AN INSPIRATIONAL politician who was instrumental in securing peace in Northern Ireland has been honoured with a commemorative plaque at her old school in Coventry, 20 years after her death.
A blue plaque to commemorate the late Mo Mowlam has been unveiled by the Coventry Society.
Journalist Julia Langdon, who wrote a biography of Ms Mowlam in 2000, unveiled the plaque at Coundon Court School, where the former minister was a pupil from 1962 to 1968.
As Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in Tony Blair’s government, Ms Mowlam was credited with breaking the impasse between Republicans and Unionists, notably by going into the Maze Prison and talking to senior paramilitaries from both sides – culminating in the signing of the historic Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
The blue plaque was commissioned by the Coventry Society and installed in partnership with the school, led by head teacher Chris Heal.
Among the speakers at the unveiling was Sue Cooper, a former classmate of Ms Mowlam at the school, which at the time was a single-sex girls’ comprehensive school.
Three current pupils at the school also took part in the ceremony.
Mo Mowlam, pictured in 1999. Picture: Open Government Licence
Peter Walters, from the Coventry Society, said: “Mo’s example showed just what can be achieved with determination, force of personality and emotional intelligence.
“It feels appropriate to have installed the plaque at the school, where current and future Coundon Court School pupils can see it – and perhaps take some inspiration from it.”
