A huge crowd is expected in west Belfast tomorrow for the funeral of veteran republican Joe Cahill. Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor, reports.
He will be buried tomorrow after a funeral Mass in St John's Church on the Falls Road.
Mr Cahill, who was 84, died in Belfast on Friday night having suffered from asbestosis. He was a vice-president of Sinn Féin at the time of his death. He was a former IRA chief of staff, and for most of his life was a senior figure in the IRA.
He was a friend and confidant to Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams, who paid tribute to Mr Cahill and sympathised with his wife, Annie, and family.
Mr Adams said Mr Cahill spent a "lifetime in struggle" and that he was both a "leader and a servant" to republicanism. "In the difficult years of the 1930s and 1940s, he and his contemporaries stood against the partition of Ireland and for Irish unity, and he was imprisoned on many occasions for his beliefs.
"He was an unapologetic physical-force republican who fought when he felt that was the only option, but he also significantly stood for peace and was a champion of the Sinn Féin peace strategy, travelling to the US on many occasions on behalf of the party," said Mr Adams.
"In many ways, Joe was the father of this generation of republicans, and he had the capacity to relate both to young people and his contemporaries. His contribution to Irish republicanism will ensure that he will be remembered for many generations to come."
Mr Martin McGuinness, the Sinn Féin MP for Mid-Ulster, said Mr Cahill would rank alongside such nationalist figures as Wolfe Tone, Pádraig Pearse and Bobby Sands. "I think the Irish republican diaspora in Ireland and all over the world will be deeply saddened by the death of someone who they very much saw as a father figure.
"For me, Joe was as true and honest as the day was long. He was a man who was always committed to peace, and played a pivotal role at key points for the republican movement, including the 1994 cessation.
"When people look back on his role, they will come to the conclusion that Joe Cahill was rock solid, and he will stand alongside the likes of Robert Emmet, Wolfe Tone, Pádraig Pearse, Maire Drumm, Bobby Sands and Maireád Farrell," said Mr McGuinness.