Paving the Path to Peace

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From the Foreword:

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(Michael D. Higgins, Uachtaran na hEireann, President of Ireland)

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In the context of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April 2023, elite politicians and paramilitary groups were presented as the drivers for conflict and peace in Northern Ireland. This book shifts the focus to the role played by civil society groups which sought to mobilise for peace and reconciliation in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It begins with an analysis of peace activism in Northern Ireland during the earlier decades of violence and is followed by an in-depth case study of the Peace Train Organisation, which was set up to counter paramilitary attacks on the trainline between Dublin and Belfast. The final part assembles contributions from fifteen key protagonists in civil society organisations, reflecting upon their work and lives.?

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The authors seek to redress the balance in the historiography and popular perception of this critical period, arguing that civil society groups helped shift the social and political climate surrounding the conflict. The book breaks new ground in the memorialisation of the peace process, highlighting the neglected role of transnational civil society peace activism.