Once the fiery denouncer of any constitutional accommodation within Northern Ireland, the Rev Ian Paisley became one of the "chuckle brothers", sharing devolved, ministerial power with Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin. It was a long, frequently destructive, but ultimately positive journey that brought longed-for peace to divided communities. A man steeped in fundamentalism, he injected Biblical certainty into his political pronouncements. From being an outsider, shunned by both unionist and nationalist leaders, he led the Democratic Unionist Party to dominate politics in Northern Ireland.
Born in Armagh, in 1926, the son of a rebel Baptist minister, he made an early impact with his powerful physique and preaching ability. Ordained by his father at the age of 20, he co-founded the Free Presbyterian Church in 1951 His preaching was virulently anti-Catholic and, as sectarian tensions grew, a number of minor paramilitary organisations became adjuncts to his church. He combined parliamentary opposition with street protests and spent a short time in prison for “unlawful assembly”.
Ecumenism or any accommodation with nationalists was rejected. "Ulster Says No" became his catch-cry. He was harshly critical of Terence O'Neill and other unionist leaders. Elected to the UK parliament in 1970, he split with the Ulster Unionist Party in the following year and formed the DUP. He was a long-standing member of both Westminster and the European Parliament.
For almost three decades, as murder stalked the streets and moderate parties, prompted by the two Governments, attempted to reach and operate a settlement, he railed against a "sell out" of the union. In 1998, he opposed the Good Friday Agreement. Five years later, the DUP emerged as the dominant force of unionism. Power had moved to the extremes in response to failure by moderate parties. Sinn Féin and the DUP were in control. Arms decommissioning, the dissolution of the IRA and Sinn Féin's public support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland did the rest. Under pressure, Ian Paisley entered government with Sinn Féin. He was 81 years old.
As First Minister of the Northern Ireland Executive, he formed an unlikely friendship and a good working relationship with deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness. Observers were stunned by the transformation from dominating bully-boy to co-operative politician. The Executive operated effectively. Only Ian Paisley had the stature and political authority to make that happen. Within a year, however, he was edged out by younger, ambitious colleagues, resigning as First Minister and then stepping down as moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church. His wife, Eileen, insisted they had “assassinated him by their words and deeds”. Both power bases gone, he retired to private life.
