“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.”