Taoiseach announces award in honor of former SDLP leader and Nobel Laureate John Hume
The annual prize will be in memory of the late SDLP Leader, Foyle MP and MEP, who the Irish Prime Minister described as a “visionary and an immensely practical man.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has announced a new award to honour Nobel Laureate John Hume.
The annual prize will be in memory of the late SDLP Leader, Foyle MP and MEP, who the Irish Prime Minister described as a “visionary and an immensely practical man.”
During his speech in Strasbourg at the European Parliament yesterday (Tuesday) Micheál Martin said the former MEP was “unquestionably one of the greatest figures in modern Irish history”
For twenty-two years, John was leader of the SDLP and was an MP between1983 and 2005. He was first elected as a member of the European Parliament in 1979. Micheál Martin said he came to “work with others to define and built a new future for his community, our island and the people of Europe.”
The Derry-born civil rights campaigner was one of the chief architects of the Good Friday Agreement has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the Gandhi Peace Prize, and the Martin Luther King Award.
Mr Martin said: “For me a visit to this chamber always brings to mind one of the most distinguished former MEPs and unquestionably one of the greatest figures in modern Irish history, John Hume.
“He remains the only MEP to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while serving in the Parliament.
“While he represented Northern Ireland, he spoke for the vast majority on our island who wanted a future free of the sectarian violence inflicted on our society by an unaccountable few.
“He was not just our visionary of peace; he was a passionate advocate for peace and prosperity through a shared European future.
“Just as the great generation which secured our independence brought us to membership of the European Union, John Hume directed us to its values and the opportunities for reconciliation and breaking the historic cycle of distrust and conflict.”
He added: “To honour his legacy, later this year we will be establishing and funding a new annual prize in his name. This will be awarded to a European who has contributed to the values which John advocated for and to the further development of our Union.
“John had the vision to see the narrative of Ireland’s path to peace and prosperity in the wider narrative of Europe. As he saw it, the road to lasting progress is built in shedding our sweat together, rather than our blood.
“It is a vision that is as relevant today, as when he graced this Parliamentary chamber.”
John Hume jr, Chair of the John and Pat Hume Foundation welcomed and thanked the Taoiseach on behalf of his family.
He said: “The European Parliament was his spiritual home, and the European Union inspired him in the journey of peace and reconciliation in Ireland. As John Hume often said; ‘the European Union is the best example of conflict resolution in the history of the world.’”
Former SDLP leader and Foyle MP Colum Eastwood said the award was a fitting tribute to the legacy of John Hume.
He said: “Throughout his political life, John believed the European project was about bringing people together, breaking down barriers and proving that cooperation would always achieve more than conflict.”
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