Heroines of Northern Ireland's peace process celebrated in Londonderry

An exhibition focusing on the vital role played by women in the Northern Irish Peace process is launching in Derry's Tower Museum today (Friday.)

The Peace Heroines of Northern Ireland exhibition features nine largescale individual portrait paintings by local artist FRIZ.

The exhibition explores the collaboration of local women working across borders, political and religious divides and aims to tell the story of both individual peace heroines and collectives.

The subjects are women who have made a mark on the Northern Ireland peace process, including, Pat Hume, May Blood, Ann Carr, Monica McWilliams, Pearl Sagar, Linda Ervine and Saidie Patterson

Archivist at Derry's Tower Museum, Bernadette Walsh, said the museum also wanted to use some of its own collection to profile local women and their accomplishments over 70/ 80 years.

She said: "We have developed three different showcases. One is looking at the civil rights movements and Bridget Bond and some of the impact she made on the city during her work with the Derry Housing Action Committee and with the Northern Ireland Civil Rights movement.

“We’ve also profiled the shirt factory women because we can’t forget them and the impact they had on the economy and how they developed industry across the city from early 19th century.

“We’ve also profiled a lovely woman called Mabel Colhoun who was an archaeologist and schoolteacher and she is often someone who is forgotten about in history."

The project was initially launched at Stormont in 2022, and the exhibition will be shown at several locations marking the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in 2023.

Welcoming the opening, the Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Councillor Sandra Duffy, said it captured an important chapter in our history.

She said: "Women have always had a leading role in Derry's history, helping to keep families and communities together during some of the darkest times of the Troubles.

“They kept local industry going in the factories, supported homes, brought up children and drove social and political change in the most economically and politically turbulent times.

“I am delighted to see their contribution to peace recognised in this important exhibition. These real heroines were an inspiration to so many young women, me included, who are proud to take up the mantle and continue their work for positive change and peace in our society."

Peace Heroines is part of the Herstory programme, which was established in 2016 to elevate the stories of women past, present and future.

This new Herstory project is created in partnership with the National Museums NI, the Republic of Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs Reconciliation Fund, The Ireland Funds of GB and The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

Herstory Founder and project curator Melanie Lynch explained the inspiration behind Peace Heroines.

She said: "When I met with Ireland's former Ambassador to the UN Geraldine Nason-Byrne she explained to me that the role of women in the Northern Ireland Peace Process is a key United Nations case study. I reached out to our school contacts and they confirmed that this essential story is not taught on the official school curriculum in Northern Ireland or the Republic.

“Our new Peace Heroines project aims to change that and introduce students and the public to these legendary activists and inspire the next generation of peace builders. It's time to write herstory into history."

Curator Roisin Doherty said she was delighted to host the collection of artworks that acknowledge the “immense contribution made by women who at great personal cost dedicated their lives to lobbying for change and promoting cross community relations.”

She added: "Whilst the exhibition aims to present a diverse range of opinions and identities, it also captures the shared concerns and goals of local women who wanted to create a better future here and how they went about creating platforms for positive dialogue.

“There is a strong focus on the peace building work carried out by local women, which complements our own collection showcasing the work of civil rights champions such as Bridget Bond and other local peace heroines."

The Peace Heroines exhibition will remain on display until the 24th March 2023.

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