Co-founder of Community of Peace People with Mr. Ciaran McKeown and Miss Mairead Corrigan – Founded 14/8/76 …
Betty Williams – Speed read
Betty Williams was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with Mairead Corrigan, for campaigning against the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.
Full name: Elizabeth Williams
Born: 22 May 1943, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Died: 17 March 2020, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Date awarded: 10 October 1977
Building peace from the bottom up
In 1976 three children lost their lives in the wake of violence between British soldiers and a member of the IRA in Belfast. The tragic event led office worker Betty Williams to oppose the meaningless violence between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. She received support from the dead children’s aunt, Mairead Corrigan, and together they founded the Community of Peace People. Betty Williams had a Protestant father and Catholic mother. Her background of religious tolerance motivated her to work for peace. In the early 1970s she took part in an anti-violence campaign led by a Protestant clergyman before dedicating herself to the Community of Peace People. The organisation established local peace groups comprised of former adversaries, arranging peace marches and working to build trust at the grassroots level.
“Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan have shown us what ordinary people can do to promote the cause of peace. They have taught us that the peace for which we strive is something that has to be won within and through the individual human being. This is the message to which they have given renewed force through their activities.”
Egil Aarvik, Presentation Speech, 10 December 1977.
| IRA Irish Republican Army. Founded in 1919. Played a decisive role in the war of liberation against Great Britain. Its goal is to unify Ireland. Starting in 1970, the IRA committed acts of terrorism and assassination in Northern Ireland and England. In 2000 the IRA agreed to abandon its armed struggle. |
“She had originally sympathized with the Northern Irish revolutionaries, but she had come to realize that violence only breeds violence and makes victims of the innocent.”
Irwin Abrams (US historian), 1988.
World Centers of Compassion for Children International
In 1997 Betty Williams founded the World Centers of Compassion for Children International (WCCCI) with the aim of safeguarding the rights of children and developing an international network to influence governments throughout the world. The WCCCI seeks to enhance legislation and relief measures for children. The organisation also focuses on developing positive role models for young people.
The Declaration of the Peace People of 1976
We want to live and love and build a just and peaceful society. We want for our children, as we want for ourselves, our lives at home, at work and at play, to be lives of joy and peace. We recognise that to build such a life demands of all of us, dedication, hard work and courage. We recognise that there are many problems in our society which are a source of conflict and violence. We recognise that every bullet fired and every exploding bomb makes that work more difficult. We reject the use of the bomb and the bullet and all the techniques of violence. We dedicate ourselves to working with our neighbours, near and far, day in and day out, to building that peaceful society in which the tragedies we have known are a bad memory and a continuing warning.
“We believe in taking down the barriers, but we also believe in the most energetic reconciliation among peoples by getting them to know each other, talk each other’s languages, understand each other’s fears and beliefs, getting to know each other physically, philosophically and spiritually.”
Betty Williams, Nobel Prize lecture, 11 December 1977.
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Mairead Corrigan – Speed read
Mairead Corrigan was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with Betty Williams, for campaigning against the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.
Full name: Mairead Corrigan
Born: 27 January 1944, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Date awarded: 10 October 1977
Catholic peace activist
In 1976 Mairead Corrigan’s sister lost three of her children in the wake of a clash between British soldiers and a member of the IRA in Belfast. Soon after, Corrigan made contact with Betty Williams, a witness to the tragedy. Together they founded a peace organisation to put an end to the bitter conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Corrigan grew up in poverty in Belfast. An office worker, she also devoted many hours to a Catholic welfare organisation from which she derived inspiration for her peace efforts. In 1976 and 1977 she organised thousands of people to take part in protest marches and trust-building activities at the grassroots level. Mairead Corrigan did not give up hope even when support for the Community of Peace People waned towards the end of the 1970s. She continued her local peace efforts with admirable determination.
“They took the first courageous step along the road to peace. They did so in the name of humanity and love of their neighbour: someone had to start forgiving. Love of one’s neighbour is one of the foundation stones of the humanism on which our western civilisation is built.”
Egil Aarvik, Presentation Speech, 10 December 1977.
| IRA Irish Republican Army. Founded in 1919. Played a decisive role in the war of liberation against Great Britain. Its goal is to unify Ireland. Starting in 1970, the IRA committed acts of terrorism and assassination in Northern Ireland and England. In 2000 the IRA agreed to abandon its armed struggle. |
“Just as quickly the media interest evaporated, the peace demonstrators went back home – and the war raged on. With quiet determination, Máiread continued her work for peace. While all about seemed possessed with violence, she spoke the unpopular word – nonviolence.”
John Dear, Director of Fellowship for Reconciliation, 1999.
