One of Maine’s finest, former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, received the prestigious Claddagh Award for his work in leading the peace talks in Northern Ireland.

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Mitchell is a name every Mainer knows. A humble man who has managed to change the lives of many during his remarkable career. He was a U.S. Senator, a Senator Majority Leader, a lead investigator into the steroid use in Major League Baseball, and a Middle East peace negotiator.

But despite his outstanding career, his biggest achievement remains his negotiation work in Northern Ireland. After 800 years of violence in that region, under Mitchell’s leadership Queen Elizabeth and former IRA Chief Martin McGuinness reached a peace treaty.

Their historic handshake will go down in the history books as one of the biggest peace accomplishments of the 20th century.

While receiving the Claddagh Award, Mitchell pointed out that the award stands for: love, friendship, and loyalty. Three important values the former U.S. senator has tried to apply throughout his long political career.

Some of the guests at the event included former Gov. Joseph Brennan, former Gov. John Baldacci, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree and many others who have had the privilege to work with Mitchell and see first hand what the soft spoken peace negotiator can do.

But if today Mitchell is receiving awards, that wasn’t always the case. He grew up with five brothers and sisters while his Irish-American father worked as a janitor and his mom, who couldn’t read or write, worked the night shift at a textile factory.

Through hard work and determination Mitchell put himself through college and then law school. Several years after graduating from law school he was offered a job with the former Maine Senator Ed Muskie.

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Even today Mitchell remains respected by both political parties. Former President Bill Clinton even offered Michell a seat on the Supreme Court. Michelle turned down the job, and instead took on the difficult task to bring peace to Northern Ireland.

During a recent interview with CBS, Michelle said that when he sat down at the negotiating table he said to everyone: ‘'Look, I'm a product of the U.S. Senate. I've listened to 16-hour speeches. There's nothing you guys can say that can faze me.'

The Claddagh Award is a testament to this Maine resident’s dedication to our state and country. Michell closed his acceptance speech by saying: ‘Our task as Americans is to see to it that every child, no matter who they are, has the same chance in life as Joe Brennan, John Baldacci, Chellie Pingree and I have.’

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