:00:00. > :00:08.Thank you very much. That's it. Goodbye
:00:09. > :00:23.yesterday. This is today, and tomorrow will be tomorrow.
:00:24. > :00:26.Ian Paisley - who dominated politics for 50 years - died today.
:00:27. > :00:29.On BBC Newsline we look at a life of a man who was both colourful
:00:30. > :00:37.We'll have reaction from friends and foes alike here, in London and in
:00:38. > :00:49.Dublin and we'll be analysing his huge impact on Northern Ireland.
:00:50. > :00:52.Ian Paisley - described today as a colossus, a one-off,
:00:53. > :00:57.He travelled on a political journey that took him from protestor to
:00:58. > :01:00.statesman, from vowing to smash Sinn Fein to sharing power with them
:01:01. > :01:05.and befriending the former IRA commander Martin McGuinness.
:01:06. > :01:08.Our political reporter Stephen Walker looks back
:01:09. > :01:27.We say never! Never! Never! Never in the history of Northern Ireland has
:01:28. > :01:36.one man stirred such strong feelings. Loved by some, lowest by
:01:37. > :01:41.others, everyone had an opinion on Ian Paisley. -- loathed by others.
:01:42. > :01:45.For decades he became known as Doctor know as he resisted all
:01:46. > :01:49.efforts to share power with nationalists or Republicans. Over
:01:50. > :01:55.time he changed. It was a slow conversion, from throwing snowballs
:01:56. > :01:59.at a visiting to shock in the 60s to a warm embrace with Bertie Ahern in
:02:00. > :02:05.Antrim. This was not the biggest turnaround in the latter years of
:02:06. > :02:10.the Paisley career. These were the pictures many thought they would
:02:11. > :02:15.never see. The leader of hardline unionism sitting at storm on with
:02:16. > :02:20.the leader of republicanism. The DUP and Sinn Fein together in a
:02:21. > :02:23.power-sharing executive. But it was a move which unsettled the
:02:24. > :02:26.grassroots and led to the resignation of Ian Paisley as leader
:02:27. > :02:31.of the church he founded, the free Presbyterians. His easy relationship
:02:32. > :02:36.with the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, they became known
:02:37. > :02:42.as the Chuckle Brothers, was a further source of unease within the
:02:43. > :02:48.party. By 2008 it was time to go. He stood down as DUP leader and First
:02:49. > :02:52.Minister. At the time he said he was going voluntarily but in a BBC
:02:53. > :02:59.interview in January 2014, he claimed he was pushed. Nigel Dodds
:03:00. > :03:10.said to me, we want you to be gone. By Friday. I more or less smirked
:03:11. > :03:14.and Peter said, no, no, he needs to stay in for another couple of
:03:15. > :03:24.months. I sort of laughed. One wanted two months and the other, I
:03:25. > :03:27.don't know what he wanted. Ian Paisley's interview showed how
:03:28. > :03:31.strange relations had become with the party he helped found, and in
:03:32. > :03:35.particular highlighted the tensions that existed with Peter Robinson,
:03:36. > :03:45.who succeeded him as party leader and First Minister. There was a
:03:46. > :03:49.piece that was prepared to go forward to the destruction of the
:03:50. > :03:52.party. His claims were rejected by former party colleagues who said Ian
:03:53. > :04:00.Paisley's collection of events was wrong. Ian Richard Kyle Paisley was
:04:01. > :04:05.born in 1926. His father was a Baptist minister, his mother was a
:04:06. > :04:09.preacher. He grew up in Ballymena, a town which was to become his
:04:10. > :04:14.political power base. At long before the birth of Paisley the politician,
:04:15. > :04:17.there was Paisley the preacher. He delivered his first sermon at a
:04:18. > :04:24.mission hall in County Tyrone at the age of 16. It was the 1960s when
:04:25. > :04:28.politics came to the fore. Nationalism and republicanism were
:04:29. > :04:33.the enemy and Ian Paisley was ready for battle. He believed the Dublin
:04:34. > :04:42.government could not be trusted, and when the then Taoiseach was
:04:43. > :04:48.invited, Doctor Paisley was outraged. He led 1000 loyalists to
:04:49. > :04:56.storm on, it was proof if proof were needed that he was now a religious
:04:57. > :05:03.and political leader. We declare our intention from this platform that we
:05:04. > :05:09.will organise massive demonstrations continually. The arrival of another
:05:10. > :05:16.tea shock, Jack Lynch, provoked a snowball protest. In 1970 he stood
:05:17. > :05:19.as a Protestant unionist and he was elected to the Stormont parliament.
:05:20. > :05:32.It was the start of a remarkable career at the polls. Ian Richard
:05:33. > :05:37.Kyle Paisley, 7981. Soon he was elected to Westminster, taking the
:05:38. > :05:40.North Antrim seat. Then he formed the Democratic Unionist Party and
:05:41. > :05:43.began a long battle with the Ulster Unionists for the trust of the
:05:44. > :05:48.unionist people. Politics would never be quite the same again. He
:05:49. > :05:52.opposed the formation of a power-sharing executive at Stormont
:05:53. > :05:56.in 1973. He was abroad during the early stages of the loyalist workers
:05:57. > :06:03.strike but was quickly involved on his return. In the first European
:06:04. > :06:08.election in 1979, he topped the poll. That was to become a habit,
:06:09. > :06:13.allowing him to claim to be the most popular politician in Northern
:06:14. > :06:18.Ireland. To his enemies, he was a hate figure, a bigot and a dangerous
:06:19. > :06:23.presence. They pointed to his involvement with Ulster resistance.
:06:24. > :06:26.The signing of the Anglo-Irish agreement in 1985 saw him joining
:06:27. > :06:41.forces with the then Ulster Unionist leader. They filled Belfast city
:06:42. > :06:47.centre with a protest rally. Return for sanctuary to the Irish Republic,
:06:48. > :06:56.and yet Mrs Thatcher tells us that that Republic must have some say in
:06:57. > :07:05.our province. We say never! Never! Never! Never. Together, the two
:07:06. > :07:10.leaders adopted a policy of noncooperation with the government
:07:11. > :07:17.and resigned their Westminster seats, forcing by-elections which
:07:18. > :07:22.they later contested and won, but ultimately the relationship turns
:07:23. > :07:26.sour. The piece process gave fresh impetus to Ian Paisley, he opposed
:07:27. > :07:30.it from the beginning. He agreed to go to the multiparty talks at
:07:31. > :07:34.Stormont but when Sinn Fein were allowed in the following year, the
:07:35. > :07:41.DUP leader walked out. He came back on the night before Good Friday in
:07:42. > :07:46.1998 to protest. This subsequent agreement started a battle for the
:07:47. > :07:50.soul of unionism. In the vote for the assembly elections in November
:07:51. > :07:57.2003, the DUP finally overtook the Ulster Unionists. As MP, MEP and
:07:58. > :08:01.assembly member, Ian Paisley had been at the forefront of politics
:08:02. > :08:07.for over 30 years. He decided not to stand again for Europe in 2004, but
:08:08. > :08:12.his message remains the same. Never again are we going to have
:08:13. > :08:19.terrorists in the government of Ulster. As a religious leader, his
:08:20. > :08:23.defence of Protestant principles was undiminished. He protested at the
:08:24. > :08:27.presents, for the first time ever, of the Catholic primate at the
:08:28. > :08:31.Presbyterians General Assembly. Ian Paisley and his wife, Eileen, had
:08:32. > :08:37.five children. She was never far from his side. Speaking in a BBC
:08:38. > :08:45.documentary in January 2014, he talked about his life. I have no
:08:46. > :08:51.major regrets. I am not infallible, I never claimed to be the Pope, I
:08:52. > :09:04.just was just Ian Paisley, an Ulster man. And I look at, I have regrets,
:09:05. > :09:07.I have regrets that were not yet out -- we are not yet out of the
:09:08. > :09:16.difficulties that we have been in. But I have also rejoiced in my heart
:09:17. > :09:21.that I kept the faith. Ian Paisley was big in stature and big invoice.
