Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, Stormont first minister Michelle O’Neill and former party president Gerry Adams were among mourners in west Belfast to remember key party negotiator Ted Howell following his death last week.
A priest told mourners at a service at his home how the veteran republican was known as the “quiet man” and that his family and friends had been left with “cherished memories” of the 78 year-old.
Amid several snow showers, mourners stood outside Mr Howell’s home with the crowd spilling out onto the busy Suffolk Road close to his house.
He was remembered as a “naturally private” man, who was well respected by his friends and colleagues.
Numerous Sinn Féin politicians were among those there to pay their respects, including Stormont finance minister Caoimhe Archibald and economy minister Conor Murphy.
Several of the party’s MPs and MLAs also attended, including John Finucane, Carál Ní Chuilín, Pat Sheehan and Gerry Kelly as well as other party members such as Alex Maskey, Martina Anderson, Sean Murray and Martin Ferris.
The wife and son of the late Martin McGuinness were also among the mourners.
Following the service, Mr Howell’s coffin, which was adorned by a tricolour, was carried from his home with Tom Hartley and Bairbre de Brún among those to walk alongside the hearse as it left the house.
Several figures from Sinn Féin helped carry the coffin as the cortege made its way to Milltown cemetery.
A close ally and confidant of Mr Adams, Mr Howell was a key backroom figure in the peace process and the negotiations that led to the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
The former west Belfast MP last week described his former comrade and late wife Eileen Duffy as “central figures in the Irish struggle”.
First Minister Ms O’Neill also described Mr Howell as a “towering intellect”, while Mary Lou McDonald said he was a “patriot whose contribution to Irish republicanism will endure for generations to come”.
A former officer commanding of the IRA Belfast Brigade’s second battalion in the west of the city, Mr Howell latterly acted as Sinn Féin’s director of foreign affairs in North America and Europe.
He also played a central role in drafting two landmark Sinn Féin policy documents – ‘Scenario for Peace’ in 1987 and the ‘Towards a Lasting Peace in Ireland’ in 1992 – and was later involved in engagement with the Irish, British and US governments as part of the party’s negotiating team.
Following the funeral service, his remains were taken to Milltown Cemetery for burial.
He is survived by his sons Proinnsias and Eamonn, daughter-in-laws Karen and Nora, and grandchildren Micéal, Caoimhe and Amelia.
