Nonviolence… applies the force of love and truth as a means to transform conflict and the root causes of conflict.
Mairead Corrigan Maguire
The Vision of Peace
Topic: Global Peace & Development
Gandhi taught that nonviolence does not mean passivity. No. It is the most daring, creative, and courageous way of living, and it is the only hope for our world. Nonviolence is an active way of life which always rejects violence and killing, and instead applies the force of love and truth as a means to transform conflict and the root causes of conflict. Nonviolence demands creativity. It pursues dialogue, seeks reconciliation, listens to the truth in our opponents, rejects militarism, and allows God’s spirit to transform us socially and politically.
Mairead Corrigan Maguire was born on 27 January 1944 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the second of eight children of Andrew and Margaret Corrigan. She left school at fourteen and later trained in business studies, eventually working as a secretary at the Guinness brewery. Even as a young woman she was active in service, volunteering with the Legion of Mary, visiting prisons, and working with children. Inspired by Catholic figures such as Dorothy Day and the Berrigan brothers, Corrigan Maguire developed a conviction that faith and justice must be lived through action.
Her life changed in August 1976 when her sister’s three children were killed during a violent clash in Belfast. In response, she joined with Betty Williams and journalist Ciaran McKeown to co-found Women for Peace, later known as the Community for Peace People. The movement organized marches that brought together thousands of Protestants and Catholics to call for an end to sectarian violence during the Troubles. For this work, Corrigan Maguire and Williams were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976, making her at the time the youngest laureate in the prize’s history.
Since then, Mairead Corrigan Maguire has remained deeply engaged in peace and human rights work. She married Jackie Maguire in 1981, becoming stepmother to his three children and mother to two sons of her own. She co-founded the Committee on the Administration of Justice that same year and later helped establish the Nobel Women’s Initiative in 2006. Her activism has extended globally, from opposing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to advocating for political prisoners and calling for dialogue in Israel-Palestine. A graduate of the Irish School of Ecumenics at Trinity College Dublin, Corrigan Maguire continues to write, speak, and organize, guided by her conviction that nonviolence, human dignity, and love can transform both individuals and societies.
Corrigan Maguire, Mairead.Plowshare Peace & Justice Center (Roanoke, VA), December 2012. Quoted on “Mairead Maguire | Peace Activist, Community for Peace People,” LegendsHub.com. Accessed 16 August 2025.
Mairead Corrigan Maguire
Theme: Peace
About This Mairead Corrigan Maguire Quotation [Commentary]
Mairead Corrigan Maguire opens with clarity: “Gandhi taught that nonviolence does not mean passivity.” It is, she writes, “the most daring, creative, and courageous way of living.” Far from withdrawal or resignation, nonviolence is active and disciplined. She calls it “the only hope for our world,” affirming that it is both a moral stance and a practical means for shaping peace. She rejects violence and killing without exception and points instead to a force that can “transform conflict and the root causes of conflict.”
At the heart of her message is the conviction that nonviolence “applies the force of love and truth.” These are not abstract ideals, but energies that engage reality. Corrigan Maguire makes it clear that transformation begins not only with addressing visible conflict but also by confronting its origins. Her language is deliberate: she describes nonviolence as a “way of life” that always rejects harm and turns instead toward truth, reconciliation, and life-affirming alternatives.
Corrigan Maguire emphasizes that nonviolence “demands creativity.” It “pursues dialogue,” “seeks reconciliation,” and “listens to the truth in our opponents.” These practices require discipline and openness rather than control. She concludes that nonviolence “allows God’s spirit to transform us socially and politically.” The transformation she describes is both personal and collective, rooted in action, love, and truth. It is a call to live differently—courageously and creatively—for the sake of peace.
Mairead Corrigan Maguire
In 2025, Mairead Corrigan Maguire intensified her witness for Gaza’s women and children, grounding her actions in both faith and justice. In March she began a 40-day fast and prayer “for the children of Gaza and the children of the world,” describing it as an act of “creative nonviolent resistance infused with love” and calling attention to the suffering of families under siege. Speaking plainly, she declared,
In May she added her voice to international efforts, endorsing the Global March to Gaza as a gesture of solidarity with families deprived of safety, food, and dignity. Through these actions and words, Corrigan Maguire has continued her lifelong insistence that peace must be built through nonviolence, compassion, and protection of the most vulnerable.
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