John Hume RIP

TheCitizen · 03-08-2020 12:27pm

padd b1975 wrote: »

A good guy, may he rest in peace.

I do think Sèamus Mallon may have been easier to do business with though.

Not at all. Mallon made his own contribution, but what made Hume so outstanding was despite all the criticism thrown at him and despite knowing that in a narrow political sense he was sacrificing the future prospects of his own political party he brought SF and the PIRA in from the cold and made Peace possible.

It's easy for the likes of Michael Martin to eulogise on the radio, after him Hohn Bruton came on. I had to turn it off. Hume really was an outstanding figure in Irish politics.

TheCitizen · 03-08-2020 12:31pm

Truthvader wrote: »

As did Mallon, Paddy Devlin and hundreds of others now long forgotton who stood alone against the thugs and killers but never got any prizes or recognition.

Hume also stood up to the weak-willed politicians and media hacks in this country who attacked him for doing what was necessary to build the Peace Process

NIMAN · 03-08-2020 12:32pm

md23040 wrote: »

John Hume was a man of great integrity and peace throughout his career. There was many nights in the 70's/80's when the family had to move out of the house in the middle of the night due to death threats or youths throwing stones at the house but still he always persevered with peace. Even in the face of some nationalists seeing him and his party as sells outs and intense pressure with graffiti to that effect all around the area.

So true.

Many would never have known the pressure he and his family would have lived under at the height of the Troubles.

I went to school with his son and was shocked to hear about the bullet proof doors and the odd stoning the house would get. And ironically all from his 'own side'.

I must have been tough for him and Pat to try to raise a family normally. They sacrificed normality for the good of the country, and we should all be thankful for his patience and tenacity.

Galwayguy35 · 03-08-2020 12:34pm

RIP to a decent man.

rob316 · 03-08-2020 12:40pm

That was one truly great politician and person. RIP

completedit · 03-08-2020 12:40pm

Did he not die a few years ago? Serious Mandela Effect going on right here. I remember not having a breeze who he was and RTE aired a documentary about him and I was just like what a legend. But certain it was like a tribute to him.

NIMAN · 03-08-2020 12:43pm

I hope my home city do something fit and proper to honour his legacy, and hopefully petty politics won't get in the way.

Church on Tuesday · 03-08-2020 1:19pm

A true Irish patriot and advocate for peace which we all enjoy today.

RIP.

TheCitizen · 03-08-2020 1:20pm

NIMAN wrote: »

I hope my home city do something fit and proper to honour his legacy, and hopefully petty politics won't get in the way.

Hume’s legacy is secure. Petty politics was something he always rose above.

batman75 · 03-08-2020 1:25pm

A giant of modern Irish history was John Hume. A man who sought progress in N.I. through talks not terror. He had tremendous gravitas and stature. Easily the finest Irish political figure in my lifetime. As others have said brought SF into the peace talks when it wasn't popular or easy to do so. Was willing to let his own party suffer politically for the greater good. May he RIP

Muahahaha · 03-08-2020 1:36pm

NIMAN wrote: »

As a fellow Derry man who would often see him about, we tended to take him for granted.

I remember sitting beside him at the bar in Da Vinci's in Derry one evening, and a mate saying how we take it for granted sitting beside a Nobel prize winner.

I walked the Moville to Greencastle coastal walkway one Sunday morning and bumped into him along the footpath there. Said to my mate its not often you come across a Nobel peace prize winner when out for a walk, it was a bit surreal. I think he has a house near Greencastle somewhere, or at least a local said he lived along there somewhere and would often be out for a walk along the coast.

RIP, a giant of a man.

TheCitizen · 03-08-2020 1:39pm

The Pan Nationalist Front was what Conor Cruise O’Brien accused him of constructing. He was some character that O’Brien.

It’s sickening to hear John Bruton on the radio talking about him today. Hume had to face down the pathetic whining of Bruton and others to make the project work. Bruton was no help.

Beechwoodspark · 03-08-2020 1:40pm

the most significant peacemaking politician of the troubles.

RIP

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts · 03-08-2020 1:41pm

I served him in a bar one evening. A total gent unlike some other self-important politicians I encountered that night.

markodaly · 03-08-2020 1:52pm

A giant of a man and the greatest Irish statesman this side of the last century.
He is a Mandela like figure, who rejected violence in order to force political change and instead went about it peacefully while being undermind by violent repubicanism.