:09:22. > :09:24.He was hated and admired in equal measure. Whilst people will differ
:09:25. > :09:29.on his contribution, all will agree that over many decades as a preacher
:09:30. > :09:37.and a politician, he left his mark on Northern Ireland.
:09:38. > :09:46.This is a specially extended BBC Newsline marking the death of Ian
:09:47. > :09:51.Paisley this morning at the age of 88. We will hear from across the
:09:52. > :09:52.article divide and the general public.
:09:53. > :09:57.The First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson joined me earlier.
:09:58. > :10:03.Ian was a towering figure in politics. A lot of the reporting
:10:04. > :10:07.will be about his contribution in Northern Ireland but he was of an
:10:08. > :10:12.international level. His face was known right across the globe. His
:10:13. > :10:19.voice was certainly known across the globe as well. He made an enormous
:10:20. > :10:24.contribution to Northern Ireland. I think that at this time, we really
:10:25. > :10:29.do need to remember, there is a family who have always been very
:10:30. > :10:33.close. I think in politics very often, when politicians are under
:10:34. > :10:37.fire, you get a very tight-knit family around them. There will be
:10:38. > :10:46.people who will need to be consoled, who will be deeply, in a sense, of
:10:47. > :10:51.-- deeply a sense of loss about their husband, father and
:10:52. > :10:55.grandfather. In many ways that is where our official thoughts need to
:10:56. > :11:00.be -- initial thoughts need to be in indicating not just a tribute to Ian
:11:01. > :11:05.for his life but also remembering his family at this very important
:11:06. > :11:09.time in their lives. He was a politician for about 50 years, you
:11:10. > :11:15.journeyed with him on part of that 50 years. What did you left from you
:11:16. > :11:20.as apolitical leader? -- learn from him as a political leader? He was
:11:21. > :11:26.quite unique and created a family of a party which is quite unique. The
:11:27. > :11:29.Democratic Unionist Party, politicians who often wonder why the
:11:30. > :11:32.press don't understand them. Pressel at that other political parties and
:11:33. > :11:37.the way they act and behave -- the press look at other better go
:11:38. > :11:41.parties. Ian created a very different party and he had an
:11:42. > :11:45.ability to communicate, to influence and inspire, the ability to pick
:11:46. > :11:50.people up when they were down on issues. The ability to come into a
:11:51. > :11:54.room, all eyes turning to him, waiting to hear what his take would
:11:55. > :11:59.be on an issue. And with a sense of humour that I think managed to get
:12:00. > :12:03.him over many of the difficult sets of circumstances that he was placed
:12:04. > :12:07.in, where even those who would be most opposed to it, he could still
:12:08. > :12:14.have had a crack with them and enjoyed their company. He has been
:12:15. > :12:18.described as a colossus by friends and foes alike. You had political
:12:19. > :12:23.differences with him, were you able to heal those wounds before he died?
:12:24. > :12:28.The very last occasion I was with Ian and Eileen was when both Martin
:12:29. > :12:36.McGuinness and I were receiving, along with Ian, the international
:12:37. > :12:39.Ellis Island award, an award that is given for the contribution we made
:12:40. > :12:45.here in Northern Ireland. We had a very happy evening with his family
:12:46. > :12:49.and with the families of Martin and myself and our friends. It will be
:12:50. > :12:54.that kind of occasion that I think I will remember more than anything
:12:55. > :12:59.else. Ian was a peculiar politician in the sense that he didn't behave
:13:00. > :13:04.and react in a way that many others did. He could take any of the
:13:05. > :13:10.attacks on the chin, it just washed off him. He was able to laugh at
:13:11. > :13:19.those who would poke fun at him. But he was still able to give a sense of
:13:20. > :13:21.direction and certainty. It was a very unstable society in Northern
:13:22. > :13:25.Ireland and people were looking out for somebody who knew what direction
:13:26. > :13:28.to go in, who had some certainty about the way to go forward.
:13:29. > :13:31.Ian Paisley sparked emotions of love and hate.
:13:32. > :13:34.His political dominance and influence has been a constant
:13:35. > :13:42.in the life of Northern Ireland for more than 50 years.
:13:43. > :13:45.Now with his passing BBC Newsline's Mark Simpson has been
:13:46. > :13:49.asking members of the general public how they will remember him.
:13:50. > :13:56.News of his death appeared on the big screen at Belfast City Hall at
:13:57. > :14:03.lunch time. 30 years ago this was the scene of Ian Paisley's most
:14:04. > :14:08.famous speech. Never, never, never! People reflected on his political
:14:09. > :14:14.career. He had a long life, 88, was he? You're not going to live much
:14:15. > :14:20.longer than that. He has good and bad points, I suppose. You always
:14:21. > :14:25.pick out the bad points of people. If you look at the whole picture, we
:14:26. > :14:29.wouldn't be here, having a peaceful discussion, if it hadn't been for
:14:30. > :14:33.the Reverend Ian Paisley. He did so much for the people here. He may
:14:34. > :14:39.have been controversial and so on, but I think basically, it was a good
:14:40. > :14:43.man. Quite a shock, actually. I've spent he will go down in the history
:14:44. > :14:51.books as well, won't he? What is, who knows? He was good at the end.
