JO BERRY
Jo Berry is a riveting, fluid speaker and her story and message are an inspiration to any audience.
The story of her interaction with Pat Magee provides a model which she would like to make an impact in as far-reaching a way as possible. In 1984 a huge news story hit the British newsstands: The IRA had planted a bomb in the 'Grand Hotel' in Brighton where delegates, including Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, were assembling for the Tory party conference. Five people were killed. One of them was Sir Anthony Berry, a British MP. His daughter, Joanna, was inevitably shocked and grief-stricken.
However, she decided that she did not want this terrible life event to leave her bitter and twisted and she determined to do what she could to draw meaning from this tragedy. Eventually her path led her to Ireland, to other victims of the IRA and indeed people who had suffered on both sides of the divide between Catholic and Protestant. She started to work to build bridges between people and to give support to victims of conflict.
Jo decided that as part of her journey she would like to meet the man who planted the bomb that killed her father. Patrick Magee had been released from prison under the ‘Good Friday’ agreement in 1999. The story of Jo’s journey and her meeting with Patrick Magee was recorded in the moving award winning BBC documentary called ‘Facing the Enemy’. Since their initial three-hour meeting Jo and Pat have worked together for peace.
In Jo’s words, “ In blaming and dehumanising the enemy, our hearts shut down, we lose some of our own humanity, and we become part of the problem”. In the process of compassion and understanding we can start to end the terrible cycle of violence and retribution. Pat has said that he is sorry he killed Jo’s father, the grandfather of her three daughters, and that through meeting her he has reconnected with his humanity.
With every new war and every passing day the story becomes more topical and more appropriate. Jo Berry (called Jo Tuffnell in the documentary) is now working tirelessly in the interests of peace and reconciliation, both in Ireland and worldwide and is starting an organisation called 'Building Bridges for Peace'. She is also working on a book about her experiences, which is destined to be a best-seller.