A celebration for Inez McCormack

The ‘Out of the Ballrooms; Peace, Participation and Equality’ event is available for open registration at www.pprproject.org . Due to anticipated demand, seats will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. It is being organised by Participation and the Practice of Rights organisation (PPR), which Inez founded in 2006.

Inez passed away on January 21 this year following a short illness. Tributes were paid to her life and work from a wide range of people including the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, and triple Oscar winning actress Meryl Streep, who portrayed Inez on stage in New York in 2010 in the documentary play SEVEN**.

Speaking about the celebration event, Nicola Browne, Director (Policy) of PPR said: “During Hillary Clinton’s visit to Belfast in December last year, she paid tribute to Inez and said that the time had come in Northern Ireland to come ‘out of the ballrooms’ and into the communities where the promise of the Good Friday Agreement had not delivered on the ground. Throughout Inez’s work, be it in trade unionism, women’s rights or social justice activism, her focus was on supporting and raising the voices of excluded and marginalised groups and enabling them to be part of making change – in essence, putting human rights

into practice.

“While celebrating and marking Inez’s life, the event will also consider how her work and legacy can be carried forward in practical ways to ensure change reaches the people who are ‘not at the table”

Commenting on Inez’s legacy her husband Vinny and daughter Anne said: “We were touched by the many messages we received from ordinary people whose lives Inez had touched. We would like to thank them, and to tell them that the family has taken comfort from their words of support. It is our wish, as it was Inez’s, that her work carries on into the future.”

In accordance with Inez’s wishes and those of her family, PPR has established the Inez McCormack Fund, which will build on her unique legacy.

To register for the event please visit www.pprproject.org