:14:52. > :14:55.Repented. In the Ardoyne area of north Belfast, people gave their
:14:56. > :15:01.views. Paisley above anybody was a man that caused the trouble -- next
:15:02. > :15:18.Mac He was someone's husband, someone's
:15:19. > :15:22.father. It is sad when someone dies. Although he was MP for North Antrim
:15:23. > :15:30.for 40 years, he spent much of his career living in east Belfast, close
:15:31. > :15:35.to his church, Stormont and his Unionist heartland. How is he
:15:36. > :15:46.remembered here? Just as Mr Paisley, the Big Man said no. I
:15:47. > :15:49.remember he was a legend for the Belfast community committee will
:15:50. > :15:52.never be forgotten. All these people love him. I don't thought that I
:15:53. > :16:00.don't love him for one second. The man was a maniac. -- I don't. He
:16:01. > :16:05.will never be forgotten. Never, never, never! It will be sad to lose
:16:06. > :16:11.him. No matter what happened in the end, he was great for the people and
:16:12. > :16:14.will be a sad loss. In death as in life, opinions are divided on Ian
:16:15. > :16:15.Paisley but most people agree that politics here will never quite be
:16:16. > :16:25.the same. Here at Stormont we will have
:16:26. > :16:31.reaction to Doctor Paisley's death throughout the programme. Joining me
:16:32. > :16:34.is a close personal friend, the retired Free Presbyterian minister
:16:35. > :16:39.the Reverend David McIlveen. Thank you for joining us. You have joined
:16:40. > :16:45.the family today. Yes, I have shared a little of the family's ree. It is
:16:46. > :16:50.a close family. They have been a mother and father to many of us. It
:16:51. > :16:54.is our turn to be helped and strength to the family. A difficult
:16:55. > :17:00.day for his widow, who was such an enormous part of his life and an
:17:01. > :17:05.enormous influence on his life. Mrs Paisley was a mother. She was a
:17:06. > :17:10.great support to Doctor Paisley. Everything he did was encouraged and
:17:11. > :17:14.strengthened by her. She really has a tremendous testimony, her and her
:17:15. > :17:20.family, this particular time. They do want to keep private, despite him
:17:21. > :17:26.being such a major public figure. It is a family decision and we
:17:27. > :17:32.understand that. It is something they decided themselves and we
:17:33. > :17:38.respect that. When it comes to his role as a preacher, it was certainly
:17:39. > :17:41.in his blood. Undoubtedly it was. Whenever he preached so often about
:17:42. > :17:46.the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and encourage people to be
:17:47. > :17:54.saved by God's grace so they could be repaired for eternity, the
:17:55. > :17:58.comfort and strength he gave to many in their time of sorrow is still
:17:59. > :18:03.very much a legacy to family and friends. We recognise that Doctor
:18:04. > :18:06.Paisley was a man who has left us a tremendous example. He was a man of
:18:07. > :18:13.great compassion. He learned what it was too weep with them that wet, to
:18:14. > :18:16.rejoice with them that rejoiced. He was a great inspiration to all who
:18:17. > :18:21.were privileged to know him. When did you last speak to him? I was
:18:22. > :18:27.with him last evening and with the family. It was a special time. We
:18:28. > :18:29.did not know it was the last time we would be together. Nonetheless,
:18:30. > :18:34.there was the same strength within the family of faith, of trust, of
:18:35. > :18:37.believing that when the time came in God's providence, that their loved
:18:38. > :18:43.one would be with Christ. Doctor Paisley would have preached that
:18:44. > :18:47.text, to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Today
:18:48. > :18:51.is a mixture of sorrow and joy. Sorrow because we have lost a dear
:18:52. > :18:57.friend, a father figure, an inspiration to all of us in the
:18:58. > :19:00.church ministry, but also in that expression of joy that he has seen
:19:01. > :19:05.the Saviour whom he loved and served. Was he very hurt by high
:19:06. > :19:09.relations were soured at the end when he left the church? It was very
:19:10. > :19:15.difficult to engage into his thinking. All of us are open to
:19:16. > :19:19.hurt. It doesn't matter how strong the character, the quality of
:19:20. > :19:24.leadership would be, we are all prone to being injured and bruised.
:19:25. > :19:27.In Doctor Paisley's case, that was evident in the documentaries that
:19:28. > :19:32.came across. That should have made us more sensitive to his needs and
:19:33. > :19:37.that of Mrs Paisley and for that reason, I felt and still do feel
:19:38. > :19:41.that both deserve the highest respect. The Free Presbyterian
:19:42. > :19:47.church would not be known if it was not known for the Ministry of Doctor
:19:48. > :19:50.Paisley. Who would have known of the Free Presbyterian Church in
:19:51. > :19:54.Australia or America if it had not been for his ministry? We owe him a
:19:55. > :19:58.tremendous debt of gratitude. He will be greatly missed. We thank God
:19:59. > :20:02.for the privilege we have had of living in the same generation of
:20:03. > :20:08.him. What do you think led to the political conversion? I am not
:20:09. > :20:13.involved in the political scene, so I am not a judge on that matter, but
:20:14. > :20:16.I think in comparative terms, most of us would recognise that we live
:20:17. > :20:21.in a different Northern Ireland to what we were brought up in. In that
:20:22. > :20:25.sense, if that is a political conversion, I think many of us,
:20:26. > :20:29.perhaps all of us, have reaped the benefit of it. Doctor Paisley's
:20:30. > :20:34.leadership, both in church and in state, has been invaluable. It was
:20:35. > :20:37.important for some of us to make the distinction between his leadership
:20:38. > :20:41.role in politics and his leadership role in the church. To me, he was
:20:42. > :20:47.the moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church, the Finder of
:20:48. > :20:50.it. Many people throughout Northern Ireland were converted through his
:20:51. > :20:55.ministry. That is the sort of conversion I personally feel is to
:20:56. > :20:59.be emphasised, the conversion of hundreds of people to the knowledge
:21:00. > :21:04.of Christ. What will be your overriding memory of him in the
:21:05. > :21:07.weeks and months ahead? One of great compassion. Just one illustration
:21:08. > :21:12.minus one day we were driving through Moscow in the back of a taxi
:21:13. > :21:17.and he said, do not speak to me for half an hour. -- one illustration,
:21:18. > :21:20.one day we were. He brought out the names of other ministers,
:21:21. > :21:27.missionaries and students, and he prayed for everyone. Thank you, and
:21:28. > :21:31.condolences to you and the rest of the family. Back to the studio. We
:21:32. > :21:31.will be back at Stormont later in the programme.
:21:32. > :21:34.The Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein is
:21:35. > :21:45.You said today in your message of condolence that Ian Paisley was a
:21:46. > :21:48.friend and that you had lost a friend. It is a relationship that
:21:49. > :21:55.baffles many people. What does his loss mean to you? We will always be
:21:56. > :22:02.cast in history as two people from clearly very diverging pasts who had
:22:03. > :22:07.the ability to overcome old and the Tees and go into government
:22:08. > :22:11.together. So that year that he was in the office of First and Deputy
:22:12. > :22:17.First Minister with myself was a very unique experience for me.
