Born January 27, 1944
Belfast, Northern Ireland

Betty Williams

Born May 22, 1943
Belfast, Northern Ireland

Northern Irish peace activists

Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams came of age at a time when their homeland—Northern Ireland—was beset by armed struggle between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and factions loyal to Great Britain. Corrigan and Williams were brought together when, as a result of the conflict, three children were killed: Williams witnessed the tragedy, and Corrigan was related to the victims. The two women established an organization called the Community of Peace People and pledged to bring an end to the violence. The efforts of Corrigan and Williams, which have been credited with cutting in half the death toll in Northern Ireland, earned the two women the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize.

Corrigan’s Catholic working-class roots

Mairead (pronounced mah-RADE; Irish for Margaret) Corrigan was born on January 27, 1944, to...