Sinn Féin pay tribute to senior republican Storey following his death

SINN Féin president Mary Lou McDonald led tributes last night to senior republican Bobby Storey who died yesterday following a battle with ill health.

The west Belfast man was a key figure and close ally of former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and a highly influential figure within the republican movement throughout the Troubles and subsequent peace process.

The former Sinn Féin chairman, who was 64, had been unwell for a period of time. It is understood he died at a hospital in England following lung transplant surgery.

One of the most prominent figures in republicanism, the former IRA prisoner, who was alleged to have been the organisation's intelligence chief, spent more than 20 years in prison during the Troubles.

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He was sentenced to 18 years for possession of a rifle in 1981 and also spent several periods behind bars remand

In 1983 he was involved in a mass escape by republican prisoners from the Maze paramilitary prison near Lisburn.

Following his release from prison he took up the role of Sinn Féin chairman.

A familiar face at street level politics, he hit the headlines again in 2014 when he was arrested by police investigating the 1972 IRA murder of west Belfast mother-of-10 Jean McConville. He was later released without charge.

The following year, he was one of three men arrested in connection with the murder of Belfast republican Kevin McGuigan.

The arrest sparked anger among the Sinn Féin leadership at the time, with Gerry Adams saying that "the unconditional release of Bobby Storey underlines the contrived nature of the current crisis in the political institutions in the north."

In a press conference after his release he compared the IRA to a caterpillar, insisting the organisation had become a "butterfly" and had "flew away".

"The IRA has gone. The IRA has stood down, they have put their arms beyond use," he said.

"They have left the stage, they are away and they're not coming back."

In 2018 he was told by the PSNI that he was under threat from "criminal elements", several months after both his west Belfast home, and that of Gerry Adams, were targeted by suspected dissident republicans, who threw industrial-style fireworks at their properties.

Describing her "deep sadness" Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald said: "Bobby was a lifelong and very deeply committed Irish republican whose passing will be received with great sadness by republicans throughout Ireland.

"Bobby was involved in republican activism for over forty years and suffered great hardship for his selfless dedication to his republican ideals."

Saying he had been "born in Belfast, into a deeply sectarian state," Ms McDonald said he "was the target of harassment by the British Army and RUC" adding that in recent decades he was a "champion of the peace process".

"Bobby was extremely committed to the pursuit of a United Ireland with equality and social justice for all," she said. "He will be greatly missed."

Sinn Féin's northern leader Michelle O'Neill described Mr Storey as a "much valued and loved friend and comrade".

"Bobby Storey was a lifelong republican activist... who played a vital role in developing the peace and political process over the past two decades."

She added: "He was a committed, selfless comrade whose contribution to the struggle for national liberation earned him the full respect of his generation."

"He was an enduring tower of strength and will be deeply missed by us all."