:22:18. > :22:23.Whenever you sat in a room as I did do, in the initial days with Ian
:22:24. > :22:26.Paisley he said, Martin, we can rule ourselves, we do not need these
:22:27. > :22:31.people coming over from England to tell us what to do. That was common
:22:32. > :22:34.ground we could both stand on. Over the course of that year he treated
:22:35. > :22:39.me with nothing other than respect. Not only did we develop positive
:22:40. > :22:43.working relationships, but we also developed a friendship which has
:22:44. > :22:47.continued to this very day. I say that as someone who had an intense
:22:48. > :22:55.dislike for Ian Paisley for many decades, as he had for me. It was --
:22:56. > :22:59.I was 18 or 19 when he came into Derry with an entourage and it was a
:23:00. > :23:05.difficult time at the beginning of the Troubles. People were very pure
:23:06. > :23:10.full -- fearful of the power of Ian Paisley. I could never have imagined
:23:11. > :23:16.at the age of 19 that many years later I would be sexting involvement
:23:17. > :23:23.with him. But it came to pass the stop -- I would be sitting in
:23:24. > :23:27.government with him. I am told he visited his home in recent days or
:23:28. > :23:32.weeks. It has been a couple of months since I have been at his
:23:33. > :23:35.home. He wanted to see me and I went over and met with him and stayed for
:23:36. > :23:38.two hours with him himself and Eileen, just the three of us. We
:23:39. > :23:44.drank coffee and talked about things. We talked about his plans
:23:45. > :23:49.for his library. We talked about many things. It was obvious to me
:23:50. > :23:53.that he was considerably weaker from the previous time I had seen him. We
:23:54. > :23:57.have always kept in touch since he left the office of First and Deputy
:23:58. > :24:03.First Minister. I have a great regard for his wife, Eileen, who
:24:04. > :24:07.played a powerful role at the time he took the decision to come into
:24:08. > :24:10.government. My thoughts are with the Paisley family and particularly with
:24:11. > :24:16.Eileen at what is a heartbreaking time for her. Ian Paisley will be
:24:17. > :24:22.remembered by many people in the nationalists and republican families
:24:23. > :24:27.as someone to hate a, -- summer to hit, a sectarian man. How do you
:24:28. > :24:35.square that with a man who became your friend? It is true, but I am
:24:36. > :24:38.honest to say that in the Unionist family people have their own
:24:39. > :24:42.perceptions of people like myself. The big challenge in any peace
:24:43. > :24:49.process, and here we are in the 20th year of the are racist nation, is to
:24:50. > :24:53.try to forge agreements which end conflict, which bring the war to an
:24:54. > :24:57.end, and which provide the opportunity for politicians to move
:24:58. > :25:01.on and provide a better life based on equality for all citizens. The
:25:02. > :25:09.fact that he and I were effectively joint first manner -- First
:25:10. > :25:15.Ministers of Northern Ireland and linked to a power-sharing Executive,
:25:16. > :25:17.I think that does represent a remarkable transformation in the
:25:18. > :25:24.political lives of the people who live here. At the same time,
:25:25. > :25:28.historic and -- historians will make their own judgements. People have
:25:29. > :25:34.been critical of Ian Paisley while at the same time being magnanimous
:25:35. > :25:40.of the Rubicon decision he made, Crossing the Rubicon to be in
:25:41. > :25:43.decision with Sinn Fein. It was an incredible development. Is there one
:25:44. > :25:51.thing you can pen point to say, that was Ian Paisley? It was whenever a
:25:52. > :25:56.few days after we went into government he said to me, we should
:25:57. > :26:03.tell the NIO and British Ian -- Peter Hain to get out of Stormont
:26:04. > :26:09.Castle. I laughed, but we asked our advisers to go away. A few minutes
:26:10. > :26:13.later, he and I both signed a letter and sent it off to Peter Hain.
:26:14. > :26:17.Within days the NIO and Peter Hain were gone out of the castle. It was
:26:18. > :26:20.handed over to us. We have a great laugh whenever we heard that they
:26:21. > :26:30.had taken everything, including the light bulbs. My big regret is that
:26:31. > :26:38.when he came into government with me he was not 25 or 30 years younger.
:26:39. > :26:43.Now back to Stormont. With me now, Mike Nesbitt and
:26:44. > :26:47.Alasdair McDonnell. What is his legacy in terms of unionism, do you
:26:48. > :26:53.think? That is something we will continue to breed in coming days,
:26:54. > :26:56.months and years. My primary concern today is to express condolences on
:26:57. > :27:01.behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party to the family. Politically, nothing
:27:02. > :27:06.changes. The legacy is there and people will make of it what they
:27:07. > :27:12.want to. The big change is that Baroness Paisley was married to Ian
:27:13. > :27:15.Paisley for longer than I have been alive, so I cannot imagine the
:27:16. > :27:20.challenges she faces today. I know her faith will be very strong. It is
:27:21. > :27:24.the family for the focus should be, and to make sure that while
:27:25. > :27:29.journalism does what it has to do, but they leave the space and the
:27:30. > :27:36.respect for the Paisley family to grieve. What about your relationship
:27:37. > :27:40.with him? Politically I came on the scene as he was exiting. It was more
:27:41. > :27:45.as a journalist, doing your job. I have to say, if you had not been at
:27:46. > :27:49.managed by Ian Paisley, you did not feel as if he were a proper
:27:50. > :27:54.journalist. -- at Monash. Sometimes I felt like I was a proper, proper,
:27:55. > :27:58.proper journalist, because he could really have a go. He was also a
:27:59. > :28:04.human being. When he came into the studio he would ask after my family.
:28:05. > :28:07.When he went live, he went for it. He was a very challenging customer
:28:08. > :28:13.to interview. When it was over he was a human being again. One time my
:28:14. > :28:18.producer thought I had gone too far. He ran out after Ian Paisley.
