John Hume’s SDLP, the unsung hero of the peace process, turns 50

The party that battled bravely to bring an end to the Troubles – and establish a shaky peace in Northern Ireland – faces an uncertain future, writes Adam McGibbon

SDLP members (from left): Austin Currie, Gerry Fitt, John Hume, Ivan Cooper and Paddy O'Hanlon. Behind them is Edward McGrady (left) and Paddy Devlin (PA)

Today, a 50-year anniversary will pass without fanfare, despite its huge significance to the Northern Ireland peace process. The Social Democratic & Labour Party (SDLP) was founded on 21 August 1970, as Northern Ireland descended into chaos. The month before, the British army had alienated what remained of their support from the province’s Catholics by indiscriminately locking down the Falls area of Belfast, delivering a massive recruitment boost to the IRA. A few weeks before that, the army used rubber bullets on civilians for the first time. And just days before, two police officers were killed by an IRA bomb in County Armagh. Amid this turmoil, the SDLP was launched at a press conference in Belfast.

The SDLP is the party most responsible for Northern Ireland’s shaky peace. It took huge risks to achieve this. Some of the risks were political, some were physical: many of their representatives were threatened, assaulted, and a few were murdered. The recent death of the party’s most dominant figure, Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume, overshadows the anniversary. He was a towering figure in Irish politics, perhaps the one person most responsible for the peace. But the SDLP was the vehicle for delivering it.