John Hume in America: From Derry To DC

by Maurice Fitzpatrick

Overview

In John Hume in America: From Derry to DC and its accompanying documentary, In the Name of Peace: John Hume in America, Maurice Fitzpatrick chronicles the rise of John Hume from the riot-torn streets of Northern Ireland to his work with American presidents, from Jimmy Carter to Bill Clinton, and the United States Congress to leverage U.S. support for peace in Northern Ireland.

Hume is widely considered the architect of the Northern Ireland peace process, and he engaged the attention and assistance of the “Four Horsemen”—Thomas “Tip” O’Neill, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Hugh Carey, and Ted Kennedy—to his cause, lending his effort worldwide credibility and putting significant pressure on the British and Irish governments to strive for peace.

Supported by the Hume family, Fitzpatrick’s critical work is the missing piece in the jigsaw of Hume’s political life, tracing his philosophy of non-violence during the Civil Rights movement to his indispensable work with allies in the United States towards the creation of a new political framework in Northern Ireland. Both the book and its companion documentary will be of keen interest to historians and students of political science and Irish, peace, and conflict studies, as well as non-academic audiences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780268106508
Publisher:	University of Notre Dame Press
Publication date:	08/15/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	252
Sales rank:	993,708
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Maurice Fitzpatrick is a film director and author. In 2017, he wrote, directed, and produced the documentary feature film, In the Name of Peace: John Hume in America. He is the 2020 Heimbold Chair of Irish Studies at Villanova University.

Read an Excerpt

The new leaders of Ireland and Britain, Charles Haughey and Margaret Thatcher, met twice in 1980. From the first their relationship was tense. They both came to the issue of the North of Ireland from staunch and opposed positions, nevertheless they attempted to sustain an ongoing dialogue. In May 1980, at their first summit in London, Haughey presented Thatcher with a silver teapot and they seemed to foster an entente. However, Thatcher noted privately that she felt Haughey expected much more than she was willing to concede in his concept of the ‘totality of relationships’. The British side endorsed the idea of a unique relationship between Ireland and Britain and agreed to undertake a study of the ‘totality of relationships’ between the two countries, promising a commitment on both sides to a new phase of cooperation. The Unionists were upset both by the opacity and potential open-endedness of the term; and alarmed that the possibility of the study of the totality of relationships might have also implied re-examination of the constitutional status, North and South. There was considerable mystery as to everything that the term ‘totality of relationships’ implied. There was speculation that it might have involved a military security dimension, with Haughey perhaps hinting at some form of closer military cooperation.

After December 1980, relations deteriorated between Haughey and Thatcher for three reasons: the hunger strikes, which Haughey reacted to in a somewhat sympathetic vein (in contrast to Thatcher’s insensitivity), partly because his party had to contest TD seats on the Irish border it ultimately lost; secondly, Brian Lenihan, Haughey’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, whether through his own over-enthusiasm or at Haughey’s prompting, oversold the notion of the ‘totality of relationships’ as relating to constitutional rather than institutional change and linked it directly to a United Ireland, which outraged Unionists and consequently Thatcher gave Haughey a withering reception; and lastly Haughey’s opposition to the British resolution to fight the Falklands war (April–June 1982).

The third issue was by far the most devastating. With Thatcher, the irritation factor was always high and when Haughey opposed her policy on the Falklands he comprehensively poisoned her against a renegotiation of Anglo-Irish modalities. It was a very dilettantish move, going in feet first and causing problems for the Irish in the United Nations (UN) that rippled to domestic issues. A little like a general who does not reconnoitre the battlefield, Haughey did not fully consult Noel Dorr, Ireland’s Ambassador at the UN, about the matter (Ireland at that moment was a member of the Security Council of the United Nations). The hunger strikes were next in significance to the Falklands war in determining Anglo-Irish relations in the early and mid-1980s. These setbacks froze Anglo-Irish relations for a period. Where subtle diplomacy was required Thatcher and Haughey inexorably brought out of each other an animal aggression and inflexibility. The souring of relationships between Thatcher and Haughey caused anxiety to the protectors of Irish interests in Washington, where Anglo-Irish developments were, by now, being keenly monitored. On top of all this, Haughey’s perceived reluctance to specifically condemn Republican violence in the North posed further difficulties to the Congressional Friends of Ireland.

