Diocese of Down & Dromore

Over 180 people packed into Holywood Parish Centre recently to hear journalist and author, Brian "Barney' Rowan's experiences of Living in and reporting on conflict". The event was organised by the Sanctus Boscus (Holywood) Reconciliation Group.  

Barney worked for the BBC for 21 years and is now a regular contributor to the Belfast Telegraph. He has been category winner in the Northern Ireland ‘Journalist of the Year' awards four times. Barney has also written four books on the peace process, the latest being "How peace was won," following the historic political deal involving Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness. Another Holywood man, Mark Simpson, BBC Ireland Correspondent, acted as interviewer during the evening.

Belfast singer/songwriter, Gerry Creen began the evening by singing a song he had written in the dark days of 1977 entitled A rose by any other name - the lyrics of which told "of a rose is still a rose, whereas if you take a child who is taught to hate, he is just a child, he is not to blame." Another song by American Eric Bibb entitled "Connected" was based on the theory that we are all unique, yet connected to everyone and everything.

At the beginning of his talk, Barney Rowan introduced some very special guests in the audience. These were people he had come to know over his near 30 years in journalism and "were prepared to speak to me, people whom I have taken advice from, listened to and have allowed me to make sense of the puzzle that is the Northern Ireland conflict".  These included Brendan Duddy who for 20 years, was the secret link between Martin McGuinness and the British Government; the Revd Harold Good, witness to the de-commissioning of IRA weapons; Alan McBride whose wife and father-in-law were killed in the IRA Shankill Bombing; Dawn Purvis, Leader of the P.U.P., loyalist leader Winston Churchill Rea, Peter Sheridan, former Assistant Chief Constable of the PSNI and Robin Walsh, former Controller of the BBC NI.

"One thing that drives me mad" said the speaker " is that people say, sure nothing has changed".  We only had to look at Alan McBride and at how his journey had changed him since 1993.  He said that Northern Ireland was a very different place now and while we are not out of the woods, we are getting there. Our speaker warned that "The biggest danger locally is that we take peace for granted and that globally we take war for granted. The peace process, he said, "Was heading in the right direction".

Mark Simpson, in his introduction, said he was a Holywood lad and a member of Holywood Parish and said it was his personal belief that the more churches worked together the better. 

During the interview, Barney talked about the challenges of reporting conflict to a divided society when you are part of that divided society. It was different from the war correspondent being sent on an assignment. "I'm stitched into the fabric of this place", he said. "I had to go home at night."  He emphasised that a journalist is only as good as the people he talks to.  He was questioned about his contacts with the IRA, and asked, "How can people trust you?" He responded by saying that these were not cosy relationships and sometimes they break down - adding, "You cannot report a conflict by taking sides or by talking to one side".  Rowan said that people really had no idea how statements get to the journalists and wetn on to explain the background to how some of the major news stories of the peace process made their way to our television screens, radios and newspapers.

Mark Simpson put it to him that there are those who would argue that for the good of peace there are certain things that should not be reported. Barney recalled various incidents involving prominent politicians where he found himself "swimming against the tide" but felt he could not ignore his journalistic responsibility. He said it was not the job of journalists to play in the peace process, but it is their job to report on the peace process. "I am part of this community, I want the process to work but there is no point bluffing people - there is a watching and listening audience who want the truth and if you have to have any credibility, you have to tell it how it is".  He did feel that the war is over, and however much dissidents pose a threat they cannot re-create what happened 30 years ago.

In giving the audience a break from the more serious discussions, Gerry Creen sang a medley of Belfast songs before some of the special guests mentioned above told their own stories - sometimes with the black Ulster humour which has helped during difficult times - and also paid tribute to Rowan's integrity as a journalist.  

Note: 

The Holywood Sanctus Boscus Group has been in existence since 2002 and its aim is to promote contact between local churches and the community through dialogue.

With thanks to Betty McLaughlin for the above article