'Courageous' and 'frankly irreplaceable': Books of condolence open for David Trimble

LAST UPDATE | 26 Jul 2022

BOOKS OF CONDOLENCE are opening across Northern Ireland in memory of former first minister David Trimble.

They will be opened at Belfast’s City Hall and the Guildhall in Derry by the cities’ mayors, while an online book of condolence has been opened by the mayor of Armagh.

Trimble’s funeral will take place in Lisburn on Monday, according to the Ulster Unionist Party, which he led during his political career. The service will be held at Harmony Hill Presbyterian Church at 12.30pm.

Political leaders past and present have been paying tribute to the 77-year-old’s contribution to peace in Northern Ireland.

Statements from former US president Bill Clinton and former taoiseach Bertie Ahern have stated he was one of the principal architects of the Good Friday Agreement that ended decades of conflict in the region.

Trimble, who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize along with late SDLP leader John Hume, died yesterday following an illness. 

His death comes amid another political crisis at Stormont, with the DUP blocking the creation of a powersharing administration in protest at Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol.

'A man of courage and vision'

A look at Tuesday's frontpage of the Belfast Telegraph as tributes pour in after the death of Lord Trimble#TomorrowsPapersTodayhttps://t.co/L4CigX25Oa pic.twitter.com/X7o2qvMNes

— Belfast Telegraph (@BelTel) July 25, 2022

A planned recall sitting of the troubled Assembly today, which would have expected to witness heated exchanges over the current deadlock, has been postponed as a mark of respect.

Former US President Bill Clinton has led tributes to Trimble, stating that his “lifetime of service” helped bring peace to Northern Ireland.

In a statement, Clinton said: “Hillary and I are deeply saddened by the passing of Lord David Trimble, a leader of courage, vision, and principle whose lifetime of service helped bring peace to Northern Ireland.

“Time after time during the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement, he made the hard choices over the politically expedient ones because he believed future generations deserved to grow up free from violence and hatred.

“His faith in the democratic process allowed him to stand up to strong opposition in his own community, persuade them of the merits of compromise, and share power with his former adversaries.

“His legacy will endure in all who are living better lives because of him today.

“Hillary and I send our thoughts and prayers to his wife, Daphne, his entire family, and all the people who loved him and were inspired by his service.”

‘Never blinked’

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio One that he did not believe the Good Friday Agreement would have been achievable without Trimble’s efforts. 

Ahern said he “never blinked” and that he “stood up to the wider Unionist community” as part of the peace process.

“If David didn’t bring the unionist party with them then we didn’t have an agreement. The agreement was four parts and that was loyalism, that was unionism, republicanism and that was nationalism. And we needed all four.” 

Trimble was branded a “traitor” by some Unionists, according to Alex Kane, former director of communications with the UUP during the peace talks.

“In fact, in some cases, I think they viewed him as even a greater threat to them than the presence of Sinn Féin in the Assembly,” he told Morning Ireland.

“But something drove him on, something made him want to continue.”

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson described Trimble as a “titan of unionism”.

Donaldson quit the Ulster Unionist Party in 2003 and defected to the DUP after he disagreed with his then party leader over the Good Friday Agreement and IRA decommissioning.

But he told the BBC Good Morning Ulster programme: “There is no doubt that David was a titan of unionism.

“He was someone who believed passionately in the union and I have to say that despite our differences in the latter years when I was in the Ulster Unionist Party, he was someone I got on very well with.” 

‘Crucial contribution’ to secure peace

Yesterday evening, President Michael D Higgins praised Trimble’s “life of public service”, while UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Trimble’s achievements would never be forgotten.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin credited his “central contribution” in efforts to secure peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland.

“All of us in politics at the time witnessed his crucial and courageous role in the negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement and his leadership in building support in his party and his community for the Agreement,” he said.

Tony Blair, who was also involved in the intensive Good Friday negotiations, also paid tribute.

He said his contribution was “immense, unforgettable and frankly irreplaceable”.

Ex-Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, a once bitter political adversary of the unionist leader, thanked him for helping to get the Good Friday Agreement over the line in 1998.

He was a member of parliament for Upper Bann until he lost his seat to the DUP in 2005  and spent his remaining years in the House of Lords.

Current UUP leader Doug Beattie hailed the former first minister as “a man of courage and vision”.

“He chose to grasp the opportunity for peace when it presented itself and sought to end the decades of violence that blighted his beloved Northern Ireland,” he said.

Announcing the postponement of the recalled sitting on Monday evening, outgoing Stormont speaker Alex Maskey said he would be making arrangements to allow MLAs to formally offer their condolences and pay tributes.

“I will announce further details when arrangements have been confirmed,” he added.

With reporting by PA