Hume tried many times to persuade Haughey against that position. Peter Gallagher, a Derry school teacher, remembers meeting Hume at a function in Dublin. Hume asked Gallagher for a lift back to Derry. On their way, just into North Dublin, Hume informed Gallagher that they would be stopping to speak to Haughey at his estate at Abbeville. When they arrived at Haughey’s estate, Gallagher was sent into a library and remembers Hume being very straight with Haughey and very determined to express his views on the North. When Haughey came to Derry, Hume would drive Haughey around the city to survey the worthless wreckage that the IRA had caused the city: their ‘economic targets’. Hume made a habit of stepping in decisively with Haughey: he would arrive unannounced to Haughey’s office and he could be gruff and relentless. He retained a schoolmasterly severity which was necessary with Haughey.

As the hunger strikers began to die of starvation in Long Kesh prison, extraordinary levels of morbidity and tension prevailed not only in the North of Ireland but throughout the island of Ireland. The anti-British sentiment spilled into riot fervour, not only in the North, which was routinely the case, but also in Dublin. On 18 July 1981, 1,000 members of the Garda Síochána (the Irish police force) repelled protesters who attempted to assail the British Embassy in Dublin, chanting ‘burn the embassy!’ It was a moment redolent of the crowd that had assembled in Dublin on 2 February 1972, days after Bloody Sunday in Derry, who that time succeeded in burning the embassy.

(excerpted from chapter 5)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Foreword by Senator George J. Mitchell

Preface

1. The Journey towards Politics, 1964–74

2. The American Dimension Unleashed

3. The Growth of the Irish Machine in Washington

4. Washington: Shifting Policy in London on Ireland, 1977–81

5. A Politics of Conscience: Human Rights and Democracy

6. From Rejection to Acceptance

7. Hume–Adams, 1985–8

8. Washington and Europe, 1988–93

9. The Political Process and the Peace Process, 1993–8

Epilogue: Echoes Down the Years

Appendix: John Hume’s Nobel Lecture

Endnotes

Index

Editorial Reviews

Maurice Fitzpatrick provides a portrait of John Hume based primarily on interviews he conducted with American politicians, diplomats, and other negotiators involved in the Northern Ireland peace process. Fitzpatrick should be commended for bringing together those who made important contributions to the Northern Ireland peace process to have them explain the role that Hume played.”—Timothy J. White, Irish Political Studies

“This book should be mandatory reading for any student researching the so-called ‘special relationship’ between Britain and America. Maurice Fitzpatrick has demonstrated how, in contrast to earlier Irish nationalist leaders, John Hume successfully exploited the other longstanding special relationship between Ireland and America.”—Dr. Thomas Dolan, Irish History Review

"A wonderful reminder of the strength in diplomacy and the close relationship between the United States and Northern Ireland." —Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

"John Hume was full of life and energy, a natural leader, a man who took courageous and personally dangerous positions all his life, in an effort to find a way forward in Northern Ireland. I am deeply gratified that a history of his work with American leaders has now been written." —Senator George J. Mitchell, from the foreword

"With this timely look at British, Irish, and American politics—and at John Hume, the man who brought them all together to bring peace to Northern Ireland—Maurice Fitzpatrick proves as talented with a pen as he is with a camera. Here is a vivid reminder of how difficult it was for even the best of men to teach shortsighted political leaders the folly of hatred, grievance, violence, and bigotry. Pray we don't return to those days again." —John A. Farrell, author of Richard Nixon: The Life

