A BELFAST TRAGEDY: DEATH OF A MOTHER
Author: Associated Press
Date: Tuesday, January 22, 1980
Page: ?????
Section: RUN OF PAPER
Anne Maguire, the mother of the three children whose deaths sparked formation
of the Nobel Prize-winning Peace People Movement, was found in her home with
her throat and wrists slashed. Police sources said they believe she killed
herself.
Neighbors said Maguire had tried to kill herself once before after the
deaths of her children, who were run down nearly four years ago as she was
taking them home from school. She was seriously injured in the accident.
The 34-year-old woman was discovered yesterday by one of her two surviving
children, 9-year-old Mark. The whereabouts of her husband, Jack, 35, and her
surviving daughter were not immediately known.
The dead woman's three other children - Andrew, six weeks old; John, 2,
and Joanna, 8 - were crushed to death on Aug. 10, 1976, when they were struck
by a getaway car carrying Irish Republican Army guerrillas. The car crashed
after British troops shot the driver.
After the childrens' funeral, thousands of outraged citizens marched
through city streets, prompting Mrs. Maguire's sister, Mairead Corrigan, and
Betty Williams to launch the peace movement designed to end sectarian fighting
between the Roman Catholic minority and the Protestant majority.
The fighting, which has resulted in 2000 deaths in the past decade, is
continuing. The peace movement, divided by internal bickering, has begun to
disintegrate.
Williams, who was one of the first to arrive at the Maguire home
yesterday, said, weeping, "It was horrible. My wee Anne is dead. We tried so
hard to help her. How can a woman lose one child, let alone three, and not
suffer terribly?"
After the death of their three children, the Maguires moved to New Zealand
but returned to Belfast seven months later, saying they were homesick. Later,
it was disclosed that Mrs. Maguire had been ill since the tragedy.
When she returned, she became embroiled in a controversy over the $7875 in
compensation she was awarded for her injuries in the incident. She vowed to
fight for more money, saying she was "absolutely disgusted" with the award.
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