Irish journalist Trevor Birney has released a documentary this week, The Negotiator, about U.S. Senator George Mitchell, the Maine man who helped negotiate the Good Friday Agreement that largely replaced the sectarian violence of Northern Ireland with merely sectarian politics — which is an ungenerous way of saying, “peace.” An Irish Times notice about the film relays that Mitchell passed on a chance to become a Supreme Court justice.

People in Northern Ireland credit, more than Tony Blair or Bill Clinton, Senator Mitchell for his laborious efforts, and his willingness to let all sides in the conflict vent their frustrations and grievances at length. There is much to criticize about the settlement that continues in Northern Ireland. But it is infinitely better than what it was for 30 years. And that’s in part thanks to the patience and statesmanship of George Mitchell.