Peace Movement in Northern Ireland

Even during the early 1970s, the darkest days of the "Troubles," there were people committed to the pursuit of peace. Spontaneous outbursts of protest frequently followed in the wake of local hijackings or murders, but organizations also emerged, usually headed by women, to bring the call for peace to the forefront of public attention; for example, Women Together was formed in 1970 and the Women Caring Trust two years later. Individuals as well as groups regularly led peace rallies, marches, and prayer meetings, particularly at times of paramilitary truce, and local peace committees were set up in many areas. Most peace activists declared themselves, like Women Together, to be "not political, just sick of violence" (Women Together). This was not an easy stance to maintain in a country dominated by politically inspired disturbances, and peace activists frequently met hostility from paramilitaries and their supporters.

The names most usually associated with the Northern Ireland peace movement are Betty Williams and Máiréad Corrigan, whose campaign followed a particularly tragic incident. On 10 August 1976 Corrigan's sister Anne Maguire was walking with her four children when the getaway car of a wounded gunman crashed into them, killing three of the children and leaving their mother seriously injured. Corrigan and Williams's call for an end to such senseless deaths and their subsequent campaign for peace drew wide public support. Tens of thousands gathered to sign petitions and join a group that became known as the Peace People, led by the two women with the assistance of reporter Ciaran McKeown. As many as 20,000 people attended rallies in Belfast during that first month, and 25,000 turned up in Derry in September. Marches held every weekend in the different cities of Northern Ireland, England, and the Republic during the following months continued to attract large crowds and massive media attention, as the frustration and despair of years was transformed into a wave of hope and optimism.

The high point of the movement came with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Corrigan and Williams in 1977, but the leaders of the movement, constantly in the public spotlight and seemingly out of touch with the wider membership, were increasingly divided over organization and direction, and Williams left in 1979. Moreover, lacking an agreed political agenda, they were prone to attack from both sides of the religious and political divide, and by 1980 growing popular disillusionment had led to a rapid decline in membership. The movement had blossomed during a period of political stalemate, and although it offered a ray of hope in a seemingly irresolvable situation, it lacked a policy of sufficient strength to sustain its growth. While individuals and organizations continued to work for peace in their localities, fundamental political issues had to be addressed before large-scale progress would be possible.

Peace Movement in Northern Ireland

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