Courtney McGrailThe late Fr Gerry Reynolds played an “outstanding role” in the Peace Process and is owed a “huge and enduring debt of public gratitude”, a key negotiator in the process has said.
Former Minister of State Martin Mansergh, who served as special advisor on Northern Ireland under three Fianna Fáil Taoisigh, told The Irish Catholic that Fr Reynolds, who died on November 30, had been instrumental in setting up the INLA’s 1998 ceasefire.
“He set up meetings and contacts which helped lead to the INLA ceasefire in August 1998,” Mr Mansergh said, continuing, “They declared that ceasefire about eight days after the Omagh Bomb but they had decided on it before the bomb, so though it looked like it was in reaction to it, it wasn’t.”
While Fr Reynolds’ later years were largely dedicated to ecumenical activity, Mr Mansergh added that he never abandoned his peace-making work, noting that he had “made some efforts to try to nudge ONH (Óglaigh na hÉireann) into ceasing their activity in 2009-2010”.
Explaining how the Redemptorists of Belfast’s Clonard monastery had worked tirelessly for peace, Mr Mansergh contrasted Fr Reynolds with Fr Alex Reid, who died in 2013.
“While Fr Reid concentrated mostly on the Republican mainstream, Fr Reynolds concentrated on everyone else, operating on parallel and complementary tracks,” he said. “The two together made a huge contribution.”