Anne Maguire receives papal honour

A great grandmother wrongly imprisoned for nine years for involvement in IRA bomb attacks received a papal honour yesterday, 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 Mrs 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.