John Hume, a revered Irish politician and peacemaker, played a pivotal role in the Northern Ireland peace process, earning international acclaim for his efforts to broker reconciliation and dialogue. As a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, he exemplified the power of diplomacy and compromise in resolving longstanding conflicts. Hume's legacy as a statesman and visionary leader continues to inspire efforts for peace and reconciliation worldwide.
"I grew up in Derry, of course, and it was - Derry was the worst example of Northern Ireland's discrimination."
"My father was a civil servant, fairly sort of middle ranking, low to middle ranking. He worked almost entirely in what was then called Administrative Labour, dealing with employment and unemployment issues."
"They divided the city into three electoral wards, and in one ward there was 70 percent of the people, the Catholic population, and they elected eight representatives to the city council."
"I never thought in terms of being a leader. I thought very simply in terms of helping people."
"The violence had broken out in both sides, but our philosophy as a party was very, very clear."
"In working class districts, you had several families living together in the one house, and it was very difficult to get a house, because the politicians who controlled housing were doing so in a very discriminatory fashion."
"The only thing I shall talk about is my sporting achievements at school. My primary sporting achievement at school was that I dodged games for two complete years and was well through the third year before they discovered that I had completely avoided all games."
"I was grateful for the opportunity to make a difference. The political violence really started in 1970-1971. The political difficulties start a little bit beyond that."
"These are the influences that everybody has. Some individuals might stand out because of one thing or another, but whether one's perception as a child of what was important or not is accurate, I don't know."
"I went to the local schools, the local state primary school, and then to the local grammar school. A secondary school, which technically was an independent school, it was not part of the state educational system."
"The civil rights movement in the United States was about the same thing, about equality of treatment for all sections of the people, and that is precisely what our movement was about."
"The basic policy of the British Government was that since the majority of people in Northern Ireland wished to remain in the United Kingdom, that was that. We asked what would happen if the majority wanted something else, if the majority wanted to see Irish unity."
"Like everybody at that age, I read an awful lot of pulp fiction. But at the same time, I also read quite a bit of history and read that as much for pleasure as part of a curriculum."
"People were so keen to get investment. In those days, there was quite significant unemployment in Northern Ireland, and that had been the general pattern in Northern Ireland for many, many years."