Hume won global acclaim for his efforts towards achieving Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland
John Hume, the former SDLP leader, Nobel peace prize winner and leading player in the Northern Ireland peace process, has died aged 83.
His death marks the passing of one of the most important Irish political leaders of the 20th century whose ideas of compromise, opposition to violence and cross-community outreach underpinned the principles of the 1998 Good Friday agreement.
Hume was described on Monday as “the man who kept hope alive” during the darkest days of the Northern Ireland Troubles as world leaders led tributes to him.
In a statement on Monday morning, his family confirmed that Hume had died in a nursing home in his native Derry. He had had dementia for many years.
The Hume family paid tribute to the people of Derry and Moville/Greencastle across the border in County Donegal for supporting him and them during his long illness.❑
