Few might have anticipated, even at the opening of the 1990s, that this country would turn into the new century with such positive fortune. From a problematic economic base, it has grown rich. A decade ago it was a land of high unemployment and large-scale emigration. It now offers work for all. Once, Ireland was synonymous in the world's media with violence and hatred. As the old century ends and the new one begins, it is a land at peace. We have truly been given many gifts. And of these, there must be no doubt, the most valuable is peace. It is true, the potential for a return to violence remains. Paramilitary arsenals are intact and some smaller groupings remain willing to strike. The new institutions are yet fragile and it would be naive not to expect attempts at destabilisation. But there will be no going back. The shape of the new Ireland is clear.
A great many people have contributed to the great gift of peace for Ireland. Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and Prime Minister, Tony Blair, sealed the package. But they would generously acknowledge that they were building on the work of their predecessors. Ireland's peace is constructed upon a great compromise between two traditions and two nations. That process started with Sean Lemass and Terence O'Neill in 1965. Successive taoisigh and prime ministers have added their strength, their vision, their stoicism in times of reverse. So too have other political leaders, ministers, civil servants, advisers, church and community leaders right down to street and parish level.
The history books will record David Trimble's courage in leadership. They will recall the skill and tenacity with which Gerry Adams and his colleagues took the republican movement from the path of bloodshed to that of politics - a course then mirrored by working-class loyalist leaders. They must also record the bravery and commitment of the members of the security forces, British and Irish, who held the line against terrorism and in many instances sacrificed their lives. They will record the support from abroad, best exemplified by the role of Senator George Mitchell. They will record - insofar as is possible - the parts played by the many intermediaries, who brought messages of hope when public dialogue was impossible. But if one man has been the fixed, polar inspiration through the 30 year search for peace, it is John Hume. Taoisigh, prime ministers, secretaries of state have come and gone. Patiently, skilfully, repetitively, John Hume set out his vision and his formula, imprinting them in the consciousness of politicians, paramilitaries, civil servants, journalists, churchmen. The two communities have to share the same, small piece of earth. Let them therefore decide between themselves how to do so. Let them make their own arrangements to that end, using peaceful means only. The shape and spirit of the new Ireland are John Hume's. He held to his formula even through the blackest days, when he was accused of naivety, of sectarianism, of giving support to violence.
Ireland has the potential of a golden era ahead. It owes much to the many heroes of the 20th century - those who gave it political independence, cultural rediscovery and economic wellbeing. But it owes no greater debt than to the man who insisted that living for Ireland is better than dying for it; that it is more challenging of the human spirit to learn to live with one's adversaries than to subdue them; that when people sit to reason together, nothing lies beyond their capacities. John Hume has wrought the very basis of Ireland's future. If a comparable figure can be identified in these columns, 100 years from now, the people of 21st century Ireland will have been fortunate indeed.