Tributes have been