The Vision of Peace: Faith and Hope in Northern Ireland

The Vision of Peace: Faith and Hope in Northern Ireland is the first published collection of writings by Mairead Corrigan Maguire, winner of the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize. In October 1976 in Belfast, two of Maguire's nephews and one of her nieces, all young children, were run over and killed by the car of an IRA gunman who had been shot by a British Army patrol officer. Maguire, a housewife, channeled her grief and rage by organizing peace demonstrations and marches that drew more than half a million people in Northern Ireland, England, and the Republic of Ireland. These demonstrations led Maguire to found the Community of Peace People to further the cause of constructive non-violence in Northern Ireland.

The Vision of Peace collects two dozen of Maguire's essays and letters, many of which describe the connections between her political action and her faith. Although most of the writing concerns Northern Ireland, essays about the Holocaust, India, East Timor, and Yugoslavia are also included. Throughout, Maguire urges readers to develop a "politics of mercy and forgiveness," and communicates her belief that

hope for the future depends on each of us taking non-violence into our hearts and minds and developing new and imaginative structures which are non-violent and life-giving for all.... Some people will argue that this is too idealistic. I believe it is very realistic.... We can rejoice and celebrate today because we are living in a miraculous time. Everything is changing and everything is possible.

--Michael Joseph Gross