Cross-party tributes to ex-Taoiseach

Former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds looking over the Orange Hall recreation at the Famine Village. (0210PG12)

Mayor of Londonderry Brenda Stevenson said: “Albert’s achievements in terms of paving a pathway for peace in Northern Ireland were remarkable and will long be remembered in history. I offer my sincere condolences to his wife Kathleen and his family.”

She said the 81-year-old’s death will be greeted with widespread sadness both in political circles and throughout the country.

Albert Reynolds was elected to the Irish parliament in 1977 and went on to become Taoiseach in February 1992 in a coalition government.

Despite his widely recognised contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland, a series of political issues closer to home brought his leadership to an early conclusion in 1994.

He passed away on Wednesday (August 20) aged 81, after a prolonged illness.

First Minister Peter Robinson said: “I extend my sympathy to the family of Albert Reynolds on the occasion of his passing.

“While we were from different political traditions and did not share the same political outlook, Albert Reynolds undoubtedly contributed to helping find an exclusively peaceful way forward in Northern Ireland.

“I offer my sincere condolences to his family, friends and many colleagues in the Irish Republic.”