Dwindling support for the Community of Peace People
At the end of the 1970s, the ranks of the Community of Peace People diminished in number. The laureates were criticised for using their prize money to cover personal expenses, although this in no way violates the terms of Nobel’s will. The IRA branded them as traitors, while extremist Protestants called them “manipulated Catholic puppets.” Both Williams and Corrigan received death threats and were the targets of malicious rumours. Financial and tactical issues divided the leadership of the Community of Peace People, and animosity developed between the two women. In 1980 Williams withdrew from the organisation and emigrated to the USA.
“It is not violence that people want. Only one percent of the people of this province want this slaughter.”
Mairead Corrigan in a television interview, 11 August 1977.
Community of Peace People continues its work
In 1981 Mairead Corrigan married her late sister’s widower and took the name Corrigan Maguire. She carried on local peace-related activities for the Peace People by organising holiday camps and clubs for young people from different religious backgrounds. She also supported integrated schools in an effort to break down barriers between Catholic and Protestant children. At the international level, Corrigan Maguire gave priority to the educational programme known as PeaceJam, in which she cooperated closely with 11 other Nobel Peace Prize laureates.
The Nobel Women’s Initiative
In 2009 Mairead joined peace laureates Betty Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Jody Williams and Rigoberta Menchú Tum in founding the Nobel Women’s Initiative. Its aim is to reinforce women’s rights by “promoting, spotlighting and amplifying the work of women’s rights activists, researchers, and organisations worldwide that address the root causes of violence, in a way that strengthens and expands the global movement to advance nonviolence, peace, justice and equality.”
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Co-founder of Community of Peace People with Mr. Ciaran McKeown and Mrs Betty Williams – Founded 14/8/76 …
Disclaimer: Every effort has been made by the publisher to credit organisations and individuals with regard to the supply of photographs. Please notify the publishers regarding corrections.
Betty Williams – Photo gallery
Betty Williams (left) and Mairead Corrigan (right) of the Northern Irish Peace People movement, 31 October 1977.
Photo: H. Christoph/ullstein bild via Getty Images
A letter from Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan to the Norwegian Nobel Committee after the news that they had been awarded the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize.
Credit: The Norwegian Nobel Institute.
Mairead Corrigan – Prize presentation
Watch a video clip of Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for 1976 during the Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony at the Oslo City Hall in Norway, 10 December 1977.
Betty Williams – Prize presentation
Watch a video clip of Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for 1976 during the Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony at the Oslo City Hall in Norway, 10 December 1977.
Mairead Corrigan – Facts
Mairead Corrigan – Nobel Symposia
Speech
At the Nobel Centennial Symposia, held on 6 December 2001 in Oslo, Norway, Mairead Corrigan Maguire delivered this speech.
Mairead Corrigan – Photo gallery
Portrait of Mairead Corrigan Maguire during an interview at the Nobel Museum in Stockholm, 13 September 2013.
Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2013
A letter from Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan to the Norwegian Nobel Committee after the news that they had been awarded the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize. Credit: The Norwegian Nobel Institute.
Mairead Corrigan Maguire autographs a chair at Bistro Nobel at the Nobel Museum in Stockholm, 13 September 2013.
Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2013
Mairead Corrigan attending the Nobel Centennial 2001, a conference titled ”The Conflicts of the 20th Century and the Solutions for the 21st Century” in Oslo, Norway, December 2001. © Knudsens fotosenter/Dextra Photo, Norsk Teknisk Museum.
Portrait of Mairead Corrigan, December 2001. © Knudsens fotosenter/Dextra Photo, Norsk Teknisk Museum.
Nobel Peace Prize laureates at the Nobel Centennial 2001, a conference titled ”The Conflicts of the 20th Century and the Solutions for the 21st Century”. From left: Oscar Arias Sánchez, Norman Borlaug, Joseph Rotblat, Rigoberta Menchu, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, (photographer Micheline Pelletier), John Hume and Mairead Corrigan. © Knudsens fotosenter/Dextra Photo, Norsk Teknisk Museum.
At the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony on 10 December 2001 where Kofi Annan and the United Nations were awarded the 2001 peace prize, many previous laureates were present. From left: Joseph Rotblat, Jody Williams, José Ramos-Horta, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Lech Wałęsa, Desmond Tutu, John Hume, David Trimble, Elie Wiesel, Norman Borlaug, Rigoberta Menchu Tum and Mairead Corrigan. The remaining are representatives for peace prize awarded organisations. © Knudsens fotosenter/Dextra Photo, Norsk Teknisk Museum.
Mairead Corrigan Maguire, 1976 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, during her visit with Professor Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank, 23 November 1998. © Grameen Bank, 1998. Photo: Nurjahan Chaklader
Photo: Niklas Elmehed
Photo: Niklas Elmehed
Mairead Corrigan – Nobel Lecture
Mairead Corrigan did not deliver a Nobel Lecture.
Betty Williams – Other resources
Links to other sites
Obituary from The Guardian