Last summer we spent time gathering new stories from Northern Ireland—one of the world’s most resilient landscapes, shaped by decades of sectarian conflict known simply as the Troubles. The violence was officially ended with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, but almost 30 years later tensions remain and there is still healing work to be done.

But this isn’t a history lesson, it’s a look forward.

In these conversations, we sit down with artists, educators, peacebuilders, and everyday people who are leaning into creative solutions to heal old wounds and imagine a different future for themselves. They’re transforming former flashpoints into gathering places, using poetry and mural-making to foster new conversations, and finding surprising ways to rebuild trust in places where division once felt permanent.

Their stories remind us that healing isn’t quick, and reconciliation isn’t easy—but both are possible when people choose courage over fear, curiosity over judgment, and empathy over old narratives.

This series is the first in our exploration of international stories, looking at the ways other societies have moved through conflict and toward healing. Although Belfast is 3,700 miles from my home in Minneapolis, there are stories that resonate and themes that feel familiar. There are lessons to learn, if we are willing to listen.

Each week we will share a new interview, along with photos and reflections about who we met and what we learned. You’ll find new content on our website, our social media platforms, and on our podcast, wherever you like to listen. So join us as we explore Northern Ireland’s ongoing journey toward peace, and meet the remarkable individuals who are crafting new pathways through creativity, dignity, and hope.

Welcome to A Peace of My Mind’s new series, The Troubles: Finding a path toward healing in Northern Ireland.

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The list below will be updated as we add new stories and clicking on the person’s name will bring you to their full interview.

Jonny Clark is the program manager for Public Theology at Corrymeela, sometimes called Ireland’s oldest peace center. Born in New Zealand and married to an American, Jonny has lived in Northern Ireland for 40 years. When he was growing up, his family moved to Belfast at the heights of The Troubles. As he says, “During a time when most people were not moving to Northern Ireland.”

Aoife Moore is an independent investigative journalist from Derry, Northern Ireland and formerly worked as a political correspondent for the BBC. She calls herself a victim of England’s legacy in Ireland and says that every facet of her life has been marred by British colonialism, including the death of her uncle in the violence of Bloody Sunday.

Bronagh McAtasney is the daughter of John Bosco McAtasney, a master weaver and the last hand loom weaver in Ireland. Growing up during the Troubles, Bronagh kept a diary that weaves the threads of daily headlines and historical trauma with the day-to-day realities of life as a 13-year-old girl in Northern Ireland. In 2013, she started sharing her diary posts daily on Twitter (and now BlueSky) as a way to document and juxtapose the geopolitical realities with her personal experience.

Lewis Lyttle is an ex-Loyalist prisoner. He was sentenced to 15 years for attempted murder during The Troubles and was released early, with the signing of The Good Friday Agreement. Now Lewis works to facilitate cross-community groups with Black Mountain Shared Space, a community center built on the site of a former peace wall and designed to bring people from both Protestant and Catholic communities together to get to know one another and build relationships and trust.

Israel Eguaogie was 17 when he left Nigeria and relocated to Germany as an asylum seeker. A decade later he moved to Dublin and soon after that, shifted north to Belfast. With recent public protests and violence directed at immigrants, Israel says he is concerned that previous rivals in the Protestant and Catholic communities will find unifying common ground in their backlash against newcomers, and that the rocks they once threw at each other will now land on the immigrants instead.

Gerry Creamer is the youngest of five children. He grew up in a traditional, devoutly Catholic family in the Republic of Ireland, close to the border with the North. Although he has several family members who have been active in politics, Gerry is more interested in community work and spends his time trying to find funding for programs that can make his community a better place to live.

Elaine O’Hara has spent most of her life in Manorhamilton with short stays in Cork and Belfast, just after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. She is active with a women’s group in Manorhamilton. Although life has taken some unexpected turns, she says she knows who she is, she holds her head up high, and she is immensely proud of the three sons she has raised.

Carmel Loughlin grew up in the Republic of Ireland but spent time crossing the border frequently to visit family in the North, until the Troubles broke out when she was about 12 years old. She has spent much of her career in mental health, helping people navigate the ongoing challenges and lingering effects of the violence.

Lauri McCusker works in community development in an effort to make life better in County Fermanaugh. And while he becomes frustrated by “watching people find reasons and excuses for not creating positive change in our society,” he is driven forward, looking for the next — sometimes small — win for his community.

Nula McNulty is a lifelong resident of North Leitrim, Ireland. As a child, crossing into Northern Ireland meant passing through multiple military and police checkpoints—an experience she accepted at the time but later recognized as extraordinary. She recalls both the deep divisions and the gradual healing that followed, particularly through integrated schools, cross-border initiatives, and community-based projects.

Vincenta Leyden lives in Hilltown, County Down, Northern Ireland, near the Mourne Mountains. Born in Northern Ireland and raised partly in the Republic of Ireland, her life has unfolded along the border between two places and identities. Growing up during the Troubles, she experienced the conflict not through dramatic moments but through the everyday realities of living in a divided society.