:28:19. > :28:24.Afterwards I said, was he upset? He said, no, his shoulders were moving
:28:25. > :28:28.up and down. I said, are you OK. He said, I called him a fool, I
:28:29. > :28:31.shouldn't have done that, and then the shoulders were jiggling away
:28:32. > :28:36.again. He enjoyed himself when he was in the broadcast world. Alasdair
:28:37. > :28:40.McDonnell, we have heard about the people who loved him but also those
:28:41. > :28:45.who did not like him. He was a divisive figure. We should deal with
:28:46. > :28:48.that later. I would want to basically express my condolences,
:28:49. > :28:59.and I have done so a number of times today already. The Paisley family
:29:00. > :29:02.are grieving tonight. They have lost a husband, a father, a grandfather
:29:03. > :29:04.and honestly, we all feel pain and grief and I think our prayers and
:29:05. > :29:10.thoughts should be with them. History will judge itself. Sadly,
:29:11. > :29:15.Ian Paisley was divisive between unionism and nationalism and within
:29:16. > :29:23.unionism. He charted a course for himself and he will, in time, his
:29:24. > :29:27.role in the Troubles will perhaps define him. I think a lot of people
:29:28. > :29:32.mellowed in their views because of the work you did in recent times as
:29:33. > :29:36.he got older to bring about devolution here again in 2007. Were
:29:37. > :29:42.you personally surprised by the conversion? Yes, I was. But I knew
:29:43. > :29:46.him both as the roaring politician on the one hand, and the man who was
:29:47. > :29:50.aggressive and domineering politically, but on the other hand,
:29:51. > :29:54.I had a good personal relationship with him and I had many
:29:55. > :30:00.conversations with him. I would endorse what Mike has said, that he
:30:01. > :30:08.was wary personable. He was central to the journey of unionism and split
:30:09. > :30:12.it in the end. He had his own party and his own church, and he had his
:30:13. > :30:16.own Orange order. He was a man who was very focused and determined. I
:30:17. > :30:20.am just thinking to myself tonight that we are still on that political
:30:21. > :30:25.journey. We haven't got to where we want to go. Here we have lost
:30:26. > :30:31.another big player, a big figure over the last number of years. I
:30:32. > :30:35.suppose if we should do anything politically tonight, it is readable
:30:36. > :30:41.our efforts to get to the end of that journey as quickly as we can.
:30:42. > :30:48.-- redouble our efforts. We will be back later in the programme.
:30:49. > :30:52.We will be on air until 7:30pm this evening to mark the death of Ian
:30:53. > :30:55.Paisley, Lord Bannside, the founder of the DUP and former First
:30:56. > :30:59.Minister, who passed away this morning at the age of 88. We will go
:31:00. > :31:05.to Ian Paisley's political heartland, Ballymena, shortly.
:31:06. > :31:17.First, Eamon McAllister is in an Londonderry studio. -- even McCann.
:31:18. > :31:24.How do you describe his political journey from protester to statesman?
:31:25. > :31:30.I am not sure that people like myself ever said Ian Paisley is the
:31:31. > :31:35.enemy. We were aware of his relentless hostility towards the
:31:36. > :31:39.civil rights movement and any element within the civil rights
:31:40. > :31:42.movement which tried to open up to the Protestant people and disk
:31:43. > :31:48.related against Protestant working-class people. --
:31:49. > :31:52.discriminated against. I remember him saying, they all Republicans, no
:31:53. > :31:59.matter what they say. There is no answer to that. He corralled in his
:32:00. > :32:04.rhetoric and also in the physical way he operated, he corralled people
:32:05. > :32:08.into two separate camps and gave Protestant people do understand that
:32:09. > :32:14.their entire history, identity, sense of themselves was under threat
:32:15. > :32:18.from the idea of equal citizenship. You can say that Ian Paisley changed
:32:19. > :32:22.in later years and took a more benign attitude to life and politics
:32:23. > :32:29.in the North, really we are still living with the legacy of those
:32:30. > :32:34.years. And the failure to breakthrough sectarianism at that
:32:35. > :32:36.time. I still believe it would have been possible. Ian Paisley is one of
:32:37. > :32:44.the people who made it impossible and that is a big part, I think the
:32:45. > :32:49.main part of the legacy he leaves. Did you have personal encounters
:32:50. > :32:52.with him? I had an early personal encounter when I was still at
:32:53. > :32:56.secondary school. I remember he was touring the North in the company of
:32:57. > :33:07.a Spanish priest, whose role it was to reveal the innermost secrets, the
:33:08. > :33:13.shameful secrets of... The scarlet woman on the banks of the Tiber, as
:33:14. > :33:19.used to be said. It was in Derry Guildhall. My friend and I walked
:33:20. > :33:23.onto the platform and challenged. It was not a Derry thing to do, really.
:33:24. > :33:29.At that time, Doctor Paisley seemed to be speaking to rather
:33:30. > :33:32.respectable, elderly, many of them, sort of Protestant people. I
:33:33. > :33:39.remember having an exchange with him, I would have been 16 or 17, I
:33:40. > :33:44.was at college at the time for the afterwards I had a few encounters
:33:45. > :33:47.during the civil rights campaign, encounters which were not friendly
:33:48. > :33:51.or unfriendly, but would have been across barricades, literally. Thank
:33:52. > :33:54.you. The place that became Ian Paisley's
:33:55. > :33:57.political heartland is Ballymena. He was first elected MP for North
:33:58. > :34:02.Antrim in 1970 and was succeeded Mervyn Jess is there for
:34:03. > :34:06.BBC Newsline. Mervyn, what have people
:34:07. > :34:14.in the town been saying? Over my shoulder you can see the
:34:15. > :34:19.distinctive clocktower of the Ballymena town hall. It is not as
:34:20. > :34:23.distinctive as the brand of politics which Ian Paisley practised in
:34:24. > :34:28.this, his political heartland. I was out and about on the streets today,
:34:29. > :34:31.speaking to people about the news of his death. Not everybody wanted to
:34:32. > :34:37.speak to me about that. Some people said they had nothing to say, fought
:34:38. > :34:41.ever reason. Those who did speak were positive in their view of his
:34:42. > :34:45.legacy -- for whatever reason. It is very sad, my mum was saying it is
:34:46. > :34:51.very sad, he will be missed in the town. We will miss him for ever, he
:34:52. > :34:58.is on the television a lot, shouting a lot, getting things done. He is a
:34:59. > :35:01.good man, I glad he did what he did, for the peace of the country. That
:35:02. > :35:14.is what he will be remembered for, definitely. He didn't like civil, he
:35:15. > :35:19.has family of his own and he looked after them, you wanted everybody
:35:20. > :35:22.else to look after their family. The local paper is the Ballymena
:35:23. > :35:26.Guardian and it has been covering stories about Ian Paisley over the
:35:27. > :35:31.past 40 yes plus, in fact for most of his life. I went to speak to its
:35:32. > :35:37.editor, Jim Flanagan. He is a legendary politician in this area.
:35:38. > :35:42.He took his title Lord ban side from the area he dominated for 40 years.
:35:43. > :35:47.He had no equal is commonly top the poll in 19 successive elections. He
:35:48. > :35:59.was a charismatic politician and basically, Hugh was a spellbinding
:36:00. > :36:05.orator -- he was. He held a captive audience, even with his detractors,
:36:06. > :36:09.there is a fondness for the fact that in later years he stepped up to
:36:10. > :36:13.the plate. A lot of people said there would not have been an
:36:14. > :36:19.assembly in 2007 without him. While people had their differences with
:36:20. > :36:22.him, they recognise that in later years he was into the business of
:36:23. > :36:30.reconciliation and making the Contra misers necessary -- compromises.
