RIP John Hume

John Hume 1937-2020

John Hume died today at the age of 83. I had the honor of interviewing him twice, both at World Conference of Credit Union Conferences in Ireland, several years apart.

The second time was over a good Irish beer. I was amazed that he had remembered me from the first time.

Hume is best known outside Ireland as a Nobel Peace Prize winner for his contributions to the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Ireland after centuries of discord.

I interviewed him first as a reporter for Credit Union Times and later my own CU Newswire. He was an easy interview, sharing his tales of the early credit union movement where he worked along aside the founders Nora Herlihy, Sean Forde and Séamus MacFoin. There was no trace of arrogance and more than a smattering of humor. Although he was in demand at the conference, he did not rush the interview, extending it to add a bit more information.

He was a founder of the Derry Credit Union and the youngest president of the Irish League of Credit Unions. He once said, "...all the things I've been doing, it's the thing I'm proudest of because no movement has done more good for the people of Ireland, north and south, than the credit union movement."

He was inactive for the last decade or so and suffered from dementia.

In these difficult times around the world, not just from an out-of-control virus, but from a dearth of people contributing to the good of society, Hume was a role model.