Hume’s family donating his three peace prizes to the people of Derry

The family of the late John Hume is to donate his three peace prizes to the people of Derry.

The Hume family is to give the awards to Derry City and Strabane District Council so that they can be exhibited publicly.

They are due to meet the city's mayor, SDLP councillor Brian Tierney, later on Friday, when they will announce their intention to give the prizes to the people of Mr Hume's home city.

Mr Hume, who died in August aged 83, was the only person ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize – which he won jointly with the then Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble – the Martin Luther King Jnr Nonviolent Peace Prize and the Mahatma Ghandi Peace Prize.

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A founder member of the SDLP, Mr Hume was one of the architects of the 1998 Belfast Agreement which ended the Troubles.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, his widow Pat Hume said that when her husband had received each award, he said he had done so "with a tremendous sense of honour".

"John accepted them in the name of all the peace-makers who helped nourish the peace process and all the people of Ireland, North and South, nationalist and unionist, who never wavered in their commitment to peace and reconciliation.

"Although John built alliances for peaceful change in Ireland, at Westminster, in Brussels and in Washington DC, he always remained rooted in Derry. We believe it is right for the people of Derry to have the opportunity to share these peace awards," she said.

Mr Tierney said Mr Hume was his “great hero”, and described him as “a true and courageous peace-maker who made a huge impact in Derry, on the island and internationally”.

It was, he said, a “huge honour that Pat Hume and the Hume family intend to give these unique peace prizes to the people of Derry”.