Quiet Peacemakers
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quiet peacemakers susan hughes quiet peacemakers susan hughes foreword malachi o’doherty portraiture faces particular challenges as an art form. Often, as with these pieces, it is tribute. It is an act of respect for the subject, for the work and the life that have fashioned the face. But it can’t be !attery, or people will see plainly that elements of character have been evaded, di"culties not even accepted as challenges. Susan Hughes has chosen to honour signi#cant players in the Northern Ireland peace process. $ere are risks in the selection of subjects too, for some people will suggest that others should have been included, or that some should have been left out. When it comes to the peace process, there are not simply two positions to take, two histories to write, two pantheons of icons. Susan started with Gerry Reynolds of Clonard Monastery, who will be surprised to read that she selected him #rst ‘aesthetically as a model.’ Susan’s work is generous to her subjects, evoking character and attitude in people who worked hard and were often seen in the media over the years not looking at their best, often jaded and struggling. Many of the pictures suggest that they have recouped their energies for challenges still ahead, though sadly that isn’t true for all. Anyone who saw Inez McCormack at work will wonder if that is really her, and then pause to recognise in her portrait an elegance that she perhaps had in the morning at the mirror before setting o% to the #rst #ght of the day. Ken Newell will be pleased, I expect with the rugged face looking towards the light. A portrait is a joint venture between the artist and the subject, and some more than others seem to represent the subject’s input, for some people are more in control of how they project their image than others. Pauline Hegney, by contrast, seems caught almost unawares, as she would in a snatched photograph. Sometimes the eye of the subject challenges the artist, while in others, like Ruth Patterson’s, the face is made unselfconsciously available and a candour is found there by Susan. And this diversity of responses among people chosen for the mission they shared, reminds us how di%erent they are, probably that they wouldn’t even all like each other, that their work for peace and reconciliation is only part of who they are, and of who some of them are still yet to be. preface susan hughes the IRA Cease#re was announced on 31st August 1995. I started secondary school the next day. I am a child of Northern Irish peace. Growing up at the top of the Ormeau Road with parents of a mixed, cross-border marriage, ecumenism was a given for me and we were not exposed to the brutality and pain of the Troubles. $is exhibition all began with a portrait of Father Gerry Reynolds, a family friend. Fr. Gerry, as well as being an all-round cool guy, has these amazingly expressive hands, which emphasise his open and intense listening. $us he was someone I wanted to paint, not only to recognise his contribution to Northern Irish peace, which I was just learning about, but aesthetically as a model. My mother inspired this exhibition: she suggested that I continue the series that had begun with Fr. Gerry, by painting some of the other individuals who were, and are, continually committed to working quietly and steadily in the background to facilitate peace and reconciliation, justice, recognition, and communication. I found that beneath the radar of the big events of the Peace Process are networks of ordinary people moving mountains in courageous and imaginative ways. And so I began this venture to pay homage to them and celebrate them in the best way I know how: through art. My mother’s worn, pink address book was my #rst port of call, and having consulted it I hopped on my bike, and travelled all over Belfast to meet my models. I began the project by focusing on the Quiet Peacemakers of the Peace Process (1990s). But as one person led me to another, I found myself on a journey of discovery bringing me right up to the present – and future – of peacemaking and community relations on my doorstep. At times I was bewildered when I stopped to imagine what our society would look like without these humble people holding things together, taking action, listening, mediating, and praying. I can not claim that this collection is a comprehensive representation; these portraits are a tiny snapshot, an impression of the many ‘unknowns.’ $e more I painted, the more nebulous and endless my list of Peacemakers became, so for practical reasons I imposed my own reasonable limit of thirty-two Belfast-based portraits. Obviously there is considerable scope for further work. I hope this exhibition will celebrate them, and perhaps challenge a new generation of Quiet Peacemakers. sam burch Sam Burch, Methodist minister, was part of the Cornerstone community from 1985-1995. An important part of the work of this community mission was that each time there was a political killing in the locality one Catholic and one Protestant from the community would visit the family together. Here, Sam describes the #rst of those visits: A UDR man was shot in front of his son on the Shankill, and Fr. Gerry Reynolds wanted us to visit the family together. I was reluctant as I felt he was putting his own life in danger. But we did go. $e parents of the man were receptive and appreciative. At one point I watched as Gerry and the mother wept together with their arms around one another. pat campbell Pat Campbell became involved with Women Together in 1975 and was deputy president from then until the organisation disbanded. Women Together was a women’s peace group which existed for the whole of the Troubles (1970 until around 2003). It was a very active organisation, with up to nine local groups, opposing violence and trying to build contact across divides. One of the areas of work they were involved in produced women’s peace quilts which are still used in exhibitions today. Pat experienced her own personal tragedy through the Troubles but still says: I know that there are more good people in Northern Ireland than bad. I was never frightened; I asked God to protect us. lesley carroll Lesley Carroll (Rev. Dr.) has been a Presbyterian minister in North Belfast since 1998. She focuses on capacity and peace building from a restorative perspective, bringing groups into conversation with one another to build respectful relationships. I grew up in Coalisland, Co Tyrone. $e community was divided, sectarian, and experienced considerable levels of violence. When some Catholic neighbours were shot dead I couldn’t understand it. It changed how I saw the world and the impacts of violence, and began a journey for me to understand di%erence, and how it is possible to build relationships among people whose political di%erences divide them. rob fairmichael Rob, cyclist, gardener, and bog wood carver, has lived in Belfast since 1975. He has been engaged in peace journalism since 1974, and currently edits publications for INNATE (Irish Network for Nonviolent Action Training and Education), of which he is coordinator, and for Mediation Northern Ireland. His work as coordinator of the Community Faiths’ Forum brings together people from Christian and other faith backgrounds to work on social and community issues. Sometimes people have gone places or done things because of information I have produced, or people have laughed – and maybe learnt – through my writing or street theatre. However, living with being unable to know the e%ect of actions is more important and intriguing. joan trew Joan Trew, from Greencastle, has been living in Monkstown Estate for 46 years. She has always been deeply involved with her church (amalgamated Methodist and Anglican), but last year she initiated a project which spread far beyond her own congregation. Finding a picture in a craft magazine of a Christmas tree made out of knitted squares, Joan began asking people to create a square each. As more craft groups got interested the word spread. Fr. Martin Magill invited her to speak at his church and so squares began arriving from parishes further a#eld. $e knitting of individual squares to create a #nal product was such a simple and unthreatening idea that it captured people’s creativity, bringing individuals and communities together. roy garland Roy is a former Bible College student, businessman, sociology and religion lecturer, Irish News columnist, writer, family historian, and UUP member. In the early 1960s he was caught up in the con!ict and joined the Orange Order and UUP. By the late 1960s he had begun a radical re-think, which led to Queen’s University Belfast, teaching, and Corrymeela. $e Falls Road was ‘enemy territory.’ I had nightmares about it. But when asked in 1995 to share in a panel discussion at Conway Mill, I immediately agreed. I received messages of support from David Ervine and a UVF leader. Martin McGuinness brought me towards the centre of the panel in a room over!owing with Republicans. $e atmosphere was electric. My world changed. katie hanlon Katie Hanlon has been director of the Ballynafeigh Community Development Association (BCDA) on the Ormeau Road for nearly thirty years. Over the years, BCDA (founded in 1974) has evolved as multi-purpose organisation, operating a shared resource facility in the Community House and acting as a catalyst for the creation and delivery of social actions that tackle disadvantage and foster the diverse character of the area.