Background; Susan and Arthur McHugh rose briefly to international fame when they formed an ad-hoc protest group called Peace 93 in Dublin in response to the deaths of Tim Parry and Johnathan Ball in the IRA bombing of Warrington on March 20th 1993 . The founding of the group was kickstarted by the mass, non-partisan rally calling for an end to sectarian violence that took place on O’Connell Street in Dublin on March 25th of that year – a rally which Susan and Arthur were pivotal in instigating and organising .
Suggested topics for discussion ; What do you know about “The Troubles “ ? What was happening in Northern Ireland in 1993 that lead Susan and Arthur down in Dublin to take the action they took ? Look up the Warrington bomb ; what actually happened on that day ? Susan and Arthur heard about the bomb via the television; what acts of violence and conflict do you remember seeing on the television ? What happened in response in that case ? Do you think the media make us active – or just apathetic or despairing ? Do you think mass public demonstrations are still important ? And can you give your own answer to Neil’s final question – can you give a concrete example of peace from your own life experience ?
Go here to find out more about Susan and Arthur . If you are especially interested in Northern Irish perspectives on peace , you might also want to look up the stories of Pat Magee, Avila Kilmurray, Louise Mallinder and Ciara Kinsella.
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