His political career was repeatedly written off, yet by its end he had outmanoeuvred his moderate Unionist rivals to become Ulster’s elder statesman, the spokesman for a majority of Unionists and undisputed leader of the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly.įew could have imagined such an outcome in the Sixties, when the young, uncouth firebrand first led working-class Protestants in vociferous opposition to the genteel Unionism of Terence O’Neill, then prime minister of Northern Ireland. Paisley was often dismissed by commentators outside the Province as a bigot and a buffoon. He took an uncompromising sectarian line before, during and after the “Troubles” - for the outbreak of which he bore some responsibility - yet ended his political life as First Minister sharing power with his old enemy, Sinn Fein. Lord Bannside, who has died aged 88, was better known as the Reverend Ian Paisley, a towering figure who founded Northern Ireland’s Free Presbyterian Church and Democratic Unionist Party.
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