Joanne Murphy

This article first appeared in the Irish Times on Tuesday, Aug 4, 2020

“There are many people who made the peace process possible, but only one without whom it would not have happened and that was Hume. He was the centre of the matrix.” These words, spoken to me in a recent interview by an Irish diplomat characterise the essential nature of Hume’s contribution.

I’m a Hume fan, but I readily admit to being shocked at the detail of his influence and importance – much of which is only now coming into the public domain. At the heart of that is his visionary articulation and reframing of the conflict – as a contestation ‘among people not territory’ and his early prescience of the three strands unlocking relationships in these islands, pulling in Europe and America and providing the only achievable pathway to peace.

It is clear from commentary that leaders like Hume are unusual: they are not perfect and certainly not easy. Many speak of how challenging he could be and how focused on his goal to the exclusion of everyone and everything else. But people like Hume move us forward into futures which mirror their vision. Today, we live in Hume’s Ireland, and thank God for that.

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