Co-operation Ireland #45in45 – Peter Sheridan’s Cup and Saucer
In 2024 we are marking Co-operation Ireland’s 45th anniversary by exploring our history through 45 items.
Item 7: Peter Sheridan’s Cup and Saucer
In his 15 years as CEO Peter Sheridan left an indelible mark on Co-operation Ireland. A former career policeman, he had come to the charity in 2008 to embark on a new role of fostering peace and reconciliation.
This cup and saucer ended up playing a large role in his tenure. Never a man for a mug of tea, when visitors (some expected, many not) arrived in CI’s offices, the fine china came out and Peter sat down for a chat.
It’s over this cup and saucer the first plans for the historic handshake between former deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Her Late Majesty the Queen in 2012 at a Co-operation Ireland event in The Lyric Theatre were hatched.
And that is just one of the public displays of reconciliation. If the delft could talk, what a story it would tell!
The truth is relationships are like a china cups, costly and rare, and once broken cannot be mended. We saw lots of that and the essence of CIs work is to look after the china!
Peter has now moved on to work with the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), with former Victims Commissioner Ian Jeffers taking over the CEO role with Co-operation Ireland.
And although he took the cup and saucer with him, it remains a key part of the history of CI.