merrion street

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has expressed his sympathies to the Paisley family on the passing of Dr Ian Paisley.

The Taoiseach said:

I wish to express my sympathy to Baroness Paisley and her family on the passing of Dr Ian Paisley.

Dr Paisley was by any measure a major figure in the history of these islands.

I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to him in recent years, and I know that he treasured the peace and friendship that he had lived to see, and helped to build, between our traditions.

His devotion to his Faith and to the Unionist people of Northern Ireland was deep and unshakeable.

In time, history will come to a fuller judgement of his long career.

And, while he was of course a divisive figure, his greatest legacy will be one of peace.

On this day, our thoughts are with his family and our sympathies go to the many thousands of people who were devoted to him during his life.