In 2014 John Lewis led a Faith and Politics Institute delegation to Ireland.
Cong. Lewis presented the Iveagh House Lecture at the Department of Foreign Relations and Trade on the legacy of the American civil rights movement and reflected on the generous and warm welcome that the great American abolitionist Frederick Douglass, then all of 27 years old, received from the Irish people and the enduring friendship he developed with the Great Liberator of Ireland Daniel O’Connell.
The delegation then traveled to Derry, the very center of the Irish civil rights struggle, where he met with the late John Hume. He ended his visit in Belfast where he attended the 25th Anniversary of the Washington Ireland Program, a program dedicated to developing the next generation of young leaders dedicated to reconciliation and peace on the island of Ireland.