Remembering John & Pat Hume

Music alongside a conversation about nonviolence.

At Clonard Monastery in Belfast, Tommy performed The Ballad of John Hume during a tribute to John and Pat Hume. The evening included Mary McAleese in conversation with Jim Fitzpatrick about faith, conflict and nonviolence. A report published after the event records Tommy’s musical contribution.

Remembering a partnership

The tribute considered John and Pat Hume together: the public work of negotiation and the support, family life and constituency work behind it. Mary McAleese spoke about the pressures they faced and the persistence needed to hold to a peaceful course.

Clonard and the work of dialogue

The setting carried its own history. The discussion returned to the Hume–Adams talks and Father Alec Reid’s role at Clonard. Audience questions brought that history into the present, asking about resilience and nonviolence amid contemporary divisions.

A song in the closing tribute

Tommy’s performance of The Ballad of John Hume placed music within that act of remembrance. The gathering also reached an online audience. Allan Leonard’s report records the conversation and musical contribution, with Dawn Purvis bringing the evening to a close for the Foundation.