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Ivan Cooper, one of the founders of Northern Ireland\u2019s civil rights movement, has died.<\/p>\nIvan Cooper, one of the founders of Northern Ireland\u2019s civil rights movement, has died.<\/p>\n
Mr Cooper, 75, died in hospital on Wednesday morning after a long period of ill health.<\/p>\n
The former Stormont MP, who helped found the SDLP, led the fateful civil rights march in Derry on Bloody Sunday when soldiers shot dead 13 protesters in January 1972.<\/p>\n
He was also at the forefront of another landmark civil rights march in Derry in October 1968.<\/p>\n
Many point to the scenes of violence when police moved to break up the demonstration on the city\u2019s Duke Street as the effective beginning of the Northern Ireland Troubles.<\/p>\n
President Michael D Higgins presented Mr Cooper with a special award to mark his role in civil rights at an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Duke Street march last year.<\/p>\n
Mr Cooper was one of few Protestants involved with the civil rights movement.<\/p>\n
He said his involvement saw him ostracized by other Protestants, and even found people in his church refused to sit beside him on the pews.<\/p>\n
Current SDLP leader Colum Eastwood paid tribute, hailing Mr Cooper as a man who \u201cembodied the contrasting traditions of this island\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIvan Cooper was born to break the mould,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA working class Protestant man who saw a common injustice and inequality that had taken root in Protestant and Catholic communities, he dedicated his life to fighting it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an early leader in the civil rights movement, few have contributed as much to peace and equality on this island than Ivan.<\/p>\n
\u201cOrganizing marches in Derry for the right to a home, the right to a job and the right to a vote, Ivan often put himself in the path of danger to secure justice for people in every community.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd on many occasions that meant that he suffered vilification and violence for his convictions. It never stopped him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Eastwood added: \u201cAlongside his close friend John Hume, he helped blaze the trail on the path that led to the Good Friday Agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone who knew Ivan knows that his selfless passion for justice continued to burn brightly into his later years. His unwavering belief that people on this island should come together to fight for common ideals and in their common interest is a lesson for us all. Especially as we face political division today.<\/p>\n
\u201cA man of sharp contrasts, sharp intellect and, it must be said, sharp tongue, he stands as a giant in the story of this island. And he holds a special place in the hearts of SDLP members.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in MP for Foyle Elisha McCallion expressed her condolences.<\/p>\n
\u201cIvan Cooper, along with others, played an important role in the civil rights campaign in the late 1960s and early 1970s,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stood up with others and challenged an unjust and unfair system of apartheid and discrimination.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy thoughts and sympathies are with his family and friends at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Cooper is survived by wife Frances and daughters Sinead and Bronagh.<\/p>\n