Passion, politics, perceptions

 

Considered by some as revolutionary in his attempted reformulation of Irish nationalist ideology despite times of heightened political and social tension, Hume’s broader outlook proved central to cultivating the support of a succession of US presidents in framing an inclusive peace deal in Northern Ireland.

Asked how the former SDPL leader would view the current state of political affairs in the North today, Fitzpatrick quickly surmises: “I think he would be extremely depressed by the effective suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly. I’m quoting Mrs Pat Hume now, but he would be ‘heartbroken’. She said that at the launch of the documentary at the Savoy cinema in Dublin. He would be heartbroken by Brexit and the collapse of a lot of what Hume strove for.”

In part, given the rise of Sinn Féin in the North, much at the expense of the SDLP, Hume’s legacy is by some being overlooked for its impact. It’s an anomaly Fitzpatrick is determined to address.

Hume was a key force in Derry’s politics for two decades by the time Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Féin, began shifting towards a similar way of thinking in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

But it was Hume’s political vision and diplomacy that persuaded key players in US politics - Ted Kennedy, Tip O’Neill, Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Hugh Carey – together known as the ‘Four Horsemen’ – that led to a breach in the unquestioned orthodoxy of the British views on Ireland.

In 1985, that lobbying of then President Ronald Reagan resulted in British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher being persuaded to sign The Anglo-Irish Agreement, thus providing the Republic of Ireland an unprecedented advisory role in Northern Irish affairs.

“[Hume] was the first Irish leader too who fully understood and appreciated the power of Washington, which enabled him to effectively bypass the unionists and bring the British to the negotiating table. But the idea that one politician would come along and change that is a fantasy. I think John Hume would acknowledge that. But what he would advocate is that we must build new shared institutions and, from that matrix, can come a new perception of who we are and how needless these binary oppositions truly are.”

Recognising how Hume’s actions, at times, ran contrary to that of the success of his own party, Fitzpatrick adds: “In interviews, you can quote him directly, that he said meeting with Gerry Adams and the IRA Army Council proper, that this was something he needed to do. If it saved one life, it was worth it. There are those who, from within his party as well, saw this as a threat to the integrity of constitutional Nationalism because it was suddenly seen, by some, as being mixed up with those who advocated violence. But what [Hume] saw was a need to bring people of all sides together and, by doing that, he prioritised peace on the island above anything.”

 

Ireland’s Greatest

The only recipient of three major peace awards - Nobel, Gandhi and Martin Luther King Peace Prizes, Hume was also named, for his efforts, ‘Ireland’s Greatest’ in a public poll by broadcaster RTÉ.

The weight of encapsulating such an eminent profile was not lost on Fitzpatrick who took time in meticulously researching and applying for time to access an impressive wealth of prominent contributors who had worked closely with Hume.

Few documentaries can boast input from two US presidents - Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and two British Prime Ministers - Tony Blair and John Major; as well as Irish taoisigh - Bertie Ahern and Enda Kenny. There are others too, politician David Trimble, Gerry Adams, George Mitchell; Seamus Mallon, journalist and political activist Eamon McCann, and even Bono.

‘In the Name of Peace: John Hume in America’, meanwhile, is narrated by Ballymena-born actor Liam Neeson, with music composed by Bill Whelan. Fitzpatrick does not underplay the importance of Hume’s name when it came to unlocking access to people normally out of reach.

Such is the esteem in which Hume is held by his peers, Fitzpatrick says: “I think a lot of people, maybe not so much from the Unionist community, but certainly in the United States, a lot of people reacted very well [to Hume being the focus]. They possibly maybe liked the man as a person but they also liked quite how spectacularly successful he was in the US Congress and White House, and those who were part of that history, I found, were hugely keen to set the record straight on exactly what had happened and the role Hume had played. His name was a great enabler.”

Documentaries covering such themes are generally developed retrospectively, or posthumously of the person centrally involved. While Hume has suffered from dementia, a condition that first manifested itself in the late 1990s, in the context of present day politics in the North, Fitzpatrick believes if the Derry-native were still involved “it would be a very different Northern Ireland than the divisions and situation it finds itself in today.

 

Passionate

“Hume, above all else was a very practical, very energetic political figure. He was passionate in effecting change. If involved in the process today I think his first resolve would be to say ‘what do we do to fix things?’

“In the context of Belfast, I think he would be marshalling the influence of Europe and the US to attempt to revive the situation.

“There is no right time to make a documentary like this, and no wrong time either,” explains Fitzpatrick. “There is, what you might call a deadline of nature and, irrespective of John Hume, some of the participants, Jimmy Carter I’ll go back to, he hadn’t really spoken at length on his involvement with Ireland or John Hume prior to that. So if one is to capture that testimony, the time is now.”

Released off the back of Fitzpatrick’s book of the same theme- ‘John Hume in America: From Derry to DC’- the documentary is on worldwide release, has been shown at film festivals, parliaments and congresses, as well as dubbed in several languages.

In the foreword to Fitzpatrick’s book, Senator Mitchell acknowledges that many people contributed to bringing about peace in Ireland, but states clearly that ‘the primary architect’ was Hume himself.

Hume, Sen Mitchell says was “an extraordinary leader who was able to offer a new way”.

When the Celt catches up with Fitzpatrick, he is touring the documentary across several screenings in the north of England. He has just returned from Russia, and later this month is preparing for further screenings in Paris, France and Sydney, Australia.

Regardless of translation, Fitzpatrick says Hume’s core message and ambition to unite all sides is one that is universally understood.

 

Tensions

Of his recent visit to Moscow where political tensions simmer beneath a thin veneer of Putin-led dominance, Fitzpatrick explained: “There is an understanding of his approach to politics, how despite how the odds being so heavily stacked against him and others, nevertheless they used the political process to attempt to change things. For some people that is very inspiring.

“While on my days off I went to the Moscow State University where I fell into step, strangely enough, with people who were studying Irish as a language in the Modern Languages department. They, I found, were very attuned to matters in Ireland. And like that, I also found people who were very nonplussed by the political situation in their own country. They see in the example of Hume someone who persisted in order to bring about change.”

Previous works

Former works by Fitzpatrick include a study of several illustrious alumni of Derry’s St Columb’s College in ‘The Boys of St Columb’s’, as well as a more recent film about Brian Friel’s ‘Translations’ and its connections to the city. All assimilate to a fascination that has developed within Fitzpatrick not just of Derry City itself but the indomitable spirit of it’s people.

“I find it an interesting space. It has brought forth a great many very interesting personalities, like those I’ve featured in the work I’ve done. I find an articulacy, a confidence in some of the people that have come from Derry, and there is a great attraction for the likes of me to look at what they have and have tried to achieve, both politically and culturally.

“Let’s also acknowledge the accidence of birth here to have such a great collection of talent derive from one place, and maybe we can’t ever fully explain why that is.”