The Corrymeela Podcast

Season 4, Episode 6. Samuel Salim Munayer

This podcast includes a conversation with Palestinian Liberation Theologian Samuel Salim Munayer. The episode ends with a twenty minute talk that he gave at a day long conference Corrymeela ran in Belfast in August 2026. The event was called the Oak Tree Sessions, and was an event platforming voices articulating Public Theology which engaged with questions of liberation, ecology, peace, solidarity and decolonisation.

Samuel Salim Munayer is a Palestinian theologian based in Jerusalem who works for a humanitarian organisation serving in Gaza and the West Bank. He holds degrees in philosophy and theology from Durham University and in Middle Eastern Studies from University of Exeter, where he was supervised by Ilan Pappé. Samuel recently co-edited and authored with his brother John the book “The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivating Palestinian Theology amid Gaza”.

This episode cannot possibly say all that can be said in relation to the mass displacement of the Palestinian population in Gaza, or the mass slaughter of over 70,000 innocent men, women and children by the Israeli army, or the brutal attacks on the Israeli civilian population on the 7th October 2023 by Hamas. It also cannot fully capture the fear felt by so many Palestinians in the occupied West Bank whose land is being stolen from them by a new wave of settler colonialism. But this podcast can create the space for an articulation of a theology of liberation in a time of genocide or what Samuel refers to as “the ongoing Nakba”. There will always be a need to hear the voices of those who can imagine peace, but unless we name the horror of reality, we are possibly merely dreaming fantasies and not laying the foundations of justice, truth and mercy needed to house “the beloved community”.

This is a live recording of an interview with Monica McWilliams on 29th April 2026 as part of Corrymeela’s 60th anniversary exhibition hosted by the Linenhall Library. Jonny Clark asks Monica questions relating to her life and work as told in her recent memoir “Stand Up, Speak Out”.

The political environment of Northern Ireland in the mid 90’s leading up to the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement was one of hope, but hope tempered with anxiety and continual mistrust and constant arguments between the main parties. It seemed for many of us that long term peace was too good to believe. Into this environment of anxiety and polarisation came the fresh voice of Monica McWilliams and the Women’s Coalition. They seemed to transcend the old sectarian talking points and brought hope by talking about real issues and by breaking into the patriarchal world not just of NI Politics but our wider society. The Women’s Coalition received enough votes to gain seats at the negotiating table for the Multi-Party talks which led to our Agreement. Without their presence the table would have been surrounded entirely by men. This unlikely and inspirational story was recently told in the brilliant play “Cuckoo Land”.

Monica McWilliams is an academic, a human rights activist, former politician, she was Chief Commisioner for the NI Human Rights from 2005–2011, and was the Oversight Commissioner for prison reform in Northern Ireland (2011–2015). She currently sits on the Independent Reporting Commission for the disbandment of paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland.

She is Emeritus Professor in the Transitional Justice Institute at Ulster University and continues her academic research into domestic violence. 

We want to pay tribute to the Linenhall Library and Patsy Horton who hosted this live recording.

We talk to Paul Hutchinson about his life and work. Paul is a mediator, a group facilitator, a therapist and an artist. He spent several years as the centre director of Corrymeela and has written the book “Between The Bells”. He has also produced films including Vacancies which is a reflection on the lives lost during the Troubles.

The Corrymeela Podcast. Season 4, Episode 3. Mandy Cook

Mandy Cook is a therapist who works a great deal with those who have experienced religious trauma. In her words she makes "space for unravelling, contemplating & practicing ways to find our way home to ourselves & each other". In this podcast we explore her journey from growing up in the Free Presbyterian church, to being a Queer woman helping people as a psychotherapist. We talk about some of the themes of her work, helping people find the rage to reject the past and to emerge from contexts of religious trauma  so they can build hope-filled lives. Mandy is a long time friend of Corrymeela and references her collaboration with us in projects like "Blessed Are The Brave" and the "Becoming Holy" series. 

This is a live conversation held at an event in June 2025 called Borderlands. This is a monthly event run by Jonny Clark from Corrymeela and a small cluster of friends and partners. Over the last 4 years we have platformed the stories of people whose lives were shaped on opposite sides of violence — victims, survivors, and former combatants — and invited them into honest, difficult, and courageous conversation.

