| Description: | Pat Campbell, former Coordinator of the Peace Quilt Project started in the 1970s, explains the origins of this quilt:
"In March 1993 a bomb went off in Warrington, killing two little boys out shopping for Mother's Day gifts. The disaster, sadness and loss for the families and the town's folk alerted peace groups in England and Ireland and a young mother from Dublin, Susan McHugh, formed a group called Peace 93. I had been in peace work in Northern Ireland for almost 20 years then. Susan and her group and some of us from Northern Ireland started a network with Warrington. A gentleman and his wife, Chris and Tina Whitehead started the Warrington Community Peace Walks. These walks were held all over England and Ireland, North and South, raising money to help peace and the victims' families.
It was through the network with the Whitehead family and the Peace Walks that we travelled to Warrington, where we met Sylvia Burgess. Sylvia had organised the making of the Warrington Peace Quilt with a group of other women. On one of our visits to Liverpool, when we were peace-walking in Hope Street, towards the Anglican Cathedral, Sylvia and her helpers presented us with this quilt. We all walked together to the Roman Catholic Cathedral at the opposite end of Hope Street carrying the quilt. It seemed appropriate to be walking along Hope Street, full of hope for peace in Northern Ireland, Warrington and all over. This quilt is an emblem for peace and we were proud to take it home after the services in both cathedrals. By then it was 1998, things were changing and peace was on the horizon. Sadly Sylvia is not longer with us. She died from cancer some time later." |