"A must read for anyone truly committed to the Cause of Peace and Reconciliation among troubled constituencies. John Hume embodied the courage, tenacity, and an awareness of the political realities, in living a lifetime dedicated to the cause of peace." —Charles F. Dougherty, U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania (1979–1983)

"Maurice Fitzpatrick is a gifted storyteller. In this wonderful book, he shows how a man of peace and hope, John Hume, worked with Irish-American leaders to achieve his vision of a Northern Ireland liberated of old hatreds. The reader comes away with a clear picture of an underappreciated humanitarian and peacemaker." —Terry Golway, author of Being New York, Being Irish

"John Humes' role in our efforts to bring peace to the Island of Ireland has been a profound and generous one. A man of great vision, he understood that consensus could only be achieved through respectful and meaningful dialogue. He was the moral architect of an inclusive peace process, which has shaped the Ireland we inhabit today. This publication provides a valuable insight into the work and legacy of John Hume, who will always be recalled as a dedicated and visionary peacemaker." —Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland

"A masterful study of how this son of the Bogside, with the help of the Irish Government, mobilized the power of successive Presidents of the United States." —Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minster) Leo Varadkar

"Documentary filmmaker Fitzpatrick makes an important contribution to the literature on the peace process in Northern Ireland, focusing on John Hume, one of the principals in the long work to bring peace and gain support for the agreement. . . . The book . . . offers a good introduction to the Troubles and the peace process in Northern Ireland through the role of a central proponent of peace." —Choice

From the Publisher

Maurice Fitzpatrick provides a portrait of Hume based primarily on interviews he conducted with American politicians, diplomats, and other negotiators involved in the Northern Ireland peace process. Fitzpatrick should be commended for bringing together those who made important contributions to the Northern Ireland peace process to have them explain the role that Hume played.

Timothy J. White

This book should be mandatory reading for any student researching the so-called ‘special relationship’ between Britain and America. Fitzpatrick has demonstrated how, in contrast to earlier Irish nationalist leaders, Hume successfully exploited the other longstanding special relationship between Ireland and America.

Thomas Dolan

"John Humes' role in our efforts to bring peace to the Island of Ireland has been a profound and generous one. A man of great vision, he understood that consensus could only be achieved through respectful and meaningful dialogue. He was the moral architect of an inclusive peace process, which has shaped the Ireland we inhabit today. This publication provides a valuable insight into the work and legacy of John Hume, who will always be recalled as a dedicated and visionary peacemaker."

Michael D. Higgins

"A must read for anyone truly committed to the Cause of Peace and Reconciliation among troubled constituencies. John Hume embodied the courage, tenacity, and an awareness of the political realities, in living a lifetime dedicated to the cause of peace."

Charles F. Dougherty

"Maurice Fitzpatrick is a gifted storyteller. In this wonderful book, he shows how a man of peace and hope, John Hume, worked with Irish-American leaders to achieve his vision of a Northern Ireland liberated of old hatreds. The reader comes away with a clear picture of an underappreciated humanitarian and peacemaker."

Terry Golway

"John Hume was full of life and energy, a natural leader, a man who took courageous and personally dangerous positions all his life, in an effort to find a way forward in Northern Ireland. I am deeply gratified that a history of his work with American leaders has now been written."

Senator George J. Mitchell

"A wonderful reminder of the strength in diplomacy and the close relationship between the United States and Northern Ireland."

Nancy Pelosi

"With this timely look at British, Irish, and American politics—and at John Hume, the man who brought them all together to bring peace to Northern Ireland—Maurice Fitzpatrick proves as talented with a pen as he is with a camera. Here is a vivid reminder of how difficult it was for even the best of men to teach shortsighted political leaders the folly of hatred, grievance, violence, and bigotry. Pray we don't return to those days again."

John A. Farrell

"A masterful study of how this son of the Bogside, with the help of the Irish Government, mobilized the power of successive Presidents of the United States."

Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minster) Leo Varadkar