Nobel Laureate John Hume holds the Tip O’Neill Chair in Peace Studies, currently funded by The Ireland Funds. The Chair is awarded to a ‘person of great distinction: a peacemaker, academic or statesperson of worldwide eminence’.

The Chair

The Tip O’Neill Chair was inaugurated by President Clinton on his first visit to Northern Ireland in 1995 and commemorates the former Speaker of the House of Representatives who was well known for his support for the cause of peace in Northern Ireland. The Chair is based at the Magee campus in Londonderry.

Professor John Hume's Tenure

Currently supported through the generosity of the Ireland Funds for three years to honour the work of John Hume, the Chair will enable his continued contribution to Peace and Reconciliation.

The appointment of Professor Hume to this Chair marks both a milestone and a benchmark in the Irish peace process. He is a founding father of the SDLP and has now stepped back, handing the baton to a younger generation of leaders whose task will be to consolidate the peace process his vision made possible.

In this new academic role, Professor Hume will be able to share his wisdom and experience with others in Ireland and further afield, to work towards the publication of his reflections on politics and peacemaking, to continue to contribute to the international dialogue on peacemaking and to provide a focal point for distinguished visiting academics and politicians.

It is fitting that this chair is based at the Magee campus. Professor Hume’s dedication to the causes of education and economic regeneration of the North-West are well documented.

On accepting the appointment, Professor Hume said: “I am honoured and privileged to serve in a position associated with Tip O’Neill. He was a man who helped encourage me not only politically but in terms of inward investment and I am delighted to accept this role.”

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