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Statement on the death of Dr. Ian Adamson

Date: Wed 9th Jan, 2019 | 17:47

"I have heard with great sadness of the passing of Dr. Ian Adamson, former MLA for Belfast, former Lord Mayor of Belfast, respected scholar and supporter of countless organisations that served to celebrate and protect our common heritage.

Dr. Adamson never ceased to remind us that we are all but migrants in time and his scholarship highlighted our shared history, shared identities, shared vulnerabilities and migratory roots.

His legacy consists not only of his academic work but also of his calls to courage and his practical solidarity with those most vulnerable. He consistently pointed to education as a key tool to overcome fear of the unknown and fear of the other.

To those who had the pleasure of knowing him it was a privilege to call Ian Adamson friend.  I will always be grateful for his visits to Áras an Uachtaráin, our meetings in Belfast and elsewhere.  His ethic of friendship was deep, and his support for dialogue over the past number of years – between communities, scholars, especially historians and linguistic scholars – was generous and unlimited.”