Ian Paisley, firebrand preacher turned key figure in N Ireland peace, dies

Ian Paisley, the firebrand Protestant leader turned unlikely and reluctant peacemaker in Northern Ireland, has died at the age of 88.

Known for his fiery rhetoric and staunch opposition to any accommodation with republicans during the period of civil unrest known as the Troubles, Paisley opposed the Good Friday Agreement, which ultimately led to the end of sectarian violence in the province.

However, he later signed on to a landmark power-sharing agreement with his sworn enemy Sinn Fein, the republican political party closely associated with the IRA, taking the position as first minister.

Sinn Fein politician and former IRA leader Martin McGuiness was appointed deputy first minister, creating an unlikely working relationship and even friendship between two men who had been bitter rivals.

Commenting on his death, McGuiness said, “I want to pay tribute to and comment on the work he did in the latter days of his political life in building agreement and leading unionism into a new accommodation with republicans and nationalists.”

He added that despite their many differences, they remained friends even after Paisley left office.

Paisley’s death was announced by his wife, Baroness Eileen Paisley.

"Although ours is the grand hope of reunion, naturally as a family we are heartbroken," she said in statement.

Paisley served as Northern Ireland’s first minister in 2007 and 2008, representing the Democratic Unionist Party, which he founded.

He earlier served in the British parliament, first elected to Westminster in 1970 as a Protestant Unionist. He also served in the European Parliament, causing controversy in 1988 when he denounced Pope John Paul II as the “anti-Christ.”

But his impact on the politics of Northern Ireland will mark his legacy. He rallied the cause of unionism during the height of the territory’s sectarian strife in the 1970s and 1980s, when violence between Protestants loyal to London and Catholics, many of whom wanted to be part of a united Irish Republic, was a daily blight.

The 1998 Good Friday Agreement gave more powers to local authorities in Belfast and freed many who had been behind bars for crimes committed during the Troubles, which began in the early 1970s.

During the conflict and the negotiations, McGuinness was Paisley’s longtime political opponent and a top leader of Sinn Fein, a party that pushed for Northern Ireland, also called the province of Ulster, to be reunited with the rest of the island of Ireland. Although Paisley opposed the treaty, his later willingness to work with Sinn Fein helped Northern Ireland politics heal. 

Paisley’s funeral will be private, his wife said in a statement.

Al Jazeera and wires