:36:31. > :36:34.This was a man who seem to live on sectarian hatred for such a long
:36:35. > :36:39.time in his life. Then towards the end, subscribe to the Good Friday
:36:40. > :36:42.Agreement, became Northern Ireland's first First Minister, and
:36:43. > :36:47.that whole period with Martin McGuinness, the Chuckle Brothers
:36:48. > :36:52.says, if you like. That gave a more endearing side to the man -- Chuckle
:36:53. > :36:55.Brothers says. Unfortunately I'm not sure how he will be remembered but I
:36:56. > :37:04.think he will be amended more for the early part of his career. A view
:37:05. > :37:07.from across the board. Joining me in Ballymena is a member of the
:37:08. > :37:18.Council, one of the longest serving members of the council, Sam Hanna.
:37:19. > :37:23.Give me your view on the man behind that political mask. What was he
:37:24. > :37:29.like as a person? Doctor Paisley had a great personality. I have known
:37:30. > :37:34.him over 60 years as a politician and a personal friend. We were
:37:35. > :37:41.really close together. He was a man that worked tirelessly, never seemed
:37:42. > :37:46.to stop, seemed to be a man of iron and was able to go on day and night.
:37:47. > :37:51.I wanted to speak to Doctor Paisley, the best time to get him was at
:37:52. > :37:55.1:00am, so it was. He was always there. It didn't matter what the
:37:56. > :38:01.problem was, he was always keen to help. Thank you very much. Other
:38:02. > :38:05.people have told me he was a politician who broke not just one
:38:06. > :38:10.mould, but many moles. -- many moulds. Ballymena will not be the
:38:11. > :38:15.same with him gone. I'm joined now by our
:38:16. > :38:24.political editor, Mark Devenport. You had lots of dealings with him.
:38:25. > :38:29.He was a man of big contrast, you did not know what you are going to
:38:30. > :38:33.face, going to a news conference all going to interview him. I was on the
:38:34. > :38:37.receiving end of quite a few high rates if he did not like what I
:38:38. > :38:43.wrote. He could beat a man with a quick sense of humour -- futile
:38:44. > :38:50.he said, who are you, Rip Van Winkle, he thought I had been going
:38:51. > :38:56.to sleep on the job. He was not short on picking you up on your
:38:57. > :39:03.personal appearance, he always commented on my nose with my
:39:04. > :39:07.spectacles. There was the other side to him, you could be in a big rally
:39:08. > :39:11.and he could be making a speech and he would be talking about the evils
:39:12. > :39:14.of the media and didn't seem to be at all concerned if everybody
:39:15. > :39:18.started looking at you. There was that complexity in his character and
:39:19. > :39:23.that came into his political career as well, which was a career of
:39:24. > :39:28.contrasts. Enigma has been a word used a lot today, what do you think
:39:29. > :39:33.was the key to his conversion? Longevity. He was in the business a
:39:34. > :39:38.long time and who knows, if he hadn't lasted so long, he was 88 by
:39:39. > :39:42.the time he died, maybe he would not have got to that last extraordinary
:39:43. > :39:47.chapter in his career. For decades he was the no man, the protest
:39:48. > :39:53.politician. Then seven years ago he did the deal which would have been
:39:54. > :39:57.unthinkable. Why? Obviously he believed his opponents, Sinn Fein,
:39:58. > :40:01.the IRA, had changed. He thought he had negotiated a good deal in terms
:40:02. > :40:06.of IRA disarmament and Sinn Fein backing the police. Also I think it
:40:07. > :40:10.was important he had vanquished his Unionist rivals and he was the top
:40:11. > :40:17.man. He wanted to be the one who called the shots politically, and
:40:18. > :40:22.made the deal. Whilst he was sort of second to the Ulster Unionists, I
:40:23. > :40:27.think he never really wanted a deal on somebody else's terms. Things are
:40:28. > :40:31.shaking up at Stormont. Do you think if he had been younger and still
:40:32. > :40:35.around, things would be different? You would have to say the period
:40:36. > :40:39.when he was the First Minister was more of a positive period in terms
:40:40. > :40:43.of imagery, the symbolism, the famous Chuckle Brothers era. At the
:40:44. > :40:47.same time he was never really a man for the details, he was starting to
:40:48. > :40:50.lose track of the details by the time he stepped down from the DUP
:40:51. > :40:55.leadership and the First Minister's office. We are at a stage where the
:40:56. > :40:59.devil is in the details, these budgetary wrangles and welfare
:41:00. > :41:03.reform. I don't think he was the man to see us through that but he would
:41:04. > :41:08.have certainly brought a different style to the proceedings from what
:41:09. > :41:09.we see now with Peter Robinson, a rather cooler, more businesslike
:41:10. > :41:23.successor. Thank you very much. The former leader's relationship
:41:24. > :41:27.with the Republic's government was tempestuous but that changed when he
:41:28. > :41:32.went into power with Sinn Fein in 2007. The former Taoiseach has been
:41:33. > :41:38.speaking to our Dublin correspondent. It is a sad day. Ian
:41:39. > :41:44.is somebody I have grown to be very friendly with and over the last
:41:45. > :41:50.probably ten, 12, 14 years, we have had a lot of dealings. I have come
:41:51. > :41:54.to greatly admire him. I would have had the problems with him in the
:41:55. > :41:57.early years, as I have said many times. We were very different
:41:58. > :42:02.political backgrounds and philosophies, ideologies. I had zero
:42:03. > :42:11.time frame in those days. He moved, I moved -- zero time for him. He
:42:12. > :42:17.became a very important figure in the peace process. The deficiency of
:42:18. > :42:21.the Good Friday Agreement was we had not let everybody in and I knew we
:42:22. > :42:26.had to come back and try that. He played an important part in that.
:42:27. > :42:30.Most people will look at his career, he was against everything,
:42:31. > :42:36.the no surrender, the tough opposition he took two things. Also
:42:37. > :42:41.we have to take into account where he left things and he played his
:42:42. > :42:44.part in the last decade or so in helping to make Northern Ireland
:42:45. > :42:48.better place. From my point of view, having had no great admiration
:42:49. > :42:52.for him in the early years, Ghazi took a different view and philosophy
:42:53. > :42:57.to what I believe, -- because he took a different view, he then
:42:58. > :43:01.became a person you could trust, he stuck to his word. To his credit, he
:43:02. > :43:05.was getting older, his health was not as good but he was prepared to
:43:06. > :43:11.take the moves both of the could have said, not for me, someone else
:43:12. > :43:16.can do that. He showed leadership and political acumen and I found
:43:17. > :43:22.him, in the negotiations I was engaged with him, to be a person you
:43:23. > :43:25.could do business with. Once he was convinced and he believed it, he
:43:26. > :43:37.went with it. John Cushnahan has criticised some
:43:38. > :43:42.leaders for what he calls the rewriting of Ian Paisley's critical
:43:43. > :43:48.contribution. What you mean by rewriting? One should also think of
:43:49. > :43:53.the family, who was a great family man and I respect it. We are
:43:54. > :43:56.assessing his political contribution. I welcome the fact
:43:57. > :44:02.that he did change his mind and did go into power with Sinn Fein. I do
:44:03. > :44:06.not forget that he wrecked every previous political initiative. We
:44:07. > :44:11.had one in 74 which was much the same as the Good Friday Agreement.
