Do you ever wonder what it would be like to talk with somebody who has hurt you to your core? Somebody who has hurt not only you but also your family and friends? Ever wonder what peace/understanding would look like in that situation? Well this past Wednesday, I went to a talk between Patrick Magee and Jo Berry. Pat and Jo are two people who have done this and still continue to do this today in connection with the Brighton Bomb and the hurt that was caused through the death of Jo's father, Anthony.
A little history for those who don't know what the Brighton Bomb was. On October 12, 1984, Pat Magee set off a bomb at the Grand Hotel in Brighton England. The bomb killed 5 people and injured 31 people. It was an attempt to to assassinate the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet. Pat had been to the hotel several weeks prior to set up the bomb, which was on a long time delay to allow for the bomb to sit through the upcoming weeks without exploding prematurely. Margaret Thatcher and her husband were not injured but the bomb did kill Conservative MP Anthony Berry, Parliamentary Treasury Secretary John Wakeham's wife Roberta, Lady Muriel Maclean, Eric Taylor and Jeanne Shattock. After detonating the bomb, Pat was found guilty and sentenced to prison for the 5 counts of murder he committed, which ended up being 8 life sentences. He was released from prison in 1999 under the Good Friday Agreement. The Good Friday Agreement, also known as The Belfast Agreement, is an agreement between the British and Irish governments and was created to address the relationships in Northern Ireland, between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and between both parts of Ireland and England, Wales and Scotland.
Magee agreed, after several miscommunications, to meet with Jo Berry, the daughter of Anthony Berry, to meet and discuss the bomb and life in general. In November 2000, Magee and Berry sat down for the first time, for three hours and talked. The conversation started off with Magee trying to explain why he did through a political lens but soon turned to Berry explaining and questioning Magee about what happened and circumstances surrounding it. From this point on, Magee and Berry have met probably over 80 times to talk with people about their experiences with and surrounding the bomb.
My eyes were opened to an incredible journey between two people from a horrible situation. These two set a wonderful example to others that reconciliation is possible, from the smallest situations to situations on a grander scale.
On a completely different note, last Saturday (October 29), I went with 5 other YAV's to Carrickfergus. We got to take the train, which is one of my favorite things to do here, and we were able to do it relatively cheap too!!!! Once there, we decided that we were starving and decided that we needed to find a cheap place to eat, due to the fact that we are all on a stipend and are trying to live solely on that every two weeks. After our cheap but delicious meal at the neighborhood pub, we made our way to the castle. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip through the castle because after about 10 minutes of making our way through the outside grounds, a friend we met in the pub where we ate lunch and who worked at the castle, gave us a free and impromptu tour!! It was awesome to hear, not only the history of the castle, but also hear how the history of his family throughout the generations in relationship to the castle. All in all, it was a great day and I can't wait to go back and spend a little more time there!!
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