Obituary: (1949-2005) By Doaa El-Bey A woman of courage Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam, Labour MP between 1987-2001 and the Northern Ireland secretary who managed to create an atmosphere for peace leading to the landmark Good Friday Agreement in 1998, died last Friday aged 55. Driven by a sense of duty towards public service and armed with an unflinching capacity for straight talking, Mowlam met all the involved factions in order to bring peace to Northern Ireland. The Belfast Agreement of 10 April 1998, later dubbed the Good Friday Agreement set out a blueprint for power-sharing between Catholics and Protestants in the province. During the 1998 Labour Party conference, Mowlam received a standing ovation from all the attending party members in recognition of her role in reaching the landmark Good Friday Agreement She was both approachable and unconventional -- an attitude which made her the first Northern Ireland secretary to meet the paramilitary wings of both the Protestant loyalists -- who want Northern Ireland to remain part of Britain -- and the Republicans -- who prefer union with the Irish Republic. Her courage and determination were exhibited during the build-up to the Good Friday Agreement, when -- in defiance of advisors -- Mowlam bravely visited prisoners convicted of terrorist offences in the Maze Prison and authorised the early release of some of them. The fact that she was fighting a brain tumour and the visible impacts of radiotherapy on her at the time of the talks gave her achievement more significance. The unconventional and informal attitude with which she facilitated the Good Friday Agreement was eventually criticised by some Labour members who cast doubt over her ability to carry out her job adequately and called for her replacement. She also faced opposition from Unionists who accused her of giving too much to the Republicans. The hardline Protestant Unionist Party (PUP) openly asked for her replacement. As relations became increasingly strained, Mowlam was replaced by Peter Mandelson in 1999. She was offered other jobs including health secretary but she turned them down. She continued to work as a cabinet minister until she retired from politics in 2001. Her honesty and outspokenness after she had left the government never weakened. She was harsh in criticising Labour policies, in particular with regards to the war in Iraq. In her memoirs, Momentum issued in 2002, Mowlam criticised the government for campaigning against her and for suggesting that her illness had affected her mental health and ability to carry out her job properly. British Prime Minister Tony Blair remembered her as "one of the most remarkable and colourful personalities ever to come into politics [and]... one of the shrewdest political minds I ever encountered". Commenting on her achievements, he said, "she transformed the politics not just of Northern Ireland, but crucially of relations between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom." Mowlam had recently suffered balance problems because of the radiotherapy treatment. She lost consciousness after hitting her head in a fall last month and was admitted to Kings College hospital in London. She was later transferred to Pilgrims Hospice in Canterbury, Kent, where she died last Friday. She died before witnessing a final settlement of the Northern Ireland conflict. The power share system -- between Catholics and Protestants -- was suspended in Northern Ireland in 2002 when allegations of Irish Republican Army espionage broke the confidence-building measures between the Unionists and Republicans. However, her popularity among the British public is demonstrated in the many well-wishers who have sent condolence cards, messages and flowers to her family along with a series of tributes from public figures and politicians.
