“Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.” I never realised that last year, the 50th anniversary of the start of The Troubles, was marked in Northern Ireland by a whole set of events including the opening of the ‘Peace Gates.’ I do not know why that was not so well known over here. Perhaps it is symptomatic of the fact that much happens in our near-neighbour that we don’t pay too much attention to. I was talking to my godmother about my Irish grandmother, her aunt, who was from Strabane and it made me think about this a bit more. Peace can never happen if we ignore those places where it is not known.
Kendal Catholic Priest 