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

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

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 in Northern Ireland, jointly operated by Iarnród Éireann (IE) and NI Railways (NIR). It operates on the Belfast–Dublin railway line. Hist ...

) by the

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

.Alt URL
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 a former Irish 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 s ...

Tom French Tom or Thomas French may refer to: * Thomas French, journalist for the ''St. Petersburg Times'' * Thomas French (cricketer) (1821–1909), English cricketer and cleric * Thomas French (footballer) (1859–1908), played on the winning side in the ...

and southern secretary

Seán Ó Cionnaith Seán Ó Cionnaith (born July 1938 near Ballinasloe, County Galway, died 16 February 2003 in Dublin) was an Irish socialist republican politician, and a prominent member of the Workers' Party. Ó Cionnaith joined the Irish republican movem ...

. In the North key figures included Paddy Devlin, Chris and Michael McGimpsey, Dr Liam Kennedy, Mary McMahon and Eileen Bell. The administrator, based in Peace House Belfast, was Jeff Maxwell. 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. It was derided as being a Workers Party PR-stunt by many republicans in

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

and

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

. 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 F ...

football ground in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

, 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.

References

External links

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