The story of Irish Methodist minister Harold Good has been described by Senator George Mitchell as “one of faith, reconciliation, charity and hope”. The Rev Good’s very readable memoir In Good Time vividly endorses such a judgment. Born in Derry in 1937 (”I am a northerner and a proud son of that city”), he was ordained in 1962, and has been a minister with family connections across Ireland and a ministry practised in both of its jurisdictions. In 2005, Good and the Redemptorist priest Fr Alec Reid were famously co-witnesses of the decommissioning of IRA weapons, a disposal that did not look like surrender, but which emphasised the end of the Provisionals’ violent campaign.
Beyond Northern Ireland, Harold Good has also done peacebuilding work in numerous other settings, including the Basque Country and Colombia, and his book fluently covers wide territory. It provides some family history and background, and it commendably focuses throughout on the distinctive individuals that are involved in the story. So there are fair-minded and honest chapters on Ian Paisley, Martin McGuinness and also Reid (”Ours was a very genuine and special friendship.”)
Indeed, relationships and trust are at the heart of the tale, as are dignity, forgiveness and dialogue. Good emphasises the importance of being “prepared to put oneself in the shoes of ‘the other’, whoever that might be”.
The Troubles understandably dominate the book’s story, a conflict which left “a legacy of loss, suffering and mistrust with which we continue to contend today, notwithstanding the epic achievement of the Good Friday [Belfast] Agreement”.
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Good’s is a very Methodist story, and he provides some background to that church and its traditions, as well as mentioning some of the other Methodists whose role in making peace in Northern Ireland was important.
The role played by religious divisions in generating conflict is much discussed and often criticised. The part played by religious commitment in limiting conflict and sometimes even in helping bring it to an end is less frequently analysed, but this important book reflects how vital that can prove.
Richard English is director of the Senator George J Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen’s University Belfast
