Ms Mary Moynihan:

I am Mary Moynihan, company director of Smashing Times theatre company. We are specialist artists and good relations facilitators working in the area of peace building and reconciliation, conducting a range of projects, including the Memory Project and Acting for Peace. This year is the 17th year of the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement, which has delivered many successes, particularly moving on from the violence that was once a daily fact of life and claimed many victims. We thank the political leadership and members of successive and current Irish, British and US Governments for the outstanding work done on promoting the peace process and for recognising the importance of working together for peace and reconciliation.

The Smashing Times theatre company is a professional company involved in performance, training and participation. The work is underpinned by a rights-based approach and a commitment to artistic excellence and social engagement. The company has five high-profile patrons, Sabina Higgins, first lady, Áras an Uachtaráin, Joan Freeman, head of Pieta House, Ger Ryan, actor, the playwright, Brian Friel, and history writer, Tim Pat Coogan. Past and current funders have included Dublin City Council arts office, the European Union PEACE III programme, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the International Fund for Ireland.

"The stage is a dangerous place else it's not worth visiting", said Chris Johnson in House of Games. We have presented performances, workshops and seminars reaching more than 21,000 people in the past two years. During the past five years the company has successfully managed budgets of in excess of €1 million. We have conducted work in all of the counties in Northern Ireland and in the southern Border counties as well as in the majority of counties elsewhere in Ireland. The majority of our work addresses peace building and reconciliation, including anti-racism, anti-sectarianism, gender equality and human rights. A major part of our work relates to positive mental health and suicide prevention throughout Northern Ireland and elsewhere in Ireland, using high-quality theatre and arts projects.