THE 12-year-old Belfast school-girl whose plea for peace to the British prime minister was broadcast around the world at the weekend has said that while she is interested in hearing Mr Tony Blair's response, she would rather hear from Boyzone.
At the weekend, Mr Blair told US television viewers how he was moved when he read Margaret Gibney's letter in which she said she had had only one year of peace in her life. He said it had made him more determined to find peace for Northern Ireland.
Yesterday, the girl from Percy Street, Shankill, said she would be eager for Mr Blair's reaction but was more interested in a response to a letter she sent to Boyzone. "I haven't got a reply from them yet but that would be even better," she laughed. "I would love to hear from Ronan."
Margaret, who has just returned from a cross-community trip to St Anne's Primary School in Shankill, Co Dublin, and Scoil Mhuire in Athy, Co Kildare, said: "I was just so shocked when I heard about it. I had expected a reply but nothing like this. I wanted to give my opinion on how much we need peace here."
A pupil at Mount Gilbert Community College, Margaret wrote the letter as part of a school project. Pupils have written to 136 world leaders and celebrities and Mr Blair's letter was sent on May 20th.
Margaret's letter reads: "I live on the Shankill Road district of Belfast, an area that has seen a lot of trouble. In my whole life, I have only had one year of peace, so peace is very important to me. 1 am asking people to send me a copy of their favourite poem or verse about peace. I would like to display all my replies so that pupils in my school can read them. 1 feel that this could even contribute to the peace situation."
Margaret was "shattered" when she heard about the murders in Lurgan of two policemen.
Her school was contacted by Downing Street yesterday and told that Mr Blair intended to send her the lyrics of a Fureys' song about peace. She is confident Mr Blair will bring peace to the North.
School principal Mr John Crossan said he was amazed at the prime minister's response. "It's absolutely stunning. We just never expected this. The phone has not stopped ringing. I think the innocence of the letter is beautiful. It shows children can make a difference," he said.