ABSTRACT
John Hume, in a powerful speech at his Nobel Peace prize ceremony on 10 December 1998, talked about the Northern Ireland Peace Process as a rebuke to the evil that violence represents, to the carnage and waste of violence, to its ultimate futility. The process he instigated was supported by a collection of brave women and men. In its ensuing manifestations in the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement and subsequent negotiations and processes, all rejected violence and sought to make progress based on the principles of ‘partnership, equality, and mutual respect’. In particular, John Hume sought to promote his message of peace and non-violence through conversations with anyone who would listen. ‘I say it and go on saying it until I hear the man in the pub saying my words back to me’ (Hume in Routledge 1997, p. 5).
