The Brighton Bombing 40 Years On: Finding Meaning in Dialogue.

Last year I had the privilege of interviewing Jo Berry, a peace activist whose father, the Conservative MP Sir Anthony Berry, was killed in the Brighton Bombing. Today is the 40th Anniversary of the IRA’s attempt to assassinate the UK Government, including the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.  

Five people were killed and more than thirty were injured.

I spoke with Jo as part of my research for my forthcoming book, ‘Finding Meaning in Conflict: The Story of Northern Ireland’. As a Logotherapist and Existential Analyst (Psychotherapist), I am fascinated by the human quest for meaning in the most difficult of circumstances.As well as interviewing Jo, I spoke with other people representing a broad range of perspectives on the conflict and its human impact - politicians, journalists, clergy, activists, victims, and campaigners.

Jo’s story is one of finding meaning in the wake of her father’s death,a quest which ultimately led her to meet and form a friendship with the IRA Volunteer who planted the bomb that killed her father, Patrick Magee. Over the years they have met on hundreds of occasions and have shared platforms in Rwanda, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine, among others. 

Jo explained her life before the bombing, how it changed radically on that day, the anger she felt at the circumstances of her father’s murder, and the difficult path towards understanding and reconciliation.

I was intrigued to learn of Jo’s spiritual hinterland, where she lived a life of meditation and non-violence. She described how this was completely torn apart by the violence that changed the trajectory of her life in a way she could never have expected. 

‘Well, so if I'd been on the mountaintop believing in meditation, I'm now thrown off the mountaintop. I'm right down in the mud, in the mire and the pain and the suffering. And there's no space for meditation. It's like this is the real world. In the real world, people get killed and people kill. And meditation isn't going to work. It's a complete waste of time’.

Another pivotal moment we discussed was when she saw Patrick Magee on TV, being released from prison under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. 

‘My dad can't come back, and that's not fair. But then I was thinking this is for the greater good. I really welcome the peace process. It changed my life so hugely and many others. So maybe now he's out of prison. Maybe now I can meet him’?

Jo quickly formulated in her own mind what she wanted to achieve from any meeting she was to have with Patrick Magee.

‘I was quite clear I didn't need him to apologize because I've met other men in the IRA, including an amazing man who was a blanket protester, and others. And I knew that he wouldn't be coming here thinking about his victims. He wouldn't be saying he was sorry because they thought they were right’. 

Jo’s expectation was for one meeting.

‘And then that was that. And then I would never see him again. No one would ever know. That was my plan. And I would see him as a person,not the enemy. He's not just the man who planted a bomb - Patrick has got a family. But I'd never see him again. And I wouldn't have to tell anyone’.

What actually happened moved beyond Jo’s initial expectations, but first she reflected at length on that initial meeting. 

‘I listened in a way I probably never listened to anyone. And I shared a poem which was all about meeting him. And, you know, I was just curious. I couldn't quite believe that he was there and I was doing it. And there was one part of me that wanted to leave that was saying, this is wrong. This is betraying your father. He shouldn't be doing this. Just go now. 

But I knew that I could listen to all the parts of me that felt differently, and just stay present to him. And that was my intention. My focus was him. And looking back on it, I almost wanted to make it safe for him to open up, which is what happened. You know, he did open up and before he opened up, I thought, okay, I've got enough from this guy. He's justifying killing my father. And even though he's respectful, it's not nice to hear.

So he's someone who he didn't just jump into being the IRA. He thought about it. For him, it was an expression of looking after his community. Now to me, bombs can never be a way of looking after the community, because I know their impact. But you know, I could see that I'm quite lucky that he wasn't someone who just joined because they wanted to plant bombs. No, he clearly did not. He saw himself as a nonviolent person.’

Jo considered that her approach to the first meeting was not what Patrick Magee had expected.

‘He would later say that he was disarmed by my empathy and by not going in yelling at him. Had I done that he would have stayed in a very safe place of self-justification and being right.’

For the remainder of the interview we discussed the deepening relationship between the two unlikely activists, including the moments of tension and frustration. But the collaboration continues and has developed over the years.

For Jo, she found meaning in her quest for dialogue and understanding. She reached out in a way that many could not understand, then, or now. But then how we explore meaning is deeply personal; we find our own way. 

Jo’s story exemplifies that and that is why her contribution to the book is so powerful and thought provoking.

#brightonbomb #thetroubles #northernireland #ira #peace #goodfridayagreement #joberry #reconciliation #dialogue #peaceprocess #belfastagreement #conflict