Pope's medal for wrongly jailed woman

Published on Sunday 22 May 2005 00:04

A GREAT-GRANDMOTHER wrongly imprisoned for nine years for involvement in IRA bomb attacks is due to receive a papal honour today, bestowed upon her by the late Pope John Paul II in one of his final acts.

The late pope issued the Bene Merenti medal to Anne Maguire, one of the Maguire Seven, three days before he died.

The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, said Maguire had been awarded the medal, which translates to "well deserved", in recognition of her "remarkable ability to forgive", as well as her work for her parish, family and community.

Maguire, 68, of Willesden, northwest London, was imprisoned in 1976 with five members of her family and a family friend, including her husband Patrick, her son Vincent, 17, and her 14-year-old son also called Patrick, following the 1974 IRA bomb attacks in Guildford and Woolwich.

Last February, Tony Blair issued a public apology to the Maguire Seven and the Guildford Four for the miscarriages of justice.