Father Alex Reid dies.

GlynD

Fr Alec Reid, who was a key figure in the Northern Ireland peace process, acting as a go-between between the IRA and politicians, has died.


He died in a Dublin Hospital at 06:40 GMT on Friday.
Fr Reid, 82, a member of the Redemptorist order, secretly acted as a conduit between the republican movement and the British government.


He was one of the witnesses who confirmed the decommissioning of IRA weapons.


In recent years, he was involved in talks with Basque nationalists seeking independence from Spain.


In 1988, Fr Reid was pictured praying over the bodies of two Army corporals who had been dragged from their car, beaten and shot by the IRA.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-25051304

Will we ever see his like again? A quiet spoken, brave, decent man.

motorguy

So sad to hear.

missmean

RIP. I respect him for giving the two murdered soldiers their last rites. One of the worst things to happen in this country. He will have taken a lot of secrets/ confessions with him to the grave.

GlynD

missmean wrote: »

RIP. I respect him for giving the two murdered soldiers their last rites. One of the worst things to happen in this country. He will have taken a lot of secrets/ confessions with him to the grave.

You're quite right. He was very discreet right up until the very end.

He was a credit to his order and to mankind.

EDIT: I hope his passing was quiet and peaceful. I would like to think he slipped quietly into the hands of God in the same way he lived his life.

emmett123

R.I.P Fr Reid

Old_Git

He was famously photographed delivering the last rites to two soldiers killed by the IRA in west Belfast in 1988 after they accidentally drove into a Republican funeral.

He had tried to protect the two men, Corporals David Howes and Derek Wood, but was himself threatened with death if he did not get out of the way.

http://news.sky.com/story/1172317/alec-reid-irish-peace-broker-dies-aged-82

rest in peace

GlynD

People will have a chance to pay their respects to Fr Reid, whose body will lie in repose at Clonard Church from 16:00 GMT on Monday.

Fr Reid's funeral will take place at 12:00 GMT on Wednesday after Requiem Mass in Clonard.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-25081635