Celebrating 'NI Peace Heroines' from Baroness May Blood to Monica McWilliams

As we mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, Herstory is on a mission to ensure that the pioneering peace work of Northern Irish women are central to the commemorations.

The Peace Heroines exhibition is touring worldwide from the US Congress to various Ulster venues after it launched at the United Nations in New York this week.

The project was sparked by a timely conversation at the United Nations back in 2019.

The then Irish Ambassador to the UN Geraldine Nason-Byrne, revealed to Herstory Founder Melanie Lynch that the pivotal role of women in the Northern Ireland Peace Process is a key United Nations case study.

Melanie explains; “I returned home and 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.”

International peace delegations from Congo to Columbia now examine and refer to the participation of the Women’s Coalition in what is widely considered to be one of the most successful peace processes in the world.

US Senator George Mitchell, Chair of the multi-party talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement, said that “the Women's Coalition in particular focused on reaching an agreement as opposed to focusing on 'can I get this for my community, can I get that...' They understood their role to be able to help to bring about peace more than just advancing the cause of one community or another.”

UN officials cite the role played by women in the Northern Ireland Peace Process as a leading example for other peace processes around the world.

"For the Secretary-General it is clear that the women of Northern Ireland were trailblazers and visionaries who put gender equality and integrated social development at the heart of the Good Friday agreement," a spokesperson for the Secretary General, António Guterres, said.

The Women’s Coalition, in its rejection of traditional partisan sources of division within what was male-dominated politics, played a vital role in the delivery of an alternative context that could carry the Good Friday Agreement.

Its founders, drawn from both of the main opposing traditions, sought to work together, transcending the old tribal divides, and focusing instead on creating a common, agreed, shared future, united by the cause of bringing women’s concerns to the negotiating table, and ensuring an inclusive peace accord.

Groups such as the Shankill Women’s Centre and the Falls Women Centre – formed as locally based groups to provide education for women, but who have since gone on to flourish and develop into their current roles as key providers for training, health awareness, childcare and young women’s activities in the Greater Shankill and West Belfast areas respectively – are the peaceful future, playing an important, indeed vital role, in the promotion and achievement of a sustainable, inclusive future in Northern Ireland for all, one that is demonstrating the critical importance of cross-community engagement and the benefits of active citizenship.

Many of the NI peace heroines continue their activism today, not just in Northern Ireland but around the world, bringing their wisdom and experience to women and peace movements in Bosnia, Georgia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Cyprus, Congo, Columbia, Palestine, the Philippines, Guatemala, Kenya, the United Nations and beyond.

At a key crossroads in humanity’s history, Northern Ireland is an inspiration to the Ukraine and other countries in conflict.

As the Ukraine - Russia war continues, causing immeasurable suffering and destabilising Europe and beyond, the NI peace process and the pivotal role of women proves the potential for justice, equality, peace and healing in the most challenging circumstances.

The novel, highly colourful paintings of that constitute the NI Peace Heroines exhibition, including vibrant depictions of Pat Hume, Baroness May Blood, Eileen Weir from the Shankill Women’s Centre, Monica McWilliams of the Women’s Coalition and Linda Ervine MBE have all been painted by contemporary NI artist FRIZ who works in both traditional and digital mediums.

She said: “To create this body of work I started by learning about the women and their fantastic achievements and contributions to peace in Northern Ireland. In exploring how to approach the portraits one thing that struck me was how much of the personality of each individual shone through their photos. To this end I wanted the final pieces to be colourful and unignorable, much like the women themselves.”

To mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, the exhibition will continue to tour internationally and will arrive at Queen’s University Belfast for its GFA conference April 17-19; Enniskillen Castle, Fermanagh, April 29; Linen Hall Library, Belfast, July-September; and the Down County Museum and Newry & Mourne Museum from October until December.

Read the story of three of NI’s peace heroines

Baroness May Blood

After leaving school at 14 to enter the mill, May joined the Transport and General Workers Union where she learned vital advocacy skills as shop steward. In the 1990s she was involved with the Early Years Project and helped to establish three community centres in the Shankill area to help 1,300+ families. In 1995, she was awarded an MBE by the Queen for her work in labour relations, later becoming the first woman in Northern Ireland to be given a life peerage. As campaign manager of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, she took every opportunity to get in front of the camera to plead their case. May later became a volunteer fundraiser for the Integrated Education Fund and has since raised millions of pounds for the cause.

Eileen Weir

At the age of 16 Eileen Weir joined the UDA but as soon as she became a member of her trade union more than 30 years ago, she saw that injustice was rife across religious and social divides, not just in her own community. Since then, Eileen has worked tirelessly for women’s and community rights both through her trade union and later through her role as a community relations worker at the Shankill Women’s Centre in Belfast, bridging religious and social divides.

Monica McWilliams

Monica McWilliams sat as the Chair of Gingerbread’s Social Policy Committee throughout the 1980s and often spoke on behalf of the Northern Ireland Poverty Lobby on poor housing, unemployment, and dependence on social welfare. In 1996 she co-founded the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition and was one of just two women at the table of the All-Party talks discussing the future of Northern Ireland. Monica became Professor of Women's Studies and later Chief Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission where she drafted the advice on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland as required by the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.