Hangdogroad · 03-08-2020 2:37pm

NIMAN wrote: »

Would not have any experience of the Sindo back then, but did I read Dunphy also wasn't a fan?

Dunphy was a columnist for the Sindo at the time and did one of the most notorious hatchet jobs on Hume, an article accompanied by a cartoon of John Hume where it appeared his hands were smeared with blood (opinion is divided on wether this was intentional)

Truthvader · 03-08-2020 2:39pm

Hangdogroad wrote: »

He was smeared and attacked in print by that rag the Sunday Independent from the early 90s onwards. Anne Harris and Angus Fanning ran a very low campaign against him.

This an overstaement. It is 100% true that many were horrified by his engagement with the likes of Gerry Adams but it is not true that he was "smeared and attacked". That kind of thing was directed by Gerry Adams who quite rightly recognised that middle ground peaceful progress would threaten his agenda. It is a particular mark of Hume that he surrendered his party and his personal ambition to Adams to stop the killing. Plus managed to persuade Trimble to even stand in the same room as Adams

Rows Grower · 03-08-2020 2:46pm

He was a great man who accomplished what many thought was the impossible, and as many here have said he never lost the common touch.

My parents met him at a conference in Derry and himself and my Mam used to take cigarette breaks outside the door of the hotel for the couple of days.

Every time she saw him on the news afterwards she'd call him "my old smoking buddy".

blowitupref · 03-08-2020 3:03pm

A true legend and gentlemen of my lifetime. RIP.

Ten of Swords · 03-08-2020 3:15pm

Mod

Truthvader and TheCitizen give it a rest, this is not the time or place. Take it to any of the myriad of NI political threads if you must.

Anymore of that off topic nonsense in this thread will mean bans

padohaodha · 03-08-2020 3:16pm

I am independent in politics and fairly middle of the road.John Hume was a hero of mine all through the 80s and 90s and continues be so.SF were guided into peace by him but the establishment,ie Sunday Independent,John Bruton etc, were a disgrace during that time towards Hume.I have not bought the Independent since as they maligned a giant of Irish society and politics.They were political pygmies during the peace process.

Hume always said his foundation of Derry Credit Union was his greatest success,as it lifted thousands out of poverty.My God,today is a sad day for Ireland.

RIP John Hume.

smurgen · 03-08-2020 3:30pm

Truthvader wrote: »

Lie. The only people who attacked him were the Sinn Fein IRA mobs outside his house incoherent with rage because he was against their murder campaign

Oh ya? Here's the establishments paper working against the name. Shady characters.

https://twitter.com/electionlit/status/1290260395102359557?s=19

buried · 03-08-2020 3:39pm

Sad day, but, he was one of the few people on this planet that was and always will be a fully paid up member of the human race. I will always remember him as such and be sure to tell all of mine coming after me the same. Did great, mighty and just work. The man was and still is a great and true example of how to do life.

Ten of Swords · 03-08-2020 3:39pm

Mod
Thread has been cleaned up. If you want to squabble over politics go do it somewhere else, there are plenty of other threads that cater to this.

Dont know what it is about RIP threads that brings out this carry on

Also, quit complaining about moderation. We are volunteers and cannot be expected to action every reported post within minutes, and this thread has attracted a huge number of reported posts (all of which gave been looked at)

Edgware · 03-08-2020 3:53pm

Truthvader wrote: »

This an overstaement. It is 100% true that many were horrified by his engagement with the likes of Gerry Adams but it is not true that he was "smeared and attacked". That kind of thing was directed by Gerry Adams who quite rightly recognised that middle ground peaceful progress would threaten his agenda. It is a particular mark of Hume that he surrendered his party and his personal ambition to Adams to stop the killing. Plus managed to persuade Trimble to even stand in the same room as Adams

Hume and Mallon will be remembered as the true Republicans. Adams, Storey and co will be remembered as the thugs who used Republicanism to justify their campaign of sectarian slaughter

Hangdogroad · 03-08-2020 4:09pm

smurgen wrote: »

Oh ya? Here's the establishments paper working against the name. Shady characters.

https://twitter.com/electionlit/status/1290260395102359557?s=19

That's the cartoon I mentioned in my previous post.

piplip87 · 03-08-2020 4:28pm

smurgen wrote: »

Oh ya? Here's the establishments paper working against the name. Shady characters.

https://twitter.com/electionlit/status/1290260395102359557?s=19

It's worth noting at the time the IRA where active, the bombing campaign was still in full flight so there was journalists who where dubious about Humes methods. That's what journalism is all about sometimes people get it wrong. I'm pretty sure all of them columnists today will salute Hume and admit they were wrong and most importantly be glad they got it wrong.

