As a teenager living in Northern Ireland at the height of the conflict, I spent my days desperately wishing for peace. By the time I finished university, and with the violence showing no signs of ending, I left. A cop out, some might say when others stayed.
Perhaps that’s why I made the main character in my book a young peace campaigner, determined to change things for the better. My alter ego, if you like. She’s certainly braver than I ever was, joining protest marches, demanding a ceasefire, confronting rioters. Things I would never have dared to do for fear of repercussions.
I admire her for the stand she takes (you can do that with your own fictional character, can’t you?) but my deepest admiration is reserved for the real-life women I took inspiration from. Women like Ruth Agnew, Monica Patterson and her successor Saidie Patterson (no relation) who spearheaded one of the earliest peace groups, Women Together. They risked their own safety to speak out and yet their courage was never fully recognised.
That is set to change.
Next year sees the 25th anniversary of the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement. In the run up to that event @HerstoryIreland has launched #PeaceHeroines, an exhibition honouring women who worked for peace in Northern Ireland. Amongst them are the leaders of Women Together. Finally they are being given the prominence they deserve.
“Every man, youth or child who goes out causing riots in the streets has come from a home, and it is round the woman that homes revolve… …The time has come when we must stop feeling useless or worthless or hopeless, and realise that if it all starts in individual homes, this is where our influence starts.”
Monica Patterson - Women Together