Man who put Ireland on road to peace dies at 85

TRIBUTES have been paid to the former Irish prime minister Garret FitzGerald, who has died a quarter of a century after he signed one of the key agreements of the Northern Ireland peace process.

As one of the architects of the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement, Dr FitzGerald played an important role in creating a new understanding between Britain and Ireland, symbolised today by the Queen's historic visit to the Irish Republic.

The Queen yesterday offered her sympathies to Dr FitzGerald's family on the third day of the first royal visit to southern Ireland for a century.

She praised the former Taoiseach's contribution to the peace process. He and Margaret Thatcher were signatories to the Anglo-Irish agreement - a highly controversial document that gave the Republic a say in the internal affairs of Northern Ireland. Deeply opposed by Unionists at first, it became an important staging post on the road to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which was signed by Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern.

Under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Agreement, the Irish were given an advisory role in Northern Ireland's government. It also said Northern Ireland would remain part of the United Kingdom unless a majority of its inhabitants decided otherwise. That principle of consent was later fundamental to the Good Friday Agreement.

In Dublin, the Queen said: "I was saddened to hear this morning's news of the death of the Garret FitzGerald, a true statesman. He made a lasting contribution to peace and will be greatly missed."

In a message to Irish president Mary McAleese, she added: "Please will you convey my sincere condolences to his family."

The political leaders of Britain and Ireland also expressed their sympathies. Prime Minister David Cameron said: "He struck me as someone who was a statesman as well as a politician, someone who was in politics for all the right reasons and someone who made a huge contribution to the peace process and bringing reconciliation for all that had happened in the past. I hope today of all days, with the state visit and the warm relationship between Britain and Ireland, that he can see that some of his work has been completed."

Irish PM Enda Kenny said: "Garret FitzGerald was a remarkable man who made a remarkable contribution to Irish life, His towering intellect, his enthusiasm for life, his optimism for politics was always balanced by his humility, his warmth, his bringing to public life of a real sense of dignity and integrity, and his interest being focused entirely on his people and on the country."

Dr FitzGerald was a politician, journalist and economist, who led two governments in the 1980s and fought tirelessly to cement close ties between the two countries.

He was formerly the leader of the Fine Gael, the political party currently in power in Dublin. He served twice as Taoiseach between 1981 and 1987 at the head of two coalition governments.

Called "Garret the Good" by colleagues and opponents alike, his death in a private hospital at the age of 85 was announced in a short statement from his children, John, Mark and Mary. "The family of Dr Garret FitzGerald are sad to announce that he has passed away this morning after a short illness," it said.

Dr FitzGerald worked for Aer Lingus for some years before becoming an economic consultant and academic, newspaper columnist, author and politician. He was a key figure in negotiating the Sunningdale Agreement negotiations, which resulted in a short-lived power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland in the 1970s.

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The 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement was bitterly opposed by Ulster Unionists, and Mrs Thatcher's Treasury minister Ian Gow resigned in protest at the deal.

Signed at Hillsborough Castle in County Down, it set up a framework for regular conferences between British and Irish ministers to discuss matters affecting Northern Ireland.