Gerry Adams’ legacy - A figurehead for violent nationalism

In a film about John Hume’s pivotal role in ending terrorism on this island, launched last week, Bill Clinton describes Hume as “Northern Ireland’s Martin Luther King”. 

Hume, aged 80 and retired from public life, knew, like many others before him, that violence can only beget violence.

He never wavered from his belief that the only way to save a bitterly divided, deeply unequal and sectarian statelet from itself was through negotiation and compromise.