:44:12. > :44:16.With loyalist paramilitaries and accompanied by the increased
:44:17. > :44:20.violence of the IRA, he wrecked that particular initiative. He also did
:44:21. > :44:23.his best and succeeded in ringing David Trimble down when he tried to
:44:24. > :44:29.put a power-sharing executive together and create stability -- in
:44:30. > :44:35.bringing. He had a long record of wrecking every practical initiative
:44:36. > :44:42.and undermining the leader of modern genius. After Sunningdale, three
:44:43. > :44:48.decades after, he recognised this but it does not recognise the fact
:44:49. > :44:55.that thousands of people were injured or died until he and those
:44:56. > :45:00.who oppose the Sunningdale agreement were sharing power. We have to see
:45:01. > :45:04.the proof of the legacy, that it leads to reconciliation. There is a
:45:05. > :45:07.lot of work to be done with the power-sharing executive, it is not
:45:08. > :45:11.simply about the two extremes being in power, it is about bringing
:45:12. > :45:18.reconciliation for that I regret to say it on a day like this but the
:45:19. > :45:20.record of Ian Paisley was against everything that stood for
:45:21. > :45:26.reconciliation. He opposed reconciliation, he poisoned
:45:27. > :45:29.community relations. Often his actions, in my view, fuelled
:45:30. > :45:33.violence and I don't think we should forget that simply because at the
:45:34. > :45:36.end of the day he did the right thing, the peace process was well
:45:37. > :45:42.embedded by the time he came to share power with Sinn Fein. Our
:45:43. > :45:47.dominant memory of him should be that of the younger Paisley, fire,
:45:48. > :45:51.brimstone and those fiery speeches, those inflammatory speeches, or
:45:52. > :45:52.should it be that of the statesman? The man who befriended Martin
:45:53. > :46:02.McGuinness? We have to look at his entire career
:46:03. > :46:05.and perspective. At the end he did the right thing. When you look at
:46:06. > :46:08.the political career, you have to look at the overall contribution.
:46:09. > :46:13.The overall contribution of Ian Paisley was not redeemed by his
:46:14. > :46:19.agreement on power-sharing in the end. One also has to recognise that
:46:20. > :46:22.he was responsible for fuelling community division, preventing peace
:46:23. > :46:28.coming about earlier, and that was not something we should excise out
:46:29. > :46:31.of the history books. We cannot rewrite history because he did the
:46:32. > :46:36.right thing at the end. It is an assessment over four or five decades
:46:37. > :46:39.and unfortunately there were a lot of opportunities presented for
:46:40. > :46:48.bringing peace earlier. In my view, he was the person, and his political
:46:49. > :46:51.philosophy, were responsible for fuelling extremism and they played
:46:52. > :46:58.into increasing support for the IRA undergrowth of Sinn Fein. He had an
:46:59. > :47:06.opportunity in 1974 to allow a power-sharing Executive with
:47:07. > :47:13.moderate nationalists. His support for loyalist paramilitaries during
:47:14. > :47:21.the UWT strike played a huge part in bringing that down. Three decades
:47:22. > :47:25.passed before and opportunity arose again.
:47:26. > :47:28.Some other news now and three men and a woman who were in court linked
:47:29. > :47:31.to a police surveillance operation at a dissident terrorist training
:47:32. > :47:33.camp in County Tyrone have received jail terms ranging from five years
:47:34. > :47:38.All four admitted a range of offences including owning a firearm,
:47:39. > :47:42.attending terrorist training and preparing terrorist acts.
:47:43. > :47:45.Sharon Rafferty aged 39, Sean Kelly, who is 49 and brothers Gavin
:47:46. > :47:52.and Aidan Coney who are 37 and 36 respectively were caught taking part
:47:53. > :48:00.in terrorist training at Formil Wood in County Tyrone in March 2012.
:48:01. > :48:04.Yesterday two brothers were jailed on similar charges.
:48:05. > :48:07.The brother of a man murdered in County Londonderry ten years ago
:48:08. > :48:09.has offered a reward of 50,000 pounds for information
:48:10. > :48:14.leading to the conviction of anyone involved in his death.
:48:15. > :48:16.Patrick Devine was found shot dead in his home near Claudy
:48:17. > :48:21.An inquest into the 51-year-old sheep farmer
:48:22. > :48:23.and part-time nurse found that he died following at least nine gunshot
:48:24. > :48:37.Earlier the East Belfast MP Naomi Long of the Alliance Party
:48:38. > :48:39.gave me her reaction today's news and reflected on how
:48:40. > :48:55.My first thoughts, Donna, are with Eileen and the family circle. It is
:48:56. > :48:59.a huge loss to then and I am sure we would want to offer our condolences
:49:00. > :49:02.and thoughts and prayers are with them at this time, which will be a
:49:03. > :49:06.difficult time for the family. Ian Paisley was a huge figure in
:49:07. > :49:10.politics but also a larger than life figure in his home life and I am
:49:11. > :49:18.sure they will feel his loss this evening. He was a man who provoked
:49:19. > :49:21.the emotion of love and also the emotion of hate. In your
:49:22. > :49:24.constituency in East al farce, he did not always have full backing
:49:25. > :49:27.will stop no, but I think there will be a lot of time in the days to come
:49:28. > :49:32.where we can analyse his legacy. Today is one for reflection and
:49:33. > :49:35.sympathy with the family. Undoubtedly, he was a divisive
:49:36. > :49:40.figure. Many of us in politics end up being divisive. He had strong
:49:41. > :49:44.views and they were ones I would rarely have shared, however today, I
:49:45. > :49:47.feel the same loss that others will feel in terms of it being the end of
:49:48. > :49:53.an era in Northern Ireland politics. I also have great sympathy for those
:49:54. > :49:57.who were closest to him - as friends, family and colleagues. Is
:49:58. > :50:02.there anything you think young politicians can learn from Ian
:50:03. > :50:05.Paisley? The one lesson of Ian Paisley's political career is that
:50:06. > :50:12.one should never, in politics, say never. It is clear that during his
:50:13. > :50:16.political career, perhaps his most courageous moment was when he
:50:17. > :50:20.started to say yes. We have him to thank in many ways for the fact that
:50:21. > :50:25.the Assembly, that was functioning from 2007, was able to do so. He led
:50:26. > :50:29.his party through that transition into that Assembly. I do not believe
:50:30. > :50:33.anyone else could have led the DUP into the Assembly at that time. It
:50:34. > :50:35.is not incumbent on those who are responsible for his political legacy
:50:36. > :50:41.to ensure that Assembly is a success. Naomi Long in Westminster,
:50:42. > :50:44.thank you. Back to Stormont.
