John Hume: 'A father of the peace process and one of Derry's greatest sons'

Threats and vitriol were commonplace, from both sides of our tortured community, but John Hume knew that courage was not not being afraid but being afraid and doing what you know is right anyway

John Hume  on a rooftop that overlooks the  Bogside neighborhood of Derry in 1970. (Photo by Leif Skoogfors/Getty)

The marker of a politician is leaving a place better than you found it, and John Hume left Northern Ireland transformed.

Although the boy from the Bogside went global during the Good Friday Agreement, his heart lay in Derry, and for me, and thousands of other Derry people, we remember John Hume most for his dedication to his community.