{"id":12426,"date":"2020-01-24T13:53:14","date_gmt":"2020-01-24T17:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=12426"},"modified":"2020-01-26T11:56:11","modified_gmt":"2020-01-26T15:56:11","slug":"good-friday-agreement-architect-seamus-mallon-dies-aged-83","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=12426","title":{"rendered":"Good Friday Agreement Architect Seamus Mallon Dies Aged 83"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Seamus Mallon speaks as Peter Robinson looks on at an event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 10, 2018 (File Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>Former Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon, one of the architects of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, died on Friday aged 83, drawing tributes from across a political divide he helped to bridge.<\/p>\n

Mallon was a major political figure in Northern Ireland during the three decades of violence between Catholic nationalists seeking union with Ireland and Protestant unionists wanting Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

He went on to jointly head the devolved power-sharing administration that followed the peace deal and was remembered as a peacemaker who recognized, in his words, that Northern Ireland\u2019s divided communities could \u201clive together in generosity and compassion or we can continue to die in bitter disharmony\u201d.<\/p>\n

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, whose hands-on role was central to bringing an end to the conflict that killed some 3,600 people, called Mallon a hero of Northern Ireland\u2019s peace process and a profoundly good man.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeamus never wavered from his vision for a shared future where neighbors of all faiths could live in dignity,\u201d Clinton said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cA teacher in practice and in heart, the lessons of his life and power of his example are as important today as ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar praised Mallon for his unswerving commitment to constitutional nationalism when others in his community advocated violence, calling him \u201ca peacemaker who put us on the path to reconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mallon died at his home in the Northern Irish county of Armagh, a spokesman for his Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) said. – Reuters<\/p>\n

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