Clinton says history will bejudge of Inez’s courage

‘Inez: A Challenging Woman’ is based on a final interview given to her friend and Drumahoe-native Susan McKay shortly before her death in January 2013.

Mrs Clinton said: “I will always consider myself blessed to have known Inez and call her my friend. She was an extraordinary and transformative force for peace, affirming the capacity of people to come together for a common purpose; because of her trailblazing and inclusive work, countless women and girls today have more opportunities and have been inspired to become agents of change in their own communities. History will well note her courage, leadership, care and compassion.”

In the interview Inez speaks strongly about the importance of implementing the human rights and equality commitments of the Good Friday Agreement in order to secure a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.

Inez was the first female President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and an unrelenting activist for the equality provisions of the Good Friday Agreement.

She was a signatory to the historic MacBride Principles, a corporate code of conduct for US companies investing in Northern Ireland which demanded outcomes to address religious inequality in employment.

In the last decade of her life, she established human rights organisation Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR) to support deprived communities such as North and West Belfast to challenge the inequalities they face in housing, employment and health, and to have their voices heard.

Since 2006, PPR has grown to work across Northern Ireland and has received international acclaim from United Nations institutions for its approach to supporting marginalised people to assert their rights and hold government to account.