LISTEN - Hillary Clinton leads tributes after death of Pat Hume

By PA reporters and Q Radio News

Hillary Clinton has led political tributes following the death of Pat Hume, the widow of former SDLP leader John Hume.

Mrs Hume passed away in Derry/Londonderry following a short illness on Thursday.

Mrs Clinton and her husband Bill made several visits to Northern Ireland. During their first visit in 1995, shortly after the IRA ceasefires, they visited Derry/Londonderry and walked across the city’s Peace Bridge with the Humes.

Mrs 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.”

Tim Atwood is the secretary of the John and Pat Hume Foundation.

He says Father Paul Farren captured Pat Hume beautifully in his homily at John's funeral last year:

A statement from the Hume family said: “We are heartbroken to announce the death of Pat Hume at home in Derry earlier this afternoon after a short illness.

“Pat died as she lived – surrounded by family, peacefully and generous to the end.

“Pat spent some days in the hospital in the days preceding her death and she saw first-hand the outstanding work that healthcare workers do, and the pressures that they are facing due to Covid.

“She would prioritise public health at all times. Funeral arrangements will be announced in due course which will adhere to Covid guidance. The wake will be restricted to family only.”

The family paid tribute to the medical staff who had cared for their mother in her final days.

Mrs Hume had worked alongside her husband for several decades, from the beginning of the civil rights movement in the 1960s through until after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

She was awarded the Irish Red Cross Lifetime Achievement award in 2018 and a foundation honouring her and her husband’s peace and reconciliation work was launched last year.

John and Pat Hume

Current SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said that without Mrs Hume “there would have been no peace process in Ireland”.

Mr 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.

“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.

“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.

“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.”

Mr Eastwood added: “My thoughts are with Pat’s children Aine, Therese, Aiden, John and Mo, her beloved grandchildren and their wide circle of friends at this incredible difficult time.”

John and Pat Hume

Hume family: Pat died as she lived – surrounded by family, peacefully and generous to the end pic.twitter.com/PgnZ4N4Ual

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) September 2, 2021

Tributes paid after death of Pat Hume, wife of former SDLP leader John Hume@SDLPlive: pic.twitter.com/hsa4fJigN1

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) September 2, 2021

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said that Pat Hume had lived a “unique life”.

He said: “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. A lovely lady.”

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson tribute to Pat Hume: "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. A lovely lady." pic.twitter.com/D0LpNZVcTi

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) September 2, 2021

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.”

John and Pat Hume

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.”

Statement by President Michael D. Higgins on the passing of Pat Hume pic.twitter.com/bERZzQdUol

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) September 2, 2021

Irish 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.”

Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown said Pat Hume was “small in stature, but a colossus” in Irish history.

He added: “She was the rock behind the man who rightly has been credited as the architect of our current peace.

“In the course of that long and challenging journey towards the peace we enjoy today Pat was brave, courageous and uncompromising, yet she was always gentle and profound in respect for other people and their opinions.”