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Pacemaker
Seamus Mallon died on Friday aged 83
Mourners are gathering for the funeral of Northern Ireland’s former deputy first minister Seamus Mallon.
Mr Mallon, who died aged 83 on Friday, was deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 1979 to 2001.
He was one of the key architects of the Good Friday Agreement, which helped to bring an end to the Troubles.
Mr Mallon was from County Armagh and requiem Mass will begin in St James’ Church, Mullaghbrack, at 12:00 GMT.
The chief celebrant of the Mass will be Archbishop Eamon Martin, leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
St James of Jerusalem Church at Mullaghbrack
Senior SDLP members have already arrived at the church, which only seats 55 people.
Former Northern Ireland First Minister Lord Trimble has arrived, as has Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith.
The current First and Deputy First Ministers Arlene Foster and Michelle O’Neill will also be in attendance.
The church hall and an additional marquee have been opened to house the overspill.
Police have said they expect traffic disruption around Mullaghbrack and Mr Mallon’s home village of Markethill.
SDLP deputy leader Nichola Mallon will be reading at the funeral and singer Malachi Cush will be performing.
The Northern Ireland Assembly is expected to sit briefly at 12:00 and suspend, before reconvening at 16:30 for members to pay tribute to Mr Mallon, before a procession takes place to open a book of condolence.
A separate book of condolence opened at Belfast City Hall on Saturday, while another was opened at the Guildhall in Londonderry on Sunday.
Hollywood star Sharon Stone is among those who have signed the Belfast City Hall book.
Paying tribute to Mr Mallon on Monday, former Foyle SDLP MP Mark Durkan said he was “a man of intense passions but he was also a man of very soft graces”.
“Seamus was someone in a very natural way who could bring people together. When he saw hurt, he wanted to heal it,” he added.
Mr Mallon was the first person in Northern Ireland to hold the post of deputy first minister, when the role was created in 1998.
At that time, Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble was first minister and although they were dubbed a political “odd couple”, the pair were united against violence.
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PAcemaker
Seamus Mallon was integral to the signing of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement
David Kerr, a former adviser to Mr Trimble, said the two men had done some of the “heaviest lifting” of the peace process and had not received enough recognition for that.
“Certainly with the Nobel Peace Prize, [former SDLP leader] John Hume was recognised, but at the end of the day I think Seamus Mallon did the majority of the work,” he said.
“He was plain speaking, very direct, very honest – he told you what he thought.
“I think when you have people like that in politics it’s refreshing and when you are straight and you have integrity in politics, people – whether they agree with you or disagree with you – they respect you.”
Mr Mallon served as the deputy leader of the SDLP when Mr Hume was leader of the party.
Both men are widely regarded as playing a key role in the forging of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, which established power-sharing government in Northern Ireland.
In his long career in politics, Mr Mallon also served as a member of Seanad Éireann (the Irish Senate)
He is survived by his daughter Órla.
His wife Gertrude passed away in October 2016 after a long illness.
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