A senior republican considered one of Gerry Adams’ closest advisors during the peace process and “instrumental” in the rise of Sinn Féin as a political force has died.
Ted Howell, seen by many as a shadowy figure in a “behind-the-scenes” role in the republican movement, is understood to have been in his late seventies.
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The west Belfast man was regarded as a trusted go-between during early contact between the British government and the IRA in the very early days of the peace process, and was also pivotal in pushing for the “ballot box” strategy that has ultimately led to Sinn Féin becoming the largest party in the north.
Mr Howell, a lifelong friend of ex-Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, is also thought to have been a speech writer for the former West Belfast MP.
He played a significant role within the party during the negotiations that led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
It is speculated that when Mr Adams began posting to social media in the 2010s and humorously tweeted about his teddy bear named ‘Ted’, that he was actually referring to his close confidant.
In 2018, Mr Howell contributed to ‘The Negotiator’s Cookbook’, which was penned by Mr Adams and featured recipes from himself and Sinn Féin colleagues including Michelle O’Neill.
At the book’s launch, Mr Adam’s described how Mr Howell helped set up what he dubbed a “diners’ club” at Stormont in the 1990s as efforts towards a peace deal rumbled on.
However, also in 2018 the spotlight fell on the backroom role of figures such as Mr Howell in Sinn Féin when it emerged during the RHI Inquiry that MLA Máirtín Ó Muilleoir had sought his consent before signing a key document about the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.
In 2020 it emerged that Mr Howell and another senior republican, Martin Lynch, both gave the same witness statement to the Inquiry.
Despite raising questions, Sinn Féin said both men had “cooperated fully” with the Inquiry.
Fitting with his shadowy role, only a few pictures of Mr Howell are available publicly.
Irish News columnist Brian Feeney, who charted the party’s rise in 2002 book Sinn Féin: A Hundred Turbulent Years, said that without Mr Howell, the party would not have scaled to the heights it has.
“Ted was a very clever man, who worked mostly behind the scenes, and was incredibly influential and therefore highly respected in the republican movement,” he said.
“He believed in the power of political representation, but this would have taken a long time to get through to many in the early 80s, when there was still a lot of opposition within republicanism, even for standing for election to local councils.
“That was a huge argument at that time, and Ted’s stance eventually won out. Although he stuck mostly to his behind the scenes role, he was instrumental in driving Sinn Féin’s decisions during the peace process.”
Paying tribute, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald described Mr Howell as a “valued political strategist, adviser, confidant, and a dear, dear friend”.
“He loved Ireland and its people, and he was utterly devoted to achieving a united 32-county republic of equality, fairness, and social and economic justice. Ted Howell was a patriot whose contribution to Irish Republicanism will endure for generations to come.”
First Minister Michelle O’Neill described Mr Howell as a “towering intellect”.
“His contribution to the building of a conflict resolution process in Ireland was largely unseen but was one of the firm building blocks that has delivered the transformation of our society and the peace and progress we see all around us today,” she said.
“Ted was a leading light in the development of the Sinn Féin peace strategy, authoring key policy papers in the internal debates that resulted in the Irish peace process.
“He was a skilled diplomat, interacting as an equal with representatives of the two governments, US administrations and others. As longtime chair of the Sinn Féin negotiating team he was intimately involved in every political negotiation from the Hume/Adams talks through the Good Friday Agreement to the New Decade/New Approach deal in 2020.”
Ms O’Neill said Mr Howell was a “radical thinker and avowed internationalist”, adding: “Ted Howell performed his central and critically important roles quietly, with humility and never sought public attention or recognition.
“He was, of course, a close and dear personal friend to me and, with all those who knew him, I will sorely miss his intellect, his presence and his friendship. I will be forever grateful for his guidance over the years.”
Mr Adams spoke of his “deep sense of personal loss and sadness”.
“Ted Howell was a stalwart in the struggle for Irish freedom for over 50 years. He and his late wife Eileen Duffy were, with others, central figures in the Irish struggle,” he said. “During his many years of activism, Ted played a leadership role in the evolution of republican politics.
“He had a steadfast commitment to anti sectarianism and principled democratic republican values.”
