Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation

Greetings from Ireland! We are just South of Dublin at the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation. We are just going through orientation right now and learning a little bit about what we will be doing. Glencree is a beautiful place with an interesting history. It is situated in the mountains of Co. Wicklow and was founded during British occupation to provide security for the British military to help squash any rebellion in and around Dublin, and because many rebels and common criminals would go on the run in these mountains. There are reminders of the old British presence by the fortified walls and of the name of the delicious “Armoury Café”. Apparently people still do hide from the law in the forest and woods of Wicklow, and our Program Director told us every now and then when walking the roads in the mountains you may spot a burned out car stolen by a joy-rider. However they don’t ever have security problems here at Glencree with these people on the run, most likely, one imagines, because of the organizations dignified cause of peace and healing.

When the military left Glencree it became a home for boys who were getting into trouble in their home towns. Apparently it was a terrible place to be at this time and many old men have visited since saying that they have awful feelings towards the place due to their bad childhood memories of the cold rigid environment of the boy’s home.

There is also a grotto/shrine right outside the walls of the Centre where the locals say there was an apparition of Mary. It looks similar to the grotto at Stonehill (except much older and organic looking with the growth covering it) and is what you picture rural Ireland to be like. There were small offerings left at an altar along with pictures of Mary as well as various Saints and Popes. There were small trinkets, rosary beads, and written appeals to Mary. I say that it reminds you of what you picture rural Ireland as being because of the way the locals have mixed their Catholicism with the regions Pagan past. Placing offerings on altars in raw, unexplainably beautiful nature is of course not a uniquely Catholic practice and no doubt did the Pagan Irish believe in and even more mystical sense of natural spirituality. This certainly is an example of the fusion of two Irelands, one old, one new, well, comparatively new at least. This area also has a small water fall, and an old moss covered bridge passing over the babbling stream that was just recently filled to the banks with melted snow runoff. It was a serene and natural place which I can imagine is an excellent spot to spend some alone time quietly mulling over your day at Glencree Reconciliation Centre.

We also took a long walk through the mountain roads surrounding us and it was a truly awe inspiring journey. We were walking through an area where everywhere you turned looked like a view belonging on a postcard. We stopped to take some pictures at a calm lake that acted as a reflecting pool for a large mountain. On the far edge of the lake was a small sandy portion of beach with smoke from a house’s chimney that was hiding around a bend. It was definitely a location that in the warmer months, must be a perfect getaway for Dubliners seeking refuge from the bustle of the city (strangely enough this seemingly remote area is only a half hour from the city). In fact, it is where one of Dublin’s most famous residents, Oscar Wilde’s family used to vacation. We also passed a lot of locals who seemed to be regular walkers of these roads, enjoying the steep climbs for exercise, and breathtaking views to take your mind of your worries.

The organization that ran the boys home eventually left, and the building is now owned by the Dept. of Public Works. They let the organization that runs the Reconciliation Centre use the buildings for free and they have used it to do some truly amazing work. The director of the organization told us today how before peace talks had started in Northern Ireland they hosted multiple weekend long events for NI politicians. Republicans, Unionists, Nationalists, and Moderates, came and shared stories and began personal relationships that helped build Northern Ireland’s peace. This was at a time when for example if a Republican politician was seen socializing, or even being anything other than openly hostile to his sworn enemy, the Unionist, it could cost him his political career as well as his life. We also spoke about how recently the government in NI is breaking down a little as Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party cannot come to any agreement in their power sharing government. This also comes at a time when two sex scandals have broken out in the DUP and SF discrediting major leaders and their families.
Mindfully reflecting on Glencree’s history is vital to understand the people who make peace in Ireland and around the world their mission. The fact that the buildings were once used to secure an imperialist foothold and suppress indigenous rebellions, and operated by one of the most brutal empires of all time, is strange to think about because of the nature of the work done now within the walls of the old armoury. The transformation of the buildings from barracks used for a war machine, to bedrooms used to house those whose countries are over run by violence and strife, or students, seeking to learn about realistic roads to conflict resolution speaks to the possibility of conflict resolution itself. In a way the change that has occurred in Glencree is symbolic of Ireland as a whole.

That’s it for my entry on Glencree, hopefully you enjoyed the first real post.
Next Stop: Dublin (Dundrum)