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. She helped start an organization called the Community for Peace People. This group worked to find a peaceful solution to a conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles. Mairead Maguire and her co-founder, Betty Williams, were given the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.
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Early Life and Volunteering (1944–1976)
Mairead Maguire grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She was one of eight children in her family. She went to a Catholic school until she was 14. After that, she worked as a babysitter to save money for business classes. At 16, she got a job as an accounting clerk.
Mairead also spent a lot of her free time volunteering. She worked with children and visited people in prison. When she was 21, she started working as a secretary for the Guinness company. She stayed there until December 1976.
Starting the Peace Movement (1976–1980)
Mairead Maguire became deeply involved in the peace movement after a very sad event. In August 1976, three children of her sister, Anne Maguire, were accidentally killed by a car. The car's driver was a man who had been shot by British soldiers while trying to escape.
A woman named Betty Williams saw this tragedy. She started collecting signatures for a peace petition. Soon, about 200 women marched for peace in Belfast. Mairead joined this march. She and Betty became leaders of a new movement.
Their next march, to the burial sites of the three children, brought together 10,000 women from both Protestant and Catholic backgrounds. Even though they were attacked by some people, they kept going. By the end of the month, Mairead and Betty had gathered 35,000 people to march for peace.
The Peace People Organization
The movement was first called "Women for Peace." Later, it changed its name to "Community of Peace People," or simply "Peace People." This was because a man named Ciaran McKeown joined them. Mairead believed that education, not violence, was the best way to end the conflict.
The Peace People published a newspaper and helped families of prisoners. In 1977, Mairead and Betty Williams received the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize for their important work. Mairead was 32 years old at the time, making her one of the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winners ever.
After the Nobel Prize (Since 1980)
Betty Williams left the Peace People in 1980, but Mairead Maguire has continued to be involved. She is now the group's honorary president. The organization has grown to work on peace issues around the world.
In 1981, Mairead married Jackie Maguire, who was her late sister's husband. She has three stepchildren and two children of her own.
Human Rights Work
In 1981, Mairead also helped start the Committee on the Administration of Justice. This group works to protect human rights for everyone. She has supported many campaigns for political prisoners globally. For example, in 1993, she tried to visit Myanmar to protest the detention of a leader there. She also signed petitions asking for the release of other Nobel Peace Prize winners and activists.
In 2006, Mairead helped create the Nobel Women's Initiative. This group brings together women who have won the Nobel Peace Prize. They work together for peace, justice, and women's rights worldwide.
Mairead has also spoken out in support of people who reveal important information to the public, like Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning. She believes they were brave to share truths about government actions.
Working for Peace Around the World
Mairead Maguire has traveled widely to promote peace and human rights. She often speaks about the importance of non-violence and dialogue.
Activism in the United States
Mairead Maguire has often criticized the policies of the U.S. and British governments, especially regarding conflicts in the Middle East. She has also spoken about her disappointment with some U.S. leaders.
She once declined an invitation to a Nobel summit in Chicago because it was hosted by the U.S. State Department. She felt that Nobel Peace laureates should not be hosted by a government that is involved in wars.
Speaking Out on Conflicts
Mairead strongly opposed the sanctions against Iraq, which she believed caused many civilian deaths. She called them "unjust and inhuman." In 1999, she visited Baghdad and asked leaders to end the bombing and lift the sanctions.
After the September 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S., Mairead campaigned against the war in Afghanistan. She marched with many people in India and New York who wanted peace.
Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Mairead actively protested. She spoke at conferences and held a long vigil and fast outside the White House. She believed the war was unfair and driven by economic interests. She later said that leaders like George W. Bush and Tony Blair should be held responsible for starting the war.
Focus on Israel and Palestine
Mairead Maguire first visited Israel in 1984. She later returned in 2000 and was shocked by the living conditions of Palestinians. Since then, she has regularly visited the region, hoping for a peaceful solution.
She has criticized some actions of the Israeli government, supporting boycotts and divestment initiatives. However, she has also said she loves Israel and understands the fear of violence that Jewish people there experience.
Supporting Mordechai Vanunu
Mairead has been a strong supporter of Mordechai Vanunu. He was an Israeli nuclear technician who shared details about Israel's nuclear program in 1986. He spent 18 years in prison for this. Mairead has visited him in Israel many times and has asked for his freedom.
Palestinian Rights Activism
Mairead has spoken against the separation wall in Israel, calling it a "monument to fear." She has praised activists who protest the demolition of Palestinian homes.
In 2008, Mairead traveled to Gaza on a boat carrying humanitarian aid. She met with leaders there and spoke about the difficult living conditions. In 2009, she was taken into custody by the Israeli military while on another aid boat. She described Gaza as a "huge prison" and said her boat was "hijacked."
In 2010, Mairead was a passenger on the MV Rachel Corrie, another aid ship trying to reach Gaza. The Israeli navy stopped the ship, but the takeover was peaceful. She was later refused entry to Israel and deported, but she continued to support efforts to break the blockade.
She believes that Hamas, a political party in Gaza, should be recognized because it was democratically elected. In 2014, she was arrested and deported from Egypt while trying to reach Gaza with other activists. In 2016, she was again stopped by the Israeli Navy while on a "Women's Boat to Gaza."
Rohingya Crisis
In March 2018, Mairead Maguire, along with two other Nobel Peace laureates, visited Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. They learned about the crisis facing the Rohingya people and discussed ways to help.
Mairead's Philosophy of Peace
Mairead Maguire believes that violence is something people learn, not something they are born with. She thinks that humanity is moving towards a future of non-violence and love. She looks up to figures like Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. for their teachings on peace.
She believes that violence is never right and that there are always peaceful ways to solve problems. She has called for an end to all armies and for the creation of unarmed peacekeeping groups instead.
Her Book: The Vision of Peace
Mairead Maguire wrote a book called The Vision of Peace: Faith and Hope in Northern Ireland. It's a collection of her essays and letters, where she talks about how her peace work is connected to her faith. The book mostly focuses on Northern Ireland but also touches on other global issues. She writes that "hope for the future depends on each of us taking non-violence into our hearts and minds."
Awards and Recognitions
Mairead Maguire has received many awards for her peace work:
- In 1977, Yale University gave her an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
- She also received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement in 1977.
- In 1990, she was given the Pacem in Terris Award, which means "Peace on Earth" in Latin. This award recognized her efforts for peace in Northern Ireland and her global fight against violence.
- The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation honored her in 1992 for her leadership and dedication to justice and non-violence.
- In 2006, she received the Science and Peace Gold Medal for her contributions to spreading peace worldwide.
See also
In Spanish: Mairead Maguire para niños
- List of female Nobel laureates
- List of peace activists
- International Fellowship of Reconciliation
- PeaceJam
