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Veteran SDLP politician Tommy Gallagher dies

BBC Thomas Gallagher has blue eyes, brown short hair and is wearing gold-rimmed glasses. He is wearing a black suit and white shirt. BBC
Tommy Gallagher was part of the SDLP's negotiating team in the lead-up to the Good Friday Agreement

Tributes have been paid to the former SDLP assembly member Tommy Gallagher who has died at the age of 82.

The SDLP leader and MP for South Belfast, Claire Hanna, described him as "a towering figure" in Fermanagh and "a constant force for good".

A prominent figure in the early years of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Tommy Gallagher played a significant role in the SDLP's negotiating team in the lead-up to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, he was a teacher for almost 30 years at St Mary's High School, Brollagh, near Enniskillen, and entered politics in the early 1970s, becoming a founding member of the SDLP.

'A constant force for good'

He was first elected as a councillor in 1989 and went on to represent Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the Northern Ireland Assembly between 1998 until his retirement in 2011.

"He leaves behind a lasting legacy not only in politics, but as a teacher, a GAA player and coach and someone who always worked for the betterment of his local community," Hanna said.

"His loss will be felt far across the political spectrum, such is the esteem he was held in by colleagues from all parties."

She said the SDLP stalwart would be warmly remembered for the difference he made to the lives of the young people he taught and those he coached and played alongside over many years.

"Tommy got involved in the SDLP and politics at a very difficult time and he was rightly proud of the role he played as part of the SDLP team leading up to the Good Friday Agreement.

"He did his part to deliver peace on this island and build a better future for our young people."

'A man of discernment and discretion'

Former SDLP leader Mark Durkan called him a "tremendous public servant" who was "straight to the point and thoughtful about political life".

"He was someone who respected people, was genuinely interested in people, but he was a man who was clear about his own views and his own values," Durkan said.

The ex-MP for Foyle described Gallagher as "a man of discernment but also of discretion".

"He was a good colleague in the sense that he would question, and be straight in the questions he asked," he said.

"Tommy would give you well-pondered views and reflections on things."