It was a bold move to try and bring SF out of the wilderness and to the table as a democratic movement of course it had its critisim at the time and considering the bombs still went off after this is proof that the critisim was justified in the short term but it was only in 1998 that it paid off.

JupiterKid · 03-08-2020 4:34pm

I was saddened to hear this news, but John Hume’s legacy in terms of the peace enjoyed in Northern Ireland today is assured. Hume was a politician of real substance and a political visionary so sorely lacking in politics today.

He was a critical figure behind the Northern Ireland peace process. Without the vision and input of Hume, the peace process simply would not have happened. My family are from Northern Ireland - I was born in Belfast in the middle of the 1970s - and we moved down to Dublin when I was a baby to escape the hatred and the violence that was destroying the province at the time.

A native of Derry city, John Hume was a consummate politician and negotiator and was instrumental in working towards a solution to the 30 year Troubles in Northern Ireland. Despite many setbacks in his untiring attempts to bring the people involved in the conflict around the table, he never wavered in his goal for peace in the North.

He had a flair for seeing and understanding the views and concerns of opposing sides in the Troubles, often views that were bitterly entrenched, and then putting together a viable road map for positive change.

RIP John Hume 1937 - 2020.

Hangdogroad · 03-08-2020 4:48pm

piplip87 wrote: »

It's worth noting at the time the IRA where active, the bombing campaign was still in full flight so there was journalists who where dubious about Humes methods. That's what journalism is all about sometimes people get it wrong. I'm pretty sure all of them columnists today will salute Hume and admit they were wrong and most importantly be glad they got it wrong.

It was a bold move to try and bring SF out of the wilderness and to the table as a democratic movement of course it had its critisim at the time and considering the bombs still went off after this is proof that the critisim was justified in the short term but it was only in 1998 that it paid off.

I wouldn't hold my breath on the likes of Eoghan and Anne Harris admitting to being wrong.

Five Eighth · 03-08-2020 4:54pm

Stopped buying the Sunday Independent because of that paper's weekly character bashing of the man. Mr. Hume has been proven right and those journalists and others who participated in that weekly character assassination should hang their heads in shame. I never bought that rag again. RIP John Hume, democrat, patriot and gentleman.

jj880 · 03-08-2020 5:07pm

Muahahaha wrote: »

I walked the Moville to Greencastle coastal walkway one Sunday morning and bumped into him along the footpath there. Said to my mate its not often you come across a Nobel peace prize winner when out for a walk, it was a bit surreal. I think he has a house near Greencastle somewhere, or at least a local said he lived along there somewhere and would often be out for a walk along the coast.

RIP, a giant of a man.

Yes John and his wife Pat have a house half way between Moville and Greencastle. Only a few yards from the shore. I grew up beside them. You couldn't get nicer neighbours. He had a way of making you feel at ease within a few seconds of talking to him and could often be found in Kealeys seafood restaurant in Greencastle.

Junkyard Tom · 03-08-2020 5:45pm

RIP John Hume, he dedicated his life to bringing peace to Ireland.

His task was made all the more difficult by the very fact that there was no Unionist equivalent of himself while being undermined by dark forces operating out of both Britain and Ireland.

Rows Grower · 03-08-2020 5:53pm

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

RIP John Hume, he dedicated his life to bringing peace to Ireland.

His task was made all the more difficult by the very fact that there was no Unionist equivalent of himself while being undermined by dark forces operating out of both Britain and Ireland.

That's a very good point Tom.

nacho libre · 03-08-2020 6:08pm

It is often said there are no monuments to the peace makers, well there will be to this man! RIP.
I'm sure the likes of Charles Moore and Eoghan will admit they were wrong and salute Hume. No doubt Eoghan Harris will be contrite for his past articles in his weekend column.

c.p.w.g.w · 03-08-2020 6:16pm

I think every young person should be made watch the RTE news now about Hume...We own him a hell of a lot, here on the whole Island...Its very telling that all sides accredit Hume with driving the peace process...

His death isn't the sadness part of the story, its that he was ill for so long and suffered with dementia type illness too, horrible way for such a giant to suffer

JP Liz V1 · 03-08-2020 6:52pm

RIP

malinheader · 03-08-2020 7:02pm

R I P John. A true gentleman .The world will definitely be a worse place without him.

