Politician, peacemaker, persuader: John Hume was a titan of Irish history – a tireless architect of the Good Friday Agreement who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in ending decades of conflict in Northern Ireland. But who was the real John Hume? What motivated the former history teacher to reach beyond political lines? What sustained him during the bloodiest years of violence? How did he impel the IRA to end its long-running campaign? How did he convince presidents and prime ministers to take risks and back his vision for Northern Ireland? How should he be remembered? In John Hume: The Persuader, Stephen Walker draws on over 100 interviews with family members, colleagues and critics across the political spectrum, as well as never-before-published interviews with Hume himself, to present a probing, balanced and immensely readable portrait of one of the most significant political figures in Northern Ireland and the world. 'The definitive biography of John Hume.' Freya McClements, Northern Editor, Irish Times 'This superb biography does full justice to a towering figure.' David McCullagh, RTÉ Broadcaster and Author 'A riveting portrait of a man who changed Ireland.' Gary Murphy, Professor of Politics (DCU) and Author 'Scrupulously fair, deeply researched and insightful.' Sam McBride, Northern Ireland Editor, Belfast Telegraph

John Hume, Ireland’s greatest peace-maker, is widely recognised as the architect of the Northern Ireland peace process. In John Hume in America, Maurice Fitzpatrick explores how Hume created this framework for peace through the cultivation of an unprecedented and bountiful relationship with the White House and the US Congress. John Hume’s political vision and innate sense of diplomacy persuaded key players in US politics to merge their concerns with his own. Ted Kennedy, Tip O’Neill, Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Hugh Carey – together known as the ‘Four Horsemen’ – were won over to his cause, lending the campaign for equality in Northern Ireland worldwide credibility and putting considerable pressure on the British and Irish governments to strive for peace. Through his work with the ‘Four Horsemen’, Hume engaged every American president from Jimmy Carter to Bill Clinton. John Hume in America, a towering achievement, supported by the Hume family, explores the intricate negotiations that made this possible and highlights Hume’s paramount role in leveraging Irish–America. Maurice Fitzpatrick’s seminal work is the missing piece in the jigsaw of Hume’s political life, tracing his philosophy of non-violence during the Civil Rights Movement through to his indispensable work with friends in the US towards the creation of a new political framework in Northern Ireland.

The book, available at last in paperback, explores the politics of the most important Irish nationalist leader of his generation, and one of the most influential figures of twentieth-century Ireland: the Nobel Peace Prize winner, John Hume. Given his central role in the reformulation of Irish nationalist ideology, and the vital part which he played in drawing violent republicanism into democratic politics, the book shows Hume to be one of the chief architects of the Northern Ireland peace process, and a key figure in the making of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. At the same time, it considers Hume’s failure in what he stated to be his foremost political objective: the conciliation of the two communities in Northern Ireland. The book is essential reading for specialists on Irish history and politics, but will also be of interest to academics and practitioners working in other regions of political and ethnic conflict. In addition, it will appeal to readers seeking to understand the crucial role played by Hume in modernising Irish nationalist thinking, and bringing peace to Northern Ireland.

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Ireland is a strikingly different country now to the one it was in the mid-1990s. Dramatic economic, social and cultural changes, including the Celtic Tiger boom and increasingly secular debate about abortion, the status of women and same-sex marriage underlined the scale of the transformation. The new diversity of the population and literary and musical prowess also revealed a country experiencing rapid alteration. The road to peace - that saw an end to war in Northern Ireland and culminated in the first visit to southern Ireland of a reigning British monarch in 100 years - illuminated the new Anglo-Irish dynamic. Explosive revelations about deep betrayals from the past destroyed the credibility of the traditionally powerful Catholic Church. And in the wake of the 2008 financial crash, Ireland rebounded and rebuilt to great success, but remained plagued by health and housing failures. Economic recovery, the end of civil war politics, ever closer European involvement and Anglo-Irish highs were followed by Brexit lows and increasing talk of Irish unity. There is much to open people's eyes in this riveting account of contemporary Ireland. As the Republic enters its second century of independence, and the North continues to grapple with the legacy of the Troubles, Diarmaid Ferriter makes historical sense of post-1990s Ireland, and what lies in the darkest corners of its archives.