A Chairde, Dear Friends,
Warm welcome to this memorial to our departed friend, John Hume. We come together to pay tribute to his lifetime of work, celebrating in particular how, through his hard-headed political skills and soft-spoken diplomacy, he engaged America, to such powerful effect, in the Peace Process in Northern Ireland.
We would not be where we are today, with a generation of children in Northern Ireland raised in peace, without the tireless, bi-partisan US engagement and support that John Hume inspired for the peace process.
By investing his time in deepening understanding and building relationships, John ensured that the United States would invest in Northern Ireland, and the island of Ireland, in so many ways; you would invest your time, your energies, your political acumen and, above all, your devotion to the cause of peace.
From the late 1960s, John saw the benefits, indeed, the necessity, of bringing America into the process of conflict resolution on the island of Ireland. And so, 40 years ago this year, with John’s encouragement and through the labours of Ted Kennedy, Tip O’Neill, Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Hugh Carey, the Friends of Ireland group was born. And each year since, the Friends deftly, consistently and patiently used the opportunity of St Patrick’s Day to build support for finding a peaceful and lasting solution to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. One of the founding members of that group, in 1981, was the then Senator for Delaware, President Joe Biden.
America has played an instrumental role at every critical juncture of the Peace Process. At every stage, John was working without stint behind the scenes - guiding, advising and providing wise counsel to the decision-makers on the other side of the Atlantic.
John believed in a deep and sustained peace, built on a strong foundation of inclusivity and equality, justice and human rights, and for all communities. He believed passionately that political change could be brought about through exclusively peaceful and constitutional means. His unwavering dedication to the cause of peace and his captivating Derry turn of phrase, made him a much-loved figure in the US and this tribute today is testament to this.
John’s work and John’s worries are still relevant today. Although the awful violence of the conflict has long since ceased, the peace process in Northern Ireland is still fragile; the political process is still fragile; reconciliation is still fragile. And the process has had to sustain a great deal of pressure in recent years as Northern Ireland has grappled with, and continues to grapple with, the out-workings and consequences of the UK’s decision to leave the EU. The same EU where, for many years, John also worked his magic as a Member of the European Parliament.
The strong, unequivocal position of the many friends of Ireland across the US political system, insisting that Brexit must not result in a border re-emerging on the island of Ireland - either by design, or by accident - has been of enormous significance. The words and actions of President Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chairman Richie Neal, Congressman Brendan Boyle, former Congressman Peter King, former Special Envoy Mick Mulvaney, and the many others who have stood by their commitment to Northern Ireland and the Peace Process, mattered during the negotiating period - and they matter now as we continue to work hard to protect John’s legacy, to create opportunity, well-being and hope across our island in the wake of Brexit.
As John Hume knew to his core, words and deeds matter, and the words and deeds of political leaders matter, and the words and deeds of our U.S. political friends really matter, especially when it comes to Northern Ireland and peace in Ireland.
On behalf of my Government and the people of Ireland, I want to thank you all for your enduring support, and for sustaining and honouring the ties of friendship and solidarity so carefully crafted and cultivated by John throughout his political career.
I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute also to another great man of peace and human rights – Congressman John Lewis whom we also lost last year. Both of these men dedicated their lives to making the world a better place.
John Hume once said:
“Difference is the essence of humanity. Difference is an accident of birth, and it should therefore never be a source of hatred or conflict. Therein lies a most fundamental principle of peace: respect for diversity.”
These two great friends, and kindred spirits, embodied this principle of respect for diversity.
When John passed away last year in the midst of this pandemic - which has changed and disrupted our lives in so many ways - we were not able to honour him as we would have liked to.
I know that many of you in the US would have travelled to Derry had you been able to, to be with Pat Hume and her sons, daughters and grandchildren. I know that many of you would have wished to gather together in the traditional manner of mourning we cherish in Ireland, in Irish America and wherever green is worn: to mourn; to commiserate; to honour; to reminisce; and, no doubt, to sing as well especially ‘The Town I loved So Well’, just as John would have done were he amongst us.
And I think it is safe to say that Derry would have celebrated and commemorated John’s life in a way that none of us would ever have forgotten. But alas, that wasn’t to be. Instead, at the time of his passing, we all shone a light for John in our homes, in our hearts, and – as we must these days – virtually, on social media. A light shone for John in Derry and Dublin, in London and Strasbourg, and in Boston and Washington DC, the cities where he made his mark on the world and built the peace that is his legacy.
And although the world has lost a great leader and statesman, our loss is small compared to that of Pat and the Hume family, and I want to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt sympathy to each of them.
Today, I am proud to join with you in the United States of America in honouring a man who has been an inspiration to so many of us – a thoughtful, often quiet, man with a burning passion for peace and the heart of a lion. We were lucky to have had him, and to have walked with him along his journey.
And we will treasure his memory and honour his legacy by continuing to work to fulfil the promise of the Good Friday Agreement. Bringing new life to it through the Shared Island initiative; cementing relationships among the people of Northern Ireland, on the Island of Ireland and with our neighbours in Britain, and always with the sustained support, and the fair wind and good and true course set and set again by our American friends.
Let us together continue to work to achieve the potential of the vision that John saw so clearly and pursued so brilliantly.
Go raibh maith agaibh. Thank you.