Martina Byrne is a community builder and quiet changemaker rooted in Hilltown, County Down, Northern Ireland. Originally trained in marine biology and business development, Martina’s path shifted after becoming a mother, when she experienced firsthand the isolation that can exist in rural life. Rather than wait for connection, she created it.

Shelley Cowan is a disability advocate, speaker, and founder of Justus, a community organization creating inclusive social spaces and opportunities for adults with disabilities across Northern Ireland. After becoming severely ill at age fifteen, Shelley spent more than a decade confined to bed, unable to walk, eat independently, or continue her education. Through years of determination, family support, and rehabilitation, she gradually regained mobility, returned to school as a mature student, and earned a master’s degree focused on accessibility and inclusion.

Chris McDonough is a community development worker based in the Fountain/Bishop Street interface area of Derry, where he works to bridge divides between Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods through peacebuilding, regeneration, and youth engagement.

Martina Anderson is a lifelong Irish republican, former political prisoner, and veteran political leader from Derry’s Bogside. Arrested in the early years of the Troubles, she spent nearly fourteen years in prison, including a decade in England, before her release under the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Mark Durkan has spent much of his life navigating Northern Ireland ‘s difficult path from conflict to peace. A native of Derry, he was deeply involved in the negotiations and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, later serving as Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and as a member of Parliament.

Paul McLaughlin’s earliest memory is witnessing the day of Bloody Sunday as a six-year-old child, an experience that profoundly shaped his understanding of conflict, identity, and justice. Rather than following many of his peers into the violence that engulfed Northern Ireland, he found purpose through sport, education, and public service.

Patricia Moore is a community activist and longtime Sinn Féin member from Derry, Northern Ireland, whose life has been shaped by the Troubles and the subsequent peace process. Raised in Derry during some of the most violent years of the conflict, she experienced military raids, street violence, and the daily realities of a divided society from an early age. At 17, she became involved in republican politics and later spent more than a year in prison after being detained during a mass arrest operation; the case against her ultimately collapsed when the key witness withdrew her testimony.

For most of the world, Nell McCafferty was a pioneering journalist, feminist, civil rights activist, and one of Ireland’s most fearless public voices. For Carmel McCafferty and her daughter Muire McCallion, she was simply “our Nell.” Carmel is Nell McCafferty’s youngest sister, one of six siblings raised in a modest three-bedroom home in Derry’s Bogside. Muire, Carmel’s daughter, grew up knowing Nell as the adventurous aunt who arrived with improbable schemes, unexpected journeys, and endless curiosity.

Alistair Kilgore is a longtime member of the Corrymeela Community, where he has been involved for more than fifty years. Raised in the Protestant tradition, Kilgore was inspired by Corrymeela founder Ray Davey, whose experiences during the bombing of Dresden shaped a lifelong commitment to reconciliation, Kilgore embraced the belief that “we are all the same” and has carried that principle throughout his work. As a teacher, community leader, and advocate for integrated education, he played an early role in supporting Lagan College, Northern Ireland’s first integrated secondary school, helping pioneer efforts to educate Protestant and Catholic children together.

Dot Wilson is a community-builder, peace advocate, and lifelong resident of Northern Ireland who has spent decades fostering connection across divides. Living in Ballycastle on the North Antrim Coast, Dot is a former probation officer, gardener, fused-glass artist, and grandmother of four children and several grandchildren. Deeply shaped by her involvement with the Corrymeela Community movement, she has dedicated much of her life to creating spaces where people from different backgrounds can live, learn, and grow together.

Hilary Lawrey grew up in Belfast during the Troubles, where daily life was shaped by division, fear, and the unwritten rules that kept Protestant and Catholic communities apart. After caring for her husband for fifteen years until his death, Hilary found herself isolated and unsure how to reconnect with the world. Encouraged by family and friends, she took a courageous step by joining Black Mountain Shared Space, an integrated community center that brings together people from both traditions. What began as an intimidating leap into the unknown has become a transformative chapter in her life leading to friendships across old divides and a rediscovered sense of joy, purpose, and belonging.

Bryonie Reid is a writer, artist, and cultural geographer whose work explores the deep connections between place, memory, and belonging. Working with her sister, Gemma Reid, as Quarto Collective, she creates community-based projects that invite people to reflect on the landscapes they inhabit, the histories they inherit, and the futures they hope to imagine together.

Adam Turkington is a Belfast-based creative producer, cultural organizer, and one of the driving forces behind the city’s contemporary street-art scene. Founder of the Hit the North festival and a longtime advocate for public art, he has helped transform Belfast’s walls from symbols of division into spaces for creativity, community, and shared identity. Working at the intersection of art, placemaking, and social change, Turkington connects artists, neighborhoods, businesses, and audiences through murals, events, exhibitions, and cultural projects. His work is rooted in a simple belief: great art can help people feel more connected to the places they live and to one another.