Fascinating study of a man ahead of his time
Hume is the closest thing that Ireland has to a secular saint
Non-fiction; John Hume: Irish Peacemaker; Edited by Seán Farren and Denis Haughey; Four Courts Press, €26.55
In 1963, a 26-year-old schoolteacher named John Hume made a television documentary about his native city. Discussing the thorny issue of what it should be called, he suggested that the least contentious solution was for nationalists and unionists to accept both names.
It seemed like an eccentric idea back then, but today Derry/Londonderry is the default option ...
