It is with great sadness we announce the sudden death of Anne Gallagher who died on August 7th, 2013 in Dublin,. She made a huge impact around the world and her story can be seen here. Jo Berry, Pat Magee and others close to her share their tributes. Jo Berry “I first met Anne in 1985 when I went to Northern Ireland to make sense of my Father’s death from the IRA in 1984. Anne warmly welcomed me and introduced…
Forgiveness in Northern Ireland Jo Berry – 30 June 2012 The politics of that handshake between the Queen and Martin McGuinness hide an intensely personal drama: he was once a leader of the group that killed her cousin, Lord Mountbatten. Here, the daughter of another IRA victim reflects on her journey to forgiveness and reconciliation I made a personal decision just two days after an IRA bomb killed my lovely father, Sir Anthony Berry, to bring something positive out of the…
Andy Andrews interviews Harvey Thomas, Margaret Thatcher’s Director of Communications, Jo Berry, daughter of Sir Anthony Berry, and the IRA Brighton Bomber himself – Patrick Magee and they talk about the power of forgiveness. On October 12 1984 the IRA exploded a bomb planted behind a bath-panel in the hotel, aimed at wiping out Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative cabinet as they slept during their party conference. The blast ripped through the seafront facade at 2:54 am, missing Mrs (now…
In April Pat Magee and Jo Berry went to Israel and Palestine for a 8 days speaking tour. It was a huge success with a mixture of talks and workshops, visiting projects and many meetings. “We spoke to some groups which were just Israeli, some just Palestinian and some with participants from both communities. We also spoke to a leading newspaper and a internet media and we were told that, ‘I’m pretty confident we’ve reached tens of thousands Israelis, possibly hundreds of thousands…
Sir Anthony Berry was killed in the Irish Republican Army’s bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton in 1984. His daughter Jo talks about her friendship with the man convicted of the attack and why she thinks empathy can make a difference. When confronted with the heart wrenching reality of conflict there are some individuals who, in their search for understanding, want more than the comforting truths provided by national, cultural or familial bonds. In Peter Beinart’s powerful new book,…