Last June it was a profound privilege to host Jo Berry CBE and Pat Magee at the Black Box for our event that came days before the annual Day of Reflection. Their story is one of the most challenging and inspiring examples of dialogue towards friendship we have encountered.

Jo and Pat were brought together through tragedy: the Brighton bomb that killed Jo’s father, Sir Anthony Berry. Years later, Jo made the extraordinary choice to seek out the man responsible for his death. What followed was not a moment of closure, but the beginning of a long, evolving journey of dialogue.

Since then, they have shared their story of unlikely friendship over 300 times, offering a living reminder that, even in a world often framed as zero‑sum, transformation is possible. They embody the truth that “an enemy is someone whose story you have never heard.” Their courage shows us that even in the most entrenched and painful conflicts, there can still be room for listening, dignity, and hope.

The Day of Reflection is held on the 21st June every year, the longest day of the year, the day of most light. It is a day where we stop and reflect on the pain of our past conflict in and about Northern Ireland and imagine with hope the possibility of a truly shared society.

Jo Berry’s website is here.

Damian Gorman is a playwright, poet, and committed peacebuilder who has used his art to build bridges in theatres, playhouses and peace centres all over Ireland and the world. He has addressed large audiences and he has worked with small groups facilitating challenging conversations in places of conflict. Born in Newcastle, County Down, Damian has devoted much of his career to exploring the human stories that emerged from the Troubles, fostering dialogue and understanding through theatre, poetry, and community engagement. He has recently taken up the role of Head of Peacebuilding at the brilliant charity Children In Crossfire.

Recently, he served as International Resident Artist at the Playhouse’s Theatre and Peacebuilding Academy, developing the stage production Anything Can Happen…, which reflects the voices of those affected by conflict, particularly in 1972, the most bloody year of the Troubles. He is a fellow of the Oxford Initiative for Global Ethics and Human Rights, underscoring his commitment to ethical storytelling as a vehicle for reconciliation.

In this conversation with Jonny Clark we speak generally with Damian about his life and his work. Towards the end of the interview we spoke about a recent work of his called “BOY” which was written about the life of his older brother Gerard, a victim of clerical sexual abuse. For support if this conversation was triggering contact Nexus NI

Among so many works written by Damian, in the last year he has written a musical drama honouring the life of John and Pat Hume, called Beyond Belief and he has also written a play called “Witness” about the inspirational life of peacebuilder and community activist, Richard Moore.

His most recent publication is B O Y S which is a limited edition made up of scripts from WITNESS and from BOY about his brother’s abuse. His selected poems and memoir “As If I Cared” is available from Blackstaff Press or good bookshops.

Permalink

Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet with interests in language, violence, power, and religion. He has published poetry, essays, a memoir and works of theology. He led Corrymeela from 2014-2019. He currently lives in the USA, in New York City, where he presents Poetry Unbound, is poet-in-residence with Columbia University’s Conflict and Cooperation Centre, and writes. He has two new books for 2025: Kitchen Hymns (CHEERIO and Copper Canyon Press) and 44 Poems on Being with Each Other (Canongate and WW Norton).

As always, you can download a full transcript and discussion questions here.

In this last of four special compilation episodes of The Corrymeela Podcast, we revisit interviews with guests who shared their insights on conflict and reconciliation. 

Featured in this episode are Duncan Morrow, Dong Jin Kim, Christine Bell, Juliane Okot Bitek, Peter Coleman, and Marina Cantacuzino, who bring us their thoughts on peace processes, conflict resolution, and the work of forgiveness.

You can find a full transcript and discussion questions here.

In this third of four special compilation episodes, we return to previous guests who spoke with us about language, storytelling, and the past. Included in this episode are Sarah Perry, Sef Townsend, John Paul Lederach, Richard Holloway, and Nóirín Ní Riain.

As always, you can download a full transcript and discussion questions here.

We revisit interviews with guests who spoke with us about place, movement, migration, identity, and belonging. Included in this compilation are clips from Johnston McMaster, Anthony Reddie, Lia Shimada, and Yousif M. Qasmiyeh, who offered insights from the fields of history, theology, and the arts, as well as sharing personal stories of identity and belonging.

As always, you can download a full transcript and discussion questions here.