Jerry Endres
Written Communication
Sheila Allard\
07 Dec., 2010
Two Women who helped Lay the Groundwork for Lasting Peace in Northern Ireland
Young people today will always note that when they discuss Northern Ireland in their Geography or Social Studies that it is a peaceful country, of course they learn of its turbulent and violent past, but they will have no recollection of what truly happened and how it changed to the peaceful nation it is today. Growing up we learned and heard about the violence that raged between the two fractious parties because we had the benefit of being in school during this time. My goal here is to give you some insight into the lives of two brave women and the work that they did and continue to do that brought an end to the horrific violence that nearly tore this fractured nation on the northeast tip of the Emerald Isle apart. When this paper is finished you will truly understand and possibly have an admiration as I do for the brave steps and the non-violent way that these two women, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan, went about to bring peace to their native land.
What brought about the actions of these two courageous women, and what they did to help start the peace initiative that would eventually end the violence to their fractured and war torn homeland, Northern Ireland? Their actions were ignited and fueled out of a tragic accident that took the lives of the three young Maguire children on August 10, 1976 simply out for a walk on a street in Andersontown, a republican area of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The graphic description of the outright senseless act begins like this, a getaway car out of control, its driver an Irish Republican Army (IRA) gunman shot dead while fleeing British soldiers has smashed into a family out for a leisurely walk. Two of the three children were killed instantaneously, another died hours later at a hospital, and the mother was critically injured. Betty Williams, a housewife and mother, who had witnessed it, was so horrified by this senseless act that killed these innocent children that she quickly went from door to door begging neighbors to join her to stop the violence, collecting 200 people. Among the first people she collected was Mairead Corrigan, the aunt of these Maguire children, who herself witnessed the accident.
A week later the two women organized and led a march through Belfast of both Catholic and Protestant people seeking an end to the sectarian violence and the start of a peace movement. The senseless killing of these innocent children had produced a wave of revulsion against the violence that had been sweeping across Northern Ireland for many years. (Para 34, Nobel, Heroines) For many years Catholic IRA members used terror and violence directed at the Protestant sectors and British Military occupying Northern Ireland to drive out the British troops, in turn the Protestant extremist responded with violence causing many innocent victims to be killed as a consequence. The two women continued to lead marches throughout Northern Ireland which began arousing much support in Britain and abroad, especially Germany, Norway, and the United States. Together they founded the Northern Ireland Peace Movement (later renamed Community of Peace People) which Mairead Corrigan still continues to work with today advocating a nonviolent resolution of the Northern Ireland conflict in speaking engagements and writings. What brought hope to these two courageous women was the fact that so many people in Northern Ireland had recognized that violence cannot bring about social justice; together they held the vision of “the dawn of a new day bringing lasting peace to the sorely tried people of Ulster.” (Para 35, Nobel, Heroines)
In their acceptance speech to receive their Nobel Prize delivered by Betty Williams on Dec. 11, 1977, she spoke of their sense of humility, history, and honor to receive this award for their nonviolent actions that led to the formation of the organization, The Peace People. She spoke of not only the honor, but of the courage it took to stand up against the violence that raged in her native, Northern Ireland and the challenges they faced to bring about lasting peace. She spoke how both she and Mairead Corrigan took great satisfaction of what they did by taking,” the initial call, a call which unlocked the massive desire for peace within the hearts of the Northern Irish people, and as we so soon discovered, in the hearts of people around the world…” (Para 2, Nobel Lecture)
She recalled about the needless and senseless actions that bought about their call to action and taking up the banner for peace in Northern Ireland and how it helped fuel the desire in the hearts and minds of the people tired of the violence and wanting to see a real, lasting peace. The frustration and anger over the tragedy that took the young lives of those Maguire children, the fact one of them being only a six week old baby made it especially unbearable. They could also not forget the life of the young republican, Danny Lennon who also lost his life that day, although some would argue that he got what he deserved that day, but yet it was another young life needlessly lost. (Para 4, Nobel Lecture) Hundreds of thousands of people turned out during those four months following the tragedy and had they not we wouldn’t be standing before you today. (Para 8, Nobel Lecture) “We are honored, in the name of all women, that women have been honored especially for their part in leading a nonviolent movement for a just and peaceful society.” (Para13, Nobel Lecture)
We know that the only which can break down those barriers is the force of love, truth, and soul-force. “A simple handshake, a simple embrace, can break down enmity between two people.” (Para 24, Nobel Lecture) Such acts of friendship must be backed by dedication, a handshake or an embrace is not enough they must be followed day in and day out, by cooperation in everything that improves life and prevents violence. “We are deeply, passionately dedicated to the cause of nonviolence, to the force of truth and love, to soul-force.” Rev. Martin Luther King described it so well when he said, “that the question today was not whether violence or nonviolence, but that the choice was nonviolence or nonexistence.” (Para 25 & 26, Nobel Lecture)
What these two women showed the world was “what ordinary people can do to promote peace” by taking the first step. “They did so in the name of humanity and love of their neighbor; someone had to start forgiving.” Theirs was truly “a courageous unselfish act that proved an inspiration to thousands that lit a light in the darkness…” (Para 36, Nobel, Heroines) Despite what was said by Egil Aarvik, vice-chairman of the Nobel Committee, in his presentation speech, neither of these two women is an ordinary person, both have continued their work as an advocate for peace worldwide. In Feb. of 1980 Betty Williams resigned from the Community of Peace People over a rift with Corrigan and the direction the movement was going. She was divorced and immigrated to the United States where she later remarried and became a visiting professor at Sam Houston State College in Huntsville, Texas. Today she heads The World Centers of Compassion for Children, with an aim of providing safe havens for children in areas of conflict in the world. In 1980, Anne Maguire after vainly seeking peace of mind succumbed to the grief and took own life. Mairead helped her brother-in-law care for the remaining children and in 1981 were married. They moved to a home twenty miles southeast of Belfast, and when the children became older she returned to her duties of leading the Peace People. (Pg. 234) Today she was become a strong advocate for peace, in contrast to the nervous young woman she once was, and has become an accomplished speaker spreading her message of peace to many different countries worldwide. Although the violence in Northern Ireland was curbed for a short time eventually it began again and only within the last five years did it come to an end. The message of nonviolence that they carried back then still burns brightly today in the hearts and minds of others throughout the world. When ordinary people rise to face a challenge, they may go far beyond the ordinary. (Para 37, Nobel, Heroines)
Work Cited Page:
“Heroines of Peace – The Nine Nobel Women”. Nobelprize.org. 16 Nov 2010 http:nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/articles/heroines/index.html.
“Betty Williams – Nobel Lecture”. Nobelprize.org 2 Dec 2010 http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1976/williams-lecture.html
Williams, Betty. (2005). In The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography. Retrieved from
Corrigan, Mairead. (2008)http://www.credoreference.com/entry/columency/corrigan_mairead
“Mairead Corrigan – Curriculum Vitae”. Nobelprize.org 16 Nov 2010 http://nobelprise.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1976/corrigan.html
The Nobel Peace Prize and the Laureates/ An illustrated biographical history 1901-2001, Irwin Abrams- Centennial edition Pgs 234-236
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