Light a candle for peace and John Hume RIP

There have been many tributes paid to the former SDLP leader John Hume in recent days since he passed away on Monday of this week at the age of 83 years).

Generally regarded as one of Ireland’s greatest ever Statesmen, Hume’s lasting legacy will be his instrumental role in securing peace on this island.

The Anglo-Celt’s leading article on February 12, 2004, paid tribute to John Hume - a Great Leader - after it was then announced he would not be contesting the next election. We feel it says everything we wish to say about the man and, more importantly, it was printed while he was still alive.

In the late 1960s John Hume played a prominent part in the emerging Civil Rights Movement in Northern Ireland. This movement, though predominately Nationalist, was the first attempt since Partition to define, for the people generally, the excess and oppression of Unionist power and to seek the necessary redress by constitutional and peaceful means.

Over thirty years on, and with the benefit of hindsight, we can all see the influence of John Hume in this Civil Rights Movement. It was to be an influence which grew with time and the consistent repetition of his basic philosophy - that consent was the cornerstone of peace and tolerance.

Where violence only drove hated, persuasion, matched with only peaceful intent and honest dialogue, alone could change heart.

The tragedy of the years of terrible violence in the North is that the Northern Ireland government of the day, fearing this new movement, suppressed it with great violence, and the moment for dialogue was scorned with disastrous results. But out of it grew the Social Democratic and Labour Party of which John Hume was to become such an outstanding leader, never varying from his belief in the ultimate triumph of dialogue over violence, which he has lived to see and now recognised on all sides in Ireland, North and South.

Of course there is much unfinished business and arms and hatred are still with us, but their day is in terminal decline. The great irony in the present situation in the North was brought into sharp focus last week when John Hume announced that, for health reasons, he was not standing in the coming European Elections or in the general election in Britain whenever it is called. John is leaving politics having given back to it in Northern Ireland a fresh and viable vision of democracy - the Good Friday Agreement - of which he could rightly claim to be a founding father.

For John Hume, and for so many others, the irony and the pain of the present situation in the North lies in the fact that those who are now the main political beneficiaries of his vision are his principal opponents, Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party and the loser, on the Nationalist side, his courageous and honourable SDLP. Such is the price so often paid by the peacemakers.

Their steadfastness to the principal of peaceful negotiation rather than violence has sustained that necessary platform of support, which gave it, and John Hume’s, principal of consent its power and triumph. That triumph may yet be a little way off but now thanks in very great measure to John Hume, we know that it will ultimately be achieved - and on his terms - consent, consent, consent.

Students of politics all agree that political life has for many people a great attraction. But the hard facts are that even after a lifetime in what was perceived to be successful political careers, few politicians can feel satisfied with what their dedication. energy and talent had achieved. Even our own Dr Garrett Fitzgerald has expressed this sentiment and more trenchantly, the British M.P. and Minister, Enoch Powell, said that all political life ends in failure. Well we have had John Hume, who must now rank amongst Ireland’s great leaders, whose lifetime in politics is crowned by home and international acclaim. Above all he has the joy of seeing his vision for Ireland of unity in variety coming into being gradually through a meeting of minds and hearts.

We wish him and his wife, Pat, the peace and happiness in retirement that they both have so selflessly earned.

Little over a year later - on July 28, 2005 - the IRA announced the end of its campaign, and promised complete decommissioning of all itsweapons. The end to arms and hatred, as envisioned in the article, had arrived, finally heralding the triumph John Hume and many others had dreamed of.

John Hume will be laid to rest today at 11:30am today (Wednesday) in his native city of Derry. As per the wishes of his family, and in these times of Coronavirus, light a candle for peace in his memory today.

Let’s all hope and pray that John has now gone to his eternal reward.