Mairead Maguire facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mairead Maguire
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Maguire at the Free Gaza Movement in July 2009
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| Born |
Mairead Corrigan
27 January 1944 Belfast, Northern Ireland
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| Other names | Mairead Corrigan Maguire |
| Alma mater | Trinity College Dublin |
| Organization | The Peace People, The Nobel Women's Initiative |
| Known for | International social activist |
| Spouse(s) |
Jackie Maguire
(m. 1981) |
| Children | 2 (5) |
| Relatives | Anne Maguire (sister) |
| Awards | Nobel Peace Prize (1976) Norwegian People's Peace Prize (1976) Carl von Ossietzky Medal (1976) Pacem in Terris Award (1990) |
Mairead Maguire (born 27 January 1944) is a peace activist from Northern Ireland. A peace activist is someone who works to stop wars and violence. She co-founded a group called the Community for Peace People. This group worked to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles. For her amazing work, Mairead and her co-founder Betty Williams won the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize.
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Early Life and Work
Mairead Maguire was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, into a Roman Catholic family. She was the second of eight children. She went to school until she was 14. After that, she worked as a babysitter to save money for business classes.
At age 16, she got a job as an accounting clerk. In her free time, she volunteered to help children and visit people in prison. She later worked as a secretary for the Guinness company until 1976.
Starting the Peace Movement
A very sad event in 1976 changed Mairead's life forever. Her sister Anne's three young children were hit and killed by a car. The car went out of control after the driver, a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), was shot by British soldiers. This happened during "the Troubles", a long period of conflict in Northern Ireland.
A woman named Betty Williams saw the terrible accident. She was tired of the violence and started a petition for peace. Hundreds of women joined her to march for peace in Belfast. Mairead joined the march and soon became one of its leaders along with Betty.
Their next march brought together 10,000 women, both Protestant and Catholic. They walked to the place where the three children were buried. By the end of the month, Mairead and Betty had led 35,000 people in marches for peace.
The Peace People
Their group was first called "Women for Peace." It later became the "Community of Peace People" to include everyone. Mairead believed that the best way to end the violence was through education, not more fighting. The group even had its own newspaper called Peace by Peace.
In 1977, Mairead and Betty Williams were awarded the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize for their work. At 32 years old, Mairead was the youngest person to win the prize at that time.
Life After the Nobel Prize
Even after winning the Nobel Prize, Mairead continued her work for peace. Although Betty Williams left the Peace People in 1980, Mairead stayed with the group. The organization started to work on peace issues all around the world.
A few years after the tragic accident, Mairead's sister Anne passed away. In 1981, Mairead married her sister's husband, Jackie Maguire. She helped raise his three children and they had two more children of their own.
In 1981, Mairead helped start the Committee on the Administration of Justice. This group works to protect human rights for everyone, no matter their background.
Global Activism
Mairead Maguire has campaigned for peace and human rights all over the world. She believes in a "Consistent Life Ethic," which means she is against violence in all its forms, including war and the death penalty.
Campaigning for Others
Mairead has worked to help political prisoners and people treated unfairly by their governments.
- In 1993, she tried to enter Myanmar to protest the detention of leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
- In 2008, she signed a petition asking Turkey to treat Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan fairly.
- In 2010, she called for China to release Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.
- She has supported whistleblowers like Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning. A whistleblower is a person who exposes secret or wrong information to the public.
In 2006, Mairead and five other female Nobel Peace Prize winners started the Nobel Women's Initiative. Their goal is to use their experiences to support peace and women's rights worldwide.
Criticism of War
Mairead has often spoken out against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She believes that violence only leads to more suffering.
- She was against the sanctions against Iraq, which were restrictions that she said hurt innocent people, especially children.
- After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, she joined protests against the war in Afghanistan.
- In 2003, she protested against the Iraq War in front of the White House in Washington, D.C.
She also expressed disappointment when U.S. President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. She felt he was still leading a country involved in wars.
Working for Peace in Israel and Palestine
Mairead has spent a lot of time working on the conflict between Israel and Palestine. She wants to see a peaceful and fair solution for both sides.
- She has visited the region many times, meeting with peace groups like Rabbis for Human Rights.
- She has criticized the Israeli government's policies towards Palestinians.
- She supports peaceful protests and has joined marches against the separation wall.
In 2009 and 2010, she was on boats that tried to bring aid to the Gaza Strip, which was under a blockade. A blockade is when a country stops goods from entering or leaving an area. Because of this, she was arrested and deported by Israeli authorities.
Personal Beliefs
Mairead Maguire is a pacifist, which means she believes that violence is never the answer to a problem. She thinks that humans are not born violent but learn it. She feels the world is slowly moving towards a future of non-violence and peace.
She has been inspired by peaceful leaders like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.. She believes that love and truth are more powerful than weapons. She has called for all countries to get rid of their armies and create unarmed peacekeeping groups instead.
In her book, The Vision of Peace: Faith and Hope in Northern Ireland, she writes about her experiences and her strong belief in a peaceful future.
Awards and Honors
Besides the Nobel Peace Prize, Mairead has received many other awards for her work.
- Honorary degrees from universities like Yale University and the University of Rhode Island.
- The Pacem in Terris Award in 1990.
- The Distinguished Peace Leadership Award in 1992.
Images for kids
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Huwaida Arraf and Maguire, 2009
See also
In Spanish: Mairead Maguire para niños
- List of female Nobel laureates
- List of peace activists
- International Fellowship of Reconciliation
- PeaceJam
