Hume O’Neill Lecture: Simon Harris

The inaugural John Hume and Thomas P. O’Neill Chair Peace Lecture took place on the Derry-Londonderry Campus of Ulster University on 20 September 2024 through a partnership of the Hume O’Neill Chair and the John and Pat Hume Foundation.

The lecture was given by Taoiseach Simon Harris TD. The lecture paid tribute to the work of John Hume and Tip O’Neill in terms of peacebuilding but also reaffirmed the commitment of the Irish Government to deepening peace on the island.

Taoiseach Simon Harris TD noted:

“We are also witnessing a new era in British-Irish relations. My recent meetings with Prime Minister Keir Starmer have set in motion a much-needed reset of relations between our two Governments. I have always believed – and this remains unshakable – that the peace process thrives when the British and Irish Governments act in full partnership as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement. Unilateralism failed in the past, as seen in the ill-judged attempts to address the legacy of the Troubles while ignoring the rights of victims’ families. Today, we are restoring a genuine sense of partnership, ensuring that together we address the critical issues that underpin lasting peace, progress, and reconciliation. The Irish Government is fully committed to strengthening relationships across all political traditions on this island, and to rebuilding trust where it has been eroded. We know the scars of history run deep, and the wounds of the Troubles still linger. Even more reason to seize this opportunity and work to achieve real progress”.

Taoiseach Simon Harris TD, Hume O’Neill Peace Lecture, 20 September 2024

The John Hume and Thomas P. O’Neill Chair Lecture Series builds on the previous Tip O’Neill Lecture series hosted at Ulster University from 2002-2009. These lectures took place at a significant time in the Northern Ireland peace process. The series featured an unparalleled group of international figures, including:

• Michel Rocard (9 May 2003)
• President Bill Clinton (6 July 2003)
• An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern TD (4 March 2004)
• Professor Romano Prodi (1 April 2004)
• Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (26 April 2004)
• Pat Cox MEP (26 August 2004)
• Secretary-General Kofi Annan (18 October 2004)
• Dr Garret FitzGerald (15 December 2005)
• Senator John Kerry (5 March 2006)
• Ambassador Mitchell Reiss (21 May 2006)
• President Mary McAleese (4 December 2006)
• Dermot Ahern TD (3 April 2007)
• Senator Maurice Haves (4 June 2007)
• Professor Kader Asmal (4 February 2008)
• Robert Fisk (5 January 2009)
• President Juan José Ibarrete Markuartu (2 February 2009)

It is critical to note that through John Hume, in his honorary capacity as Tip O’Neill Chair in Peace Studies at the University of Ulster, many speakers took up the opportunity to speak at the university.

The Chair, in partnership with the John and Pat Hume Foundation, will continue the annual tradition of a lecture that delves into both local contexts and global issues, inviting notable figures working in peace and conflict to share their insights. It seems opportune to link the historical connections between Hume and O’Neill again through the new lecture series. However, more importantly, as new waves of conflict sweep the globe, it provides a forum to share lessons and place peace centre stage at the highest level.

Short Film: Conflict Textiles

A new short film commissioned by the The Hume O’Neill Chair and Conflict Textiles about artist Eileen Harrisson. The film discusses her work with Conflict Textiles over the years and focuses on an exhibition on the Derry-Londonderry campus of Ulster University featuring her work on the conflict in Northern Ireland.

Conflict Textiles Feasibility Study

Ulster University and Conflict Textiles Trust, have collaborated over the 15 years of the existence of the Conflict Textile Collection, and now share a longer term (2-3 year) joint goal of establishing a permanent repository for the Conflict Textiles collection which will:

  • provide a more durable structure for its future;
  • ensure that the collection is used to its full potential in education, research, awareness raising and exhibitions;
  • and facilitate the continued growth of the reach and scope of the Conflict Textiles collection.

A feasibility study is being commissioned to consider the best way forward and to clarify the most effective means to manage and sustain the collection in the future.

Details of the call for expressions of interest can be downloaded here. Deadline for submissions 5pm, 19 July 2024.

Beyond Intragroup Betrayal

Continuing our work on the issue of betrayal in peacebuilding Wilhem Verwoerd, Alistair Little and Brandon Hamber have published a new article in the Peacebuilding journal entitled “Beyond intragroup betrayal during intergroup relational peacebuilding”.

The article is open access and can be downloaded here.

This article addresses a neglected human cost of relational peacebuilding, identified in an earlier article on ‘peace as betrayal’. The focus here is how relational peacebuilders can respond to painful accusations of betrayal by family-type group members evoked by working with the ‘other side’. Continuing to draw on the reflections of experienced peace practitioners from South Africa, the Israel-Palestine region and the conflict in and about Northern Ireland, a contrasting distinction is made between two routes: a ‘clarification’ route that explains why working with ‘them’ is not a betrayal of ‘us’ vs a ‘counter-critique’ response that attempts to turn the traitor tables on the accusers. An evaluative discussion of the counter-critique route explores the pitfalls of political abuse, avoidance of shared responsibility and underestimating ‘thin’ relations (Margalit), as well as the complementary potential of the clarification and the counter-critique routes beyond peace as betrayal.

Victim Mobilisation Paper

Professor Hamber delivered a paper entitled “Victim Mobilisation: An antidote to denialism, a route to new relationships?” at the Conference on Intergroup Relations After Violent Conflict: Insights from Research and Practice. The conference was held at The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University on 5-6 October 2023. The paper can be downloaded here.

Harvard University, Boston

Peace Summit 2023

The John and Pat Hume Foundation and Community Dialogue, in partnership with the Glencree Centre for Peace & Reconciliation, Youth Action NI, Holywell Trust, Ulster University and Integrated Education Fund today launched the Peace Summit 2023. Twenty-five years on from the Good Friday Agreement the summit has took stock of the status of the peace process. The Chair played an integral role in working with the partners in drafting the Consultation Report launched on 3 March 2023. The partners are keen to hear your views on the peace process in Northern Ireland 25 years on. Read the document and reply to b.hamber@ulster.ac.uk.

Peace Summit Consultation DocumentDownload

Medical Education in Conflict


As Ulster University’s School of Medicine moves into its second year of existence, and our medical students start to undertake more clinical placement, we have been thinking more about the places where they will work and the patients with whom they will interact. Our partner medical school is St George’s University of London, and so all curriculum materials relate to a London based environment.

Our own setting is of course different, and one thing that sets it apart from London is the fact that is recognised to be a society emerging from conflict . Through its international Conflict Research Institute (INCORE), Hume O’Neill Peace Chair and work in the Schools of Psychology and Social Sciences (to give some examples), Ulster University has committed to exploring the impact of conflict on a range of areas in Northern Ireland.

The Chair will participate in an initiate conversation with students and educators about their views of medical education in a post-conflict setting. If you would like to join us on Weds 16 November 2022, 6:30pm (online) sign up here.