:50:45. > :50:45.Joining me now from Stormont are the commentators
:50:46. > :50:53.What have you made of reflections from people today, some saying
:50:54. > :50:57.rewriting history has been going on? Most of the reaction has been
:50:58. > :51:02.pretty gentle because of the day that is in it. People are holding
:51:03. > :51:06.back, the one to want to criticise Paisley for what he did in his
:51:07. > :51:11.career. -- the ones who. There is a lot of rewriting history. People are
:51:12. > :51:14.trying to say that the last two or three years of his career is what
:51:15. > :51:19.everyone should concentrate on. In fact the bulk of Paisley's career
:51:20. > :51:23.was spent holding back any kind of progress, destroying all kinds of
:51:24. > :51:27.initiatives, undermining other Unionist leaders, spitting unionism.
:51:28. > :51:35.The question is whether the last two years balance the delays, the
:51:36. > :51:39.destruction that he incited. What do you think the bulk of nationalists
:51:40. > :51:43.are thinking this evening? People are reflecting on the fact that
:51:44. > :51:47.Paisley prolongs the Troubles for a great period of time and settled for
:51:48. > :51:53.what he could have settled for a 1974, which he helped to destroy.
:51:54. > :51:58.That was with the moderate SDLP. 25 years later, a couple of thousand
:51:59. > :52:03.people dead, and he settled for the same thing. You were deeply involved
:52:04. > :52:08.in the Ulster Unionist Party at a time of a lot of tension. How do you
:52:09. > :52:12.remember him? I think Bryant was basically right. He was a
:52:13. > :52:17.destructive force in unionism. That period from 63 to 2003, that is the
:52:18. > :52:22.bulk of his life and how we will measure him. He was someone who
:52:23. > :52:36.constantly said no to just about everything. There was a time in
:52:37. > :52:39.1974, even Assembly, he could have done it. But nothing until the last
:52:40. > :52:41.moment. In 2007, there was nowhere else for him to go. He was an
:52:42. > :52:44.accidental statesman. People thought there was a change in him. There was
:52:45. > :52:51.not. He just reached the point where he had to stay or go. He split
:52:52. > :52:58.unionism in the" cosmic who split it from day one. He split everything.
:52:59. > :53:01.He had to be the top dog, political leader, church leader, he had to be
:53:02. > :53:06.the biggest person in the room. That is what made it extraordinary. And
:53:07. > :53:12.he did achieve it, briefly. He did. There is no doubt about it. He spent
:53:13. > :53:15.his whole life undermining unionism. People remember him for
:53:16. > :53:22.his antennae Catholicism and aunt are republican is and so on, but he
:53:23. > :53:28.spent his time trying to be top dog in unison. Every Unionist leader was
:53:29. > :53:33.undermined by him. Back to the studio.
:53:34. > :53:41.Nigel Dodds is with me. He may have retired sometime ago, but how much
:53:42. > :53:47.of a loss is Lord Bannside to your party and to you personally? I
:53:48. > :53:53.worked Doctor Paisley for many, many years as his European assistant and
:53:54. > :53:59.in wider issues in the party as well. It is very much a personal
:54:00. > :54:04.loss to me. He was a very close friend of my family and that helped
:54:05. > :54:09.us through difficult times and family situations, with a brief but
:54:10. > :54:18.of relatives and so on. I think everyone in Northern Ireland regards
:54:19. > :54:22.Ian Paisley of someone they knew because -- as someone they knew,
:54:23. > :54:26.even if they didn't meet him. It is a big loss for the party and for me
:54:27. > :54:30.personally, and a loss for many of my colleagues. It is a big loss for
:54:31. > :54:35.Northern Ireland. He was so internationally known and he had
:54:36. > :54:40.played such an port and role in the politics of Northern Ireland over so
:54:41. > :54:44.many years. He was a larger-than-life figure. His stature
:54:45. > :54:49.reflected that in a way. Do you think there was anyone within your
:54:50. > :54:54.party, other than Ian Paisley, who could have brought unionism to where
:54:55. > :55:02.it was today, sharing power with effectively your archrivals, Sinn
:55:03. > :55:05.Fein? He was buried much a larger than life character. There are
:55:06. > :55:10.politicians and church ministers. Ian Paisley was far more than that.
:55:11. > :55:16.He was unique. He was the one Ian Paisley. To a large extent, his
:55:17. > :55:22.clout, his authority, his stature in unionism meant that he was able to
:55:23. > :55:25.deliver the dealer you refer to. I think that he should be remembered
:55:26. > :55:29.as someone who said no when it needed to be said, on the conditions
:55:30. > :55:33.of allowing Sinn Fein into government had not been met. He was
:55:34. > :55:37.prepared to say no and take the unpopular choice. He was prepared to
:55:38. > :55:40.say yes at the right time, when Sinn Fein delivered in relation to
:55:41. > :55:46.decommissioning and support for the court's word of law and the police.
:55:47. > :55:48.He knew what the Ulster people wanted and he knew what made them
:55:49. > :55:55.tick. I for joining me. -- thank you.
:55:56. > :55:59.Let's take a look at the weather for the weekend.
:56:00. > :56:05.Looking settled for the weekend with high pressure still in charge. Still
:56:06. > :56:09.some bright sunny spells to come, but areas of cloud as well and
:56:10. > :56:14.eventually we will see a little bit more breeze. Not much of a breeze as
:56:15. > :56:19.evening. It is a fine into the day for many. Clear spells through the
:56:20. > :56:23.night and the chance that you could see the Aurora tonight. Mist and fog
:56:24. > :56:27.patches at temperatures fall to around 8 degrees. As we head into
:56:28. > :56:31.tomorrow, it is looking drive. We will see spells of sunshine. The
:56:32. > :56:35.mist may lift into low cloud before the sun breaks through. Not
:56:36. > :56:39.wall-to-wall sunshine. Some cloud rushing around. They could feel
:56:40. > :56:45.fresh on part of the East Coast. A fine day and temperatures inland
:56:46. > :56:48.getting up towards 20 degrees. If you are heading to the Proms in the
:56:49. > :56:55.Park tomorrow evening, looking fairly decent. Bring a fleece
:56:56. > :57:00.because it is on the cool side. Sunday, fresher but still dry. An
:57:01. > :57:06.extended new summary at 10:25pm, and more details on the news online
:57:07. > :57:11.page. That is all for now on the day Lord Bannside Ian Paisley died at
:57:12. > :57:16.the age of 88. Described as a prince of features, a political colossus, a
:57:17. > :57:20.one-off. From BBC Newsline, good night.
:57:21. > :57:24.We say never! Never! Never!