John Hume was a driving force behind the Peace Process in Northern Ireland. On this day, 18 January 1937, the peace pioneer was born.
John Hume was an Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland who is known for many things, including being instrumental in the creation and success of the Good Friday Agreement.
On the day of his birthday, we take a look back at his life, a life dedicated to advocating for peace in Northern Ireland.
On This Day – John Hume is born
On 18 January 1937, John Hume was born into a working-class Catholic family in Derry as the eldest of seven children to Anne and Samuel Hume.
He went to St Patrick’s College in Maynooth with the intention of joining the priesthood.
However, he did not complete his clerical studies and eventually obtained an MA degree in French and history from the college in 1958 before returning to his native Derry.
His first civic and political engagements came when he was in his early 20s, and he eventually helped establish the Derry Credit Union and became the youngest-ever President of the Irish League of Credit Unions.
Incredible achievements – instrumental in the success of the Peace Process in Northern Ireland
If there is one thing John Hume is remembered for across the globe, it is for being one of the main architects of the Good Friday Agreement.
He and his wife Pat dedicated their lives to achieving peace. Thus, a lot of their time was spent drawing leading figures from both sides of the divide into negotiations.
When the Good Friday Agreement was signed in the Easter of 1998, peace was forged in Northern Ireland.
By the autumn of the same year, John Hume was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for being at the heart of the bid to bring peace to the nation.
After the Peace Process in Northern Ireland came to fruition, John and his wife continued to advocate for European integration and issues around global poverty.
They also continued to advocate for improving the circumstances of the people of Northern Ireland.
His latter years – a decline in health
For several years before he passed away in August 2020, it became clear to those around him that he was suffering from memory difficulties.
It was in 2015 that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Symptoms had apparently been showing as early as the late 1990s.
His late wife Pat Hume died just one year after John Hume after suffering a short illness. She revealed years ago on the Miriam O’Callaghan show on RTÉ about the condition of John’s health.
She said, “Unfortunately John is having severe memory difficulties at the moment. He has a form of dementia…It hasn’t actually taken away all his quality of life in that Derry is a very dementia-friendly city”, she said.
Pat continued, “People love John. He can go out for a walk. Every taxi in the place will stop for him … I can go for a walk myself. He can do his crosswords. He can enjoy the paper. So it could be worse”.
So, his legacy lives on today. In 2022, a new mural of John Hume was unveiled close to Derry City.
