{"id":22928,"date":"2021-09-03T08:49:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T12:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=22928"},"modified":"2021-09-03T10:51:49","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T14:51:49","slug":"book-of-condolence-opened-in-derry-for-pat-hume","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=22928","title":{"rendered":"Book Of Condolence Opened In Derry For Pat Hume"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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John and Pat Hume (PA Media)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A book of condolence is to be opened in Derry for Pat Hume as tributes continue to pour in for the widow of late SDLP leader John.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs Hume, a mother-of-five from Derry, died at home after a short illness on Thursday, surrounded by family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former teacher\u2019s death comes just over a year after that of her Nobel Peace Prize-winning husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The death of the SDLP founder, who was a key architect of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, led to a flood of tributes from around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton was among those paying tribute to Mrs Hume, describing her as a \u201cgracious, determined force behind the achievement of peace in Ireland\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 later cared for him during his long battle with dementia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was awarded the Irish Red Cross Lifetime Achievement award in 2018 and a foundation honoring her and her husband\u2019s peace and reconciliation work was launched last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book of condolence in Derry\u2019s Guildhall will be opened by the Mayor of Derry and Strabane Graham Warke on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cI wanted to open this book of condolence today to offer the people the chance to pay their respects and say thank-you to a remarkable and courageous woman who was unfailing in her service to the people of this city and right across Northern Ireland and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe tributes that have been pouring in from across the globe, from all spectrums of life, are testament to the contribution Pat Hume made in her own right to achieving peace and reconciliation, and the many lives she touched with her kindness and courage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to extend my own personal condolences to the Hume family today \u2013 they have given much over the years and to lose both John and Pat in such a short space of time is particularly heart-breaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, it must be some comfort to know that Pat\u2019s legacy will live on in the people of this city, and in the ongoing work of the John and Pat Hume Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say thank you Pat for your compassion, grace and commitment, and the life you devoted not just to your husband and your family but to all who needed a helping hand or a listening ear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Irish president Mary McAleese said Mrs Hume was the \u201cperfect partner\u201d for her husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom away back in the 1960s, John was the political strategist of the century in Ireland \u2013 the peace process, the Good Friday Agreement, he\u2019s the architect, he\u2019s the chief architect of those things,\u201d she told RT\u00c9 Radio One.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPat beside him wasn\u2019t just a person who raised the family, as she did, she wasn\u2019t just the family who nurtured and encouraged and kept John going, as she did, she was also a formidable community activist in her own right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stormont leaders also paid tribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Minister Paul Givan said it was testament to Mrs Hume\u2019s legacy that her death had prompted so many tributes from home and abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a real sense of loss following the death of Pat Hume,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot just among her friends and family \u2013 and my thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult time \u2013 but for the many lives she touched, both directly and indirectly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deputy First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill said: \u201cI was very sad to hear about the death of Pat Hume. Pat was a strong and determined person whose immense contribution to our peace is recognized across this island and across the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy thoughts are with Pat and John\u2019s children, the entire Hume family, and the people of Derry who will feel her loss deeply.\u201d<\/p>\n

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