Me and John Hume

Silly title of course - it should me John Hume and me, since he had an ever-so-slightly higher profile that yours truly. In case you hadn’t heard, Nobel Laureate and Politican John Hume passed away this week. His funeral in Derry took place yesterday. 

It is difficult to underplay the impact John Hume had in the politics of this part of the world. He was instrumental in the Civil Rights movement in Derry in the late 1960s. Fast forward 20 years and he was the guy who brought Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Provisional IRA, to the table for peace talks.  Then he became a principal architect of the Good Friday Agreement.  He received (jointly, with David Trimble) the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998. He was human, though, so he didn’t get it right 100% of the time, but then again, Who did?  

When I joined the academic staff of Magee, Ulster University’s Derry/Londonderry campus, I was put forward as the University’s representative on a forum that went by the name of the Derry Investment Initiative. The role of DII was to drive inward investment to the City, initially from the US and later from Dublin. John Hume was DII’s secret weapon.

Nothing to do with John Hume - just a still life of some old stuff.  Darkroom print from Ilford FP4+ on Foma 133 paper.

So for a few years, I was invited to DII’s various initiatives to try to bring employment, primarily in STEM subjects, to the city. Perhaps once or twice a year we would jet off to Washington DC or Dublin and 'do the rounds'...talk to business leaders and potential investors at large Organised Events and do some hospitality at smaller functions.  I was there to represent the University and sing the praises of the (high) quality of our graduates, particularly in the fields of Computing & Engineering.  It was an easy job.  The Mayor was there to represent the City in an official capacity. Others were there from Government, to talk about the various support measures available. A few Business leaders were there to tell their stories from the coal face, so to speak and Mr Hume was there (in name if not always in person) to get people’s attention and open doors. This was, remember, shortly after a serving US President came to Derry at Mr Hume’s invitation, so he had some serious clout in Washington.

These were interesting events...a far cry from my usual day of University teaching, research and admin.  We got to speak to some big tech companies - where everyone was VP of something or other.  (I quickly learnt that job titles in these companies meant diddly-squat).  One one occasion we got to Capitol Hill, though it was a rushed affair. I can’t even remember the name of the Senator or Congressman we spoke to but it was pretty obvious that minutes before we arrived he’d redecorated his office with an Irish Flag and other bits&pieces relating to the Emerald Isle. I got the impression as we left after our allotted 20 minutes that his staff were getting ready for his next visitors from Mexico or wherever.  He was well enough briefed, he listened well and said all the right things.  Who knows what, if any, impact came of it.  His staff, I do recall, could have easily got second jobs with Mr Hugh Hefner, by the way - young, leggy, highly-presentable girls with curves in all the right places.  As I say, they were interesting times.

The Dublin events were more intimate affairs where we would book a room in a nice restaurant and invite just a few potential investors to enjoy 'An evening with John Hume (and the Derry Investment Initiative)'.  The food was top class and Mr Hume would lead the evening's discussion.  As the evening wore on, we'd all said our piece and everyone around the table relaxed Mr Hume would have everyone's attention as he related various stories and anecdotes about his times in Washington and as Member of the European Parliament.  He was always discreet but very, very entertaining and gave everyone there a little insight into his world.  Fascinating stuff.  I remember one story he told about former House Speaker Tipp O'Neill when he first visited Derry.  John had done his homework and as they went for a drive around Donegal he was able to point out the various places that Tipp O'Neill's ancestors had come from not so many generations ago (his grandmother came from Buncrana, a small town in Donegal not far from Derry).  As they came across the shell that would have made up the ancestral home John stopped the car, got out and handed one of the stones to Tipp for him to take back to Washington with him - to sit on his desk and remind him of his Irish roots.  It was, John related, quite an emotional moment for Tipp and it sealed a very strong friendship between the two men.  

Mr Hume was very well known in Derry, of course, and although he moved in very different circles to the rest of us in many respects he never really left the city.  He could often be seen at the University, where he would wander into the canteen on his own and sit down between the students and staff to eat his lunch.  He was always happy to chat to anyone who chose to sit down beside him - there were no airs and graces and he'd be the first to ask How are things or What's new in your life?  A colleague recounts John sticking his head around the door of an ongoing seminar and saying 'Well boys, Who wants to meet President Clinton next week?'.  Now there's a question you don't get asked every day of the week...

It was a cruel fate that dementia robbed John Hume of much of his dignity in recent years.  He was, from what I read, unable to remember pretty much anything of his remarkable life.  I feel very lucky to have met him and to have spent so much time in his company.  His impact on the politics and life in this part of the world will be felt for many years to come.

John Hume, 1937-2020