The Peace Train Organisation was a campaign group set up in 1989 in both the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in response to the repeated bombing of the Dublin to Belfast railway line (see

Enterprise (train) Enterprise is the cross-border inter-city train service between in the Republic of Ireland and Belfast Grand Central Station, Belfast Grand Central in Northern Ireland, jointly operated by Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) and NI Railways (NIR). It ope ...

) by the

Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

.Alt URL

Organisers

The founding Chairman of the Peace Train Organisation was the writer and broadcaster

Sam McAughtry Sam McAughtry (24 March 1921 – 28 March 2014) was an Irish / British writer, broadcaster and raconteur. Biography Early life Samuel Jamison McAughtry was born at 130 Cosgrave Street, Belfast, Ireland, on 24 March 1921, approximately six wee ...

while the organisation in the Republic of Ireland was headed up by Rev. Christopher Hudson. Other key figures in the organisation south of the border were the then Workers Party MEP

Proinsias De Rossa Proinsias De Rossa (born 15 May 1940) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Social Welfare from 1994 to 1997, leader of Democratic Left from 1992 to 1999 and leader of the Workers' Party from 1988 to 1992. He ...

, Tom French and southern secretary

Seán Ó Cionnaith Seán Ó Cionnaith (7 June 1938 – 16 February 2003 in Dublin) was an Irish socialist republican politician, and a prominent member of the Workers' Party. He was born on 7 June 1937 in Creagh near Ballinasloe, County Galway, and was the sec ...

. In the North key figures included Paddy Devlin, Chris and Michael McGimpsey, Dr Liam Kennedy, Mary McMahon and

Eileen Bell Eileen Bell Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 15 August 1943) is a retired Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, Alliance Party politician from Dromara, Northern Ireland. She was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Dow ...

. The administrator, based in Peace House Belfast, was Jeff Maxwell.

Harry Barnes Harry Barnes may refer to: * Sir Harry Barnes (artist) (1915–1982), Scottish artist * Harry Barnes (baseball) (1915–1993), American Negro league baseball player * Harry Barnes (basketball) (born 1945), American basketball player * Harry Barn ...

was secretary of the group in London.

Train journeys

The organisation organised a Peace Train from Dublin to Belfast - an actual train hired out for the day which brought hundreds of people across the border from all over Ireland as a symbolic gesture to protest the bombing of the railway line. The group marched to Belfast City Hall where an open-air rally was held. The event was not without incident however as a window was broken by a stone-throwing youth and the train was held up by another bomb scare on the line at Portadown. A number of further Peace Train events were held, including a large rally at

Oriel Park Oriel Park is a UEFA Category 2 football stadium located on the Carrickmacross Road in Dundalk, Ireland. The stadium is the home ground of Dundalk Football Club and is owned and operated by the club on land that has been leased from the Casey ...

football ground in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

, Co. Louth. Peace Train passengers travelled from Belfast to Dublin, then on to London to highlight the issue at national level, with a rally addressed by Sam McAughtry, Chris Hudson and IRA torture victim Maurice Healy. There was also a meeting in Parliament Buildings hosted by Harry Barnes MP and Gary Kent. A total of seven trains travelled between Dublin and Belfast from 1991 to 1995 and one from Holyhead to London in June 1991.

Criticism

It was derided as being a Workers Party PR-stunt by many republicans in

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

and

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

. Danny Morrison had denounced the trains as a 'stunt' and wrote a letter from the

H-block HM Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as the Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to September 2000. On 15 ...

to the Irish Times condemning the 'smugness, aloofness and hypocrisy' of the associated peace rallies.

References

External links

Chris Hudson awarded MBE for services to Peace Train Organisation
{{OIRA/WP Peace organisations based in Ireland