Hillary Clinton has led political tributes following the death of Pat Hume, the widow of former SDLP leader John Hume.
Pat Hume passed away in Derry following a short illness on Thursday, just over a year after that of her Nobel Peace Prize-winning husband John.
Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill made several visits to Northern Ireland during the Troubles while he was US president.
Pat Hume was a gracious, determined force behind the achievement of peace in Ireland. She and her husband John both made the world a better place and set an example for us all. Sending my condolences to her family. https://t.co/cAC9IYrobq
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 2, 2021
At the time of their first visit in 1995, shortly after the IRA ceasefires, they visited Derry and walked across the city’s Peace Bridge with the Humes.
Hillary Clinton tweeted: “Pat Hume was a gracious, determined force behind the achievement of peace in Ireland.
“She and her husband John both made the world a better place and set an example for us all. Sending my condolences to her family.”
Former president of Ireland Mary McAleese said Hume was “such a humble person who kept herself in the background but was in the throes of everything” and who was also a formidable community activist in her own right.
‘Total commitment to community’
President Michael D Higgins said Pat Hume had made an “extraordinary contribution to life on this island and beyond”.
He added: “The life of Pat Hume was one of total commitment to community, to the possibilities of peace, to the measures of non-violence that were necessary to assert, vindicate and achieve the results of civil rights.
“While her support of the work of her late husband and Nobel Prize recipient, John Hume, was an exercise in solidarity, a partnership in courage, endurance and fortitude, her personal contribution was unique, immense and important in its own right.
“Pat’s personal contribution as teacher, mother, in conditions of conflict, political adviser, constituency secretary and consoler of the victims of oppression from so many sources, was extraordinary in every sense.”
The religious community also paid their tributes to Pat Hume.
Most Revd John McDowell, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, said:
“Anyone who has been involved in public life in Ireland over the past 50 years will be saddened by the news of the death of Mrs Pat Hume who not only cared for her husband in his long and distressing final illness but was a source of inspiration and stability to him and to all who work for peace in these islands.”
Similarly, the Church of Ireland’s Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, paid tribute to Pat Hume for her “commitment, courage and compassion” in the service of peace and the cause of reconciliation in Ireland.
Responding to the news of Pat Hume’s death, Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said she had been left “deeply saddened” by the news.
She added: “I extend my deepest condolences to her family and friends. She will be sadly missed by her children, extended family and friends, colleagues and the people of Derry.”
Pat worked alongside her husband from the beginning of the civil rights movement in Derry in the 1960s.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin paid tributes to Pat Hume last night: “I wish to extend my deepest condolences to the Hume family on the death of their beloved mother, Pat.
“A devoted wife of Nobel prize winner, the late John Hume, she was his partner in family life and in political life.
Pat and John worked side by side for decades, she was his trusted adviser at key political moments and his anchor in their beloved Derry.
“I want to recognise the tremendous contribution Pat made in their life’s work for peace and stability on this island and her resilience and courage on the path to peaceful change.
Political leaders across the North paid tribute to Pat Hume, with the DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson saying that she had lived a “unique life”.
“My deepest sympathies to the Hume family on the death of Pat Hume. A unique life well lived and no one who met John left the conversation without knowing Pat,” he said.
Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said Mrs Hume’s dedication to peace “was total”.
She said: “Very sorry to hear Pat Hume has passed away – an absolute lady, warm & friendly, always encouraging. Her dedication to peace was total as was her dedication to John esp. in his latter years.”
Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie tweeted: “Although we never met I am saddened by the death of Pat Hume. My thoughts are with her family.”
Current SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said that without Pat Hume “there would have been no peace process in Ireland”.
Eastwood added: “The compassion, integrity and immense fortitude that defined her incredible character breathed life into our peace over the course of a long campaign that, at times, must have looked like it would never bear fruit. Pat never gave up faith.
Incredibly sad news about Pat Hume - her grace, strength and generosity should be an example to us all - from working for civil rights, to peace, to dignity for people living with dementia.
— Cllr. Séamas de Faoite (@SeamasBelfast) September 2, 2021
An exceptional life, exceptionally well lived. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam uasal. pic.twitter.com/0imDMetuyc
“Pat was, of course, John’s guiding light. She was his constant companion, sharing the road and easing the burden in the most difficult of times. When they came under public pressure and attacks on their home for doing what they knew was right, she remained his rock.
“The scale of his achievement was made possible by the depth of her love. But she was, in her own right, a fierce champion for peace and justice.
Very sorry to hear Pat Hume has passed away - an absolute lady, warm & friendly, always encouraging. Her dedication to peace was total as was her dedication to John esp. in his latter years, when we often saw them in Greencastle. Thoughts with the Hume family and SDLP colleagues.
— Naomi Long MLA (@naomi_long) September 2, 2021
“Pat holds a special place in the hearts of the people of Derry. She would have done anything for them and, in return, they loved her. Our city is in mourning tonight for a woman who showed us unconditional compassion and support every day of her life.
God rest #PatHume, who gently guided the hand of #peace over many years - Derry’s “First Lady” and a friend to all who suffered during troubled times. We owe you and John a great debt of gratitude. @derryjournal pic.twitter.com/22KGHKUc8O
— Eamon Martin (@ArchbishopEamon) September 2, 2021
“We all live in an Ireland that she nurtured, at peace with itself and free to set its own destiny. It is an incredible legacy that will never be forgotten.”
Pat is survived by her children Aine, Therese, Aiden, John and Mo.
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