Edgware · 03-08-2020 7:05pm

I suppose that theres no chance Fionnan and the gutter journalists of Independently newspapers would apologise for their behaviour.
Probably too busy raking up some muck about a new T.D. robbing an orchard in national school.

03-08-2020 7:33pm

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

His task was made all the more difficult by the very fact that there was no Unionist equivalent of himself

I think this is a little unfair to David Trimble. We have natural tendency, down here, to dismiss or diminish the case for unionism. Trimble took massive risks in his political career, especially when it came to negotiating with Sinn Fein.

Trimble was born on the wrong side of history, he can't be blamed for that, or for the historical intransigence of the Unionist movement. He brought them forward in leaps and bounds into the modern era, and he suffered great antipathy and hostility for having done so. Trimble was not John Hume's equal, in many ways he was an inferior politician, for all his privilege. But in his courage and his political nous, he was at least Hume's equivalent.

Truthvader · 03-08-2020 7:36pm

For anyone who doesn't know the price John and his family paid on the way.

https://www.irishecho.com/2011/02/a-view-north-hume-sdlp-have-faced-violence-too-4/

Truthvader · 03-08-2020 7:40pm

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I think this is a little unfair to David Trimble. We have natural tendency, down here, to dismiss or diminish the case for unionism. Trimble took massive risks in his political career, especially when it came to negotiating with Sinn Fein.

Trimble was born on the wrong side of history, he can't be blamed for that, or for the historical intransigence of the Unionist movement. He brought them forward in leaps and bounds into the modern era, and he suffered great antipathy and hostility for having done so. Trimble was not John Hume's equal, in many ways he was an inferior politician, for all his privilege. But in his courage and his political nous, he was at least Hume's equivalent.

Agreed. Plus he ended up hated by all sides, particularly his own who still regard him as a traitor. Gets no credit from Nationalists either. And did jump first

Galwayguy35 · 03-08-2020 7:54pm

Was watching UTV news at 6pm and the only guy who couldn't bring himself to acknowledge what JH had achieved was some DUP guy called Gregory Campbell, he said Hume was divisive during the civil rights protests.

What a bitter old man this guy is.

Truthvader · 03-08-2020 8:25pm

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Was watching UTV news at 6pm and the only guy who couldn't bring himself to acknowledge what JH had achieved was some DUP guy called Gregory Campbell, he said Hume was divisive during the civil rights protests.

What a bitter old man this guy is.

Campell must be actually mentally compromised to say this. Beyond bitter IMO just delusional

Galwayguy35 · 03-08-2020 8:38pm

Truthvader wrote: »

Campell must be actually mentally compromised to say this. Beyond bitter IMO just delusional

Never heard of the guy before he came on but of all the people going I didn't think anyone would have a bad word to say about John Hume.

RandomViewer · 03-08-2020 8:39pm

Truthvader wrote: »

Campell must be actually mentally compromised to say this. Beyond bitter IMO just delusional

Cambells bitterness is legendary, he refused to accept the inquiry into Bloody Sunday, he objected to restoration works on a Catholic church in Limavady, there's a story that he complained to the council because there were orange and white flowers growing on a roundabout.

mehico · 03-08-2020 9:07pm

RIP.

I remember seeing him canvasing old school style through the streets of Derry with the speaker attached to the top of the car and the microphone in hand, it doesn't seem that long ago but must have been 15 years or so ago now.

He will be sadly missed. A true gentleman, a courageous Irish statesman and a selfless public representative.

malinheader · 03-08-2020 9:11pm

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Never heard of the guy before he came on but of all the people going I didn't think anyone would have a bad word to say about John Hume.

You missed nothing never hearing of him. A little bitter gob****e of a man.

DellyBelly · 03-08-2020 9:11pm

Shocked to hear this news today. A sad day for Ireland.

Junkyard Tom · 03-08-2020 9:12pm

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

David Trimble.

I don't mean to dismiss Trimble he certainly played a pivotal role in dragging Unionists with him and, as you say, he was a victim of circumstance as much as anyone else.

Regardless, consider who the voters in Derry were returning as an example of the differences in the electorate in the north. On the Bogside we have a moderate statesman given a mandate in one of the most deprived areas in Western Europe that had suffered terribly at the hands of Unionist/British rule, while the more affluent Unionist Waterside was returning this hateful dimwit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTbebWrj560

Unionists were pushed into power-sharing by the British.

SEPT 23 1989 · 03-08-2020 9:28pm

Bomb alert in Derry

Have they no fcuking shame

John Hume RIP

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