THE senior Republican and Sinn Fein elected representative for North Belfast, Mr Gerry Kelly, delivered the graveside oration at the funeral of the Sinn Fein councillor and ard chomhairle member Mr Pat McGeown. Yesterday's ceremony in west Belfast was attended by more than 1,000 people.
At one stage Mr McGeown had headed the Belfast Brigade of the IRA and had been central to the planning of the escape of 19 IRA prisoners from the Maze Prison in 1983, Mr Kelly said.
He had joined Sinn Fein after his release in 1985 and for the last 10 years had been a major figure in developing the party's political strategy, Mr Kelly added.
The funeral of Mr McGeown, who died earlier this week from a heart ailment believed to have been caused by his 47 days on hungerstrike in the Maze, took place after Requiem Mass in St Agnes' Church, Andersonstown.
Senior republicans, including Mr Martin McGuinness, took turns carrying the coffin to Milltown Cemetery, where the burial took place in the Republican Plot.
More than 100 sympathy notices for Mr McGeown appeared in yesterday's edition of the Irish News.