My book, Unity Pilgrim: The Life of Fr Gerry Reynolds CSsR (Redemptorist Communications, 2019) has been reviewed in Irish Political Studies by Margaret M. Scull from NUI Galway.
I am gratified the book has been reviewed in an important Irish academic journal. I wrote the book with a popular audience in mind. But I was always conscious of its potential value to academic historians, social scientists and theologians, and sought to make it a useful resource for scholars as well.
I have reproduced portions of the review below.
Margaret M. Scull Reviews Unity Pilgrim
When we remember the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, that unfortunately named conflict, we might think of the violence. The horrific bombings, shootings, and kidnappings that scarred the lives of millions of people. Our histories often focus on this violence: what caused it, what sustained it, what ended it. We often focus on the uniform, mostly men, of every ‘side’ and what motivated them. Yet we regularly leave out the individuals working quietly behind the scenes to stop that violence and help people. At times these may appear to be ordinary people. They are often extraordinary. Dr Gladys Ganiel’s Unity Pilgrim: The Life of Fr Gerry Reynolds, CScR helps to uncover one of those extraordinary people who made a significant impact on the path to peace in Northern Ireland.
… It is when Reynolds journeys north, landing in Belfast at the Clonard Monastery in 1983, where his commitment to ecumenism and his profound faith help to shape the path of Northern Ireland. Reynolds’ desire to alleviate suffering and promote Christian unity guided his work. As Ganiel argues: ‘Gerry’s early days in Clonard had convinced him that he was a priest not just for Catholics of the Falls Road, but also for the Protestants of the Shankill and beyond’. In regard to carving inroads for peace, Reynolds found value in the words of his friend and ally Fr Alec Reid: ‘The only way to change things is through dialogue which makes room for the Holy Spirit to work in human history’. Both Reid and Reynolds were instrumental to bringing together republicans and nationalist for dialogue throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Ganiel deems Reynold a ‘pioneer’ of Irish ecumenism and, through Reynolds’ personal papers and interviews with his friend and fellow ecumenist, Rev Ken Newell, Ganiel sheds greater light on this aspect of Reynolds life.
… Ganiel’s interviews with Reynolds himself and those who knew him provide rich source material. Perhaps it is because Ganiel was unable to complete her series of one-to-one interviews with Reynolds, as a result of his sudden passing, that we learn so much more about this very private person. Interviews with Reynolds’ sister in particular, Noreen Castle, allow the reader another view of this humble man, one who had regularly shied away from the spotlight during his years helping to negotiate peace in Northern Ireland.
… Even in the years following the signing of the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement, Reynolds remained relatively quiet about his experiences in conflict mediation. It was this trait, to avoid publicity and routinely turn down any interview opportunities, that made Reynolds and his colleague Fr Alec Reid so important as peace brokers. … Ganiel’s work adds to the idea of the importance of privacy in mediation. She argues it is because Fr Gerry Reynolds remained discreet in his meetings with republicans and nationalists that he was able to have such a great impact. However, the impact of Reynolds may have been more sharply realised in the text had there been a wider discussion of the Irish peace process and background
negotiations. The lack of situating Reynolds’ contribution is a missed opportunity to widen Ganiel’s analysis to speak to peace and religious activists in conflict mediation more broadly.
This text is important for anyone writing on the conflict in Northern Ireland or on contemporary peace processes around the world. Ganiel’s book reminds us of the significance of individuals when we study this conflict. She demonstrates the power of those men and women who may be overlooked when we study our grand narratives. Reynolds’ story is that of one man who made a lasting impact on the lives of many people. As he would regularly say: ‘Let it all unfold’.