Mairread
Corrigan McGuire, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and MFP Board Member,
was arrested in Washington D.C. on March 26, 2003 in an act of
civil disobedience protesting the war in Iraq. The reason for
the arrest was the ban on large gatherings in front of the White
House. Also arrested was Jody Williams, awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1997 for her work to eradicated land mines and Rev. Tom
Gumbleton, Aux. Bishop of Detroit and also an MFP Board member.
Ms. McGuire began a protest movement on Belfast, Northern Ireland
in 1976 after her sister and her three children were hit by a
runaway IRA car. The three children were killed. Mairread, joined
by Betty Williams, who witness the car crash, began a protest
movement joining both Catholics and Protestants to end the violence.
Their efforts were credited with reducing the death toll in half
in Northern Ireland. The Nobel Peace Prize Committee in 1976 awarded
the prize to Ms. McGuire and Williams and stated that they, "
Have shown us what ordinary people can do to promote peace. They
had the courage to take the first step. They did so in the name
of humanity and love of neighbor; someone had to start forgiving.
There's was a courageous and useful act that provided inspiration
to thousands - that lit a light in the darkness."
