1999 PROGRAMME - Talks 1238

US Senator George Mitchell gives a talk based on his book "Making Peace", the frank and illuminating account of his experiences as Chairman of the Peace Negotiations in Northern Ireland which culminated in the "Good Friday Agreement" of Easter 1998. George Mitchell served as Senator for Maine from 1980 to 1995 and prior to that as US Attorney for Maine and District Court Judge, none of which, the book tells us, had quite prepared him for the intensity of emotion, the raw hatred and the readiness to resort to violence and assassination that had characterised the politics of the province. It is too early to tell if his two years of earnest efforts as a peace broker will have any lasting effect but for a man to have had any success (which he undoubtedly has) in such a cauldron he must have had the patience of a saint, the impartial wisdom of Solomon and many other qualities besides. It should be fascinating to see and hear him in person.