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.
