PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins has paid tribute to the life of Fr Alec Reid, who passed away today commenting that his ministering the last rites of two British corporals offered an image of decency.

The president commented on how the priest had “selflessly served communities in both parts of this island with both compassion and humility for over 60 years”.

“Fr Reid spent four decades in Clonard Monastery in Belfast ministering to a community traumatised by the violence and division of the troubles,” he said today. “During that time, he witnessed events of both deep despair and great hope”.

His ministering of the last rites to the two British corporals brutally killed in 1988 offered us an image of decency struggling to assert itself amidst brutality.

President Higgins said the man will “perhaps best be remembered for the courageous part he played in identifying and nurturing the early seeds of an inclusive peace process”.

“While he spent the last few years of his life in Dublin, Fr. Reid would have been gratified by the positive transformation that is under way throughout Northern Ireland, and especially in the Belfast that he loved so well,” he added.

The Tipperary priest passed away in Dublin early this morning, aged 82.

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