Peace walk celebrates hope in Co Louth

A peace walk, ecumenical service and a youth concert for peace, called Boyne 2000, took place yesterday at the Oldbridge Battlefield…

A peace walk, ecumenical service and a youth concert for peace, called Boyne 2000, took place yesterday at the Oldbridge Battlefield Site in Co Louth.

The events were described as a celebration of hope and artistic and cultural diversity and an adventure in peace and reconciliation. The programme was organised by Peace Pledge Ireland, which was founded in 1990 to promote a decade of reconciliation in Ireland by the sponsorship of ecumenical community events.

Yesterday the speaker at the ecumenical service was the Rev Russ Parker, the director of the Acorn Trust for Peace, Healing and Reconciliation and director of Christian Care and Counsel, a Christian counselling ministry in the east Midlands in Britain.

For the past 10 years he has come to Ireland regularly to take part in opportunities of reconciliation and peacemaking both North and South of the Border.

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Mr Parker is also the author of a number of books, including Forgiveness Is Healing.

The concert lasted for three hours and included youth groups, worship music from the Emmaus Community and Ciaran Smith field and the Marketplace Musicianaries.