TWO middle-aged women stood quietly in the rain beside the memorial stone commemorating the victims of the Birmingham Pub bombings in 1974 and discussed the merits of the important visitor they were waiting for. A young woman on her way home in the rush hour gave them only a quick glance and hurried on.
Mrs Mary Molloy, a Birmingham resident for 40 years, originally from Kildare town, summed up the thoughts of her friends yesterday while they waited to see the President, Mrs Robinson: "This is the first visit of a President of Ireland to Birmingham and we're just sorry that it's raining."
Another woman, from Birmingham, said she felt that the President's visit to the city would go some way "to help to heal the wounds of people who just want peace. All the politicians should sit down and talk, that's the only way of sorting out problems."
Following Mrs Robinson's visit to Warrington, it was the turn of the Irish community of Birmingham to play host. Close to the scene of the IRA bombings in the city centre, President Robinson placed a "peace rose" at the memorial dedicated to the victims.
It was an "unforgettable experience" for Mr Paul Stone, a student from Birmingham University, who was waiting to meet the President. "The peace process can only be benefited by this visit and it shows people here that the people of Ireland are as worried about peace as we are. It wasn't much fun waiting in the cold, but it was definitely an event."
Earlier in the day, President Robinson visited Coventry where she gave the inaugural lecture for the Centre for the Study of Forgiveness and Reconciliation, established by Coventry University. The President said she welcomed the opportunity to convey the sense of reconciliation and the commitment to peace "deeply held" throughout Ireland by the overwhelming majority of men, women and children.
The theme of reconciliation is one which the President has adopted throughout her visit, and has referred to it in particular as the "spirit of Warrington".
President Robinson said all communities were seeking ways "to signify that they have moved on in their perceptions and attitudes, in the links of friendship and understanding which they have built up during the cessation of violence in Northern Ireland. I have been struck by the determination of people who insist that peace must be maintained, and that differences, however intractable, must be resolved by discussions and negotiation."
President Robinson's speech drew a particular comparison between the efforts of the people of Coventry and Dresden in Germany, to promote peace despite the fact that their forefathers bombed each other's cities during the second World War, and the determination of the majority of people on the island of Ireland and Britain that peace must be maintained.
"From justice and peace initiatives, from a variety of women's movements and from environmental groups, we have learned about consciousness raising, about networking and the need for effective political lobbying. In the wider world non-governmental organisations have often shown themselves the consciences of the people and the stimulus political leaders need to adopt inclusive policies geared to the welfare of the weaker and the marginalised."
The President stressed that the spirit of the Centre for the Study of Forgiveness and Reconciliation was important to the emergence of an Irish community in Britain which "cherishes its larger Irish identity, while integrating in a reconciling and creative way into the wider and increasingly mixed community of Coventry and of Britain. It is a larger identity because it is clear, that among the diaspora there is a richness of identity which escapes the narrow confines of older definitions of Irishness.
On the island of Ireland itself, President Robinson said this broader sense of Irishness was capable of "honouring and listens ing" to those in Northern Ireland "whose sense of identity and cultural values may be more British than Irish" and that they in turn may be encouraged to accord a genuine and whole-hearted equality of esteem to their neighbours who cherish their Irish identity, and long for the space to express it".
Last night, the President visited members of Birmingham's Irish community at the Irish Centre and she acknowledged the enthusiastic response of the local people to her visit. The President said she had welcomed the opportunity to strengthen the friendship between Ireland and Britain.
Later, the President attended a dinner with representatives of the city's business community. She returns to Ireland this morning.