rejected his life of crime. He will speak at evening and morning sessions of the Tuam Parish Mission, at 7 am and 7.30 pm from Monday October 10 until Friday October 14. [/private]