Seamus Mallon, the former deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, has passed away at the age of 83.RollingNews.ie

Seamus Mallon, one of the key architects of the Good Friday Agreement in the late 1990s, passed away on Friday.

Seamus Mallon, the former first deputy of Northern Ireland, passed away on January 24 in Co Armagh at the age of 83.

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Mallon, a native of Co Armagh, became involved in the civil rights movement of Northern Ireland in the late 1960s after witnessing instances of discrimination in his hometown of the predominantly Protestant Markethill.

He once recounted: "The family of one of my pupils was trying to get out of a horribly dilapidated home and into a council house.

"At that time, councillors had the power of allocation. That family was turned down by a [unionist] councillor who said: 'No Catholic pig and his litter will ever get a home in Markethill while I am here!'"

In 1973, Mallon was elected to the first-power sharing Assembly in Northern Ireland, and in 1975, he was elected to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention as a representative of Armagh. 

In 1979, when John Hume became the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), Seamus Mallon became the deputy leader. In that position, Mallon emerged as a key architect of the Good Friday Agreement.

John Hume (left) and Seamus Mallon in 1999 (RollingNews.ie)

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In December 1999, Mallon became Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, serving alongside Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble. The two, technically political rivals, were soon dubbed the “odd couple."

Trimble told BBC Radio Ulster that Mallon's legacy was huge: "He was committed to politics and he was committed to peaceful democratic politics, that was why he was such a good parliamentarian. He was a stubborn man, yes, but at the end of the day he was prepared to make an agreement which we did and we implemented it.

"His legacy will be bound up by the agreement and the institutions and that is something that his family can feel proud of."

David Trimble and Seamus Mallon 1988 (RollingNews.ie)

While Mallon was a nationalist “to the core,” he said last year that a larger majority should be sought for Irish reunification.

Mallon said: "You have a border poll, 50% plus one. Is that a victory?

"Is it a result that can sustain the tensions that will be in this island?

"How long would peace last in those circumstances?"

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On Friday, politicians paid tribute to the former Deputy First Minister:

Colum Eastwood, the current leader of the SDLP, said in a statement: “In the darkest days of conflict, when hope was in short supply, Seamus represented the fierce thirst for justice that ran through the SDLP and through communities that had lost so much to political violence.”

Julian Smith, the current Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said Mallon’s “leadership with David Trimble of the first Executive in 1999 set Northern Ireland on a new democratic course.”

Tony Blair, former UK Prime Minister, said Mallon was "one of the most important architects of peace in Northern Ireland".

Alastair Campbell, who worked as former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman in the late 1990s, said Mallon was “one of the nice guys. And one of the great guys when it came to the peace process in Northern Ireland.”

Arlene Foster, head of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland, recalled a quote from Mallon: “We have two stark and clear choices. We can live together in generosity and compassion or we can continue to die in bitter disharmony.”

Mary Lou McDonald, the President of Sinn Féin, said in a statement that Mallon will “be remembered for his contribution to Irish politics over many decades as the SDLP deputy leader and the key role he played in achieving the Good Friday Agreement.”

Ireland’s Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said history will remember Mallon as “a committed peacebuilder and a tireless champion of an inclusive Ireland:”

Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Tanaiste, noted how Mallon was “always working for peace and reconciliation.”

President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins said in a statement: “Few people have influenced the peace process in Northern Ireland more than Seamus Mallon, a formidable opponent and, a tough negotiator in speech and act, but always honest and honourable.”

Micheál Martin, head of Irish political party Fianna Fáil, said Mallon was “a true patriot and gave all his working life to achieve the peace we enjoy today.”