New Publication: John Hume in America
Maurice Fitzpatrick, John Hume in America
Irish Academic Press, November 2017
- Unravels the outstanding shift in international politics made possible by John Hume’s unprecedented rapport with US politicians
- In-depth interviews with key players reveal facets of the negotiations previously unpublished
- Released alongside a documentary based on the book, narrated by Liam Neeson, due for broadcast on RTE & BBC, autumn 2017
John Hume, Ireland’s greatest peace-maker, is widely recognised as the architect of the Northern Ireland peace process. In John Hume in America, Maurice Fitzpatrick explores how Hume created this framework for peace through the cultivation of an unprecedented and bountiful relationship with the White House and the US Congress.
John Hume’s political vision and innate sense of diplomacy persuaded key players in US politics to merge their concerns with his own. Ted Kennedy, Tip O’Neill, Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Hugh Carey – together known as the ‘Four Horsemen’ – were won over to his cause, lending the campaign for equality in Northern Ireland worldwide credibility and putting considerable pressure on the British and Irish governments to strive for peace. Through his work with the ‘Four Horsemen’, Hume engaged every American president from Jimmy Carter to Bill Clinton.
John Hume in America, a towering achievement, supported by the Hume family, explores the intricate negotiations that made this possible and highlights Hume’s paramount role in leveraging Irish–America. Maurice Fitzpatrick’s seminal work is the missing piece in the jigsaw of Hume’s political life, tracing his philosophy of non-violence during the Civil Rights Movement through to his indispensable work with friends in the US towards the creation of a new political framework in Northern Ireland.
About the Author
Maurice Fitzpatrick was educated at Trinity College Dublin. He is a film-maker and has worked with John Hume in the past, on a book and BBC/RTE film, The Boys of St. Columb’s, published and broadcast in 2010. In 2013, he wrote & directed a documentary film for the BBC on Brian Friel’s Translations. He frequently writes travel journalism, has interviewed many writers on their work, and is a syndicated columnist, writing mainly on Irish affairs. He now lectures at the University of Cologne
Contents
- Hume’s background
- Ted Kennedy reaches out
- Deepening contact with Irish America
- Background to The Congressional Friends of Ireland caucus
- Countering the popularity surge of Noraid and the Irish National Caucus
- From rejection to acceptance
- Spilling our sweat and not our blood
- London and Europe.
- The Peace Process
Pub Date: Nov. 2017
Hardback:
ISBN: 9781911024958
Price: €24.99 / £21.99
Format: 234 x 156mm
Extent: 272pp
Illus: 34 b&w & colour
Categories:
Irish Biography
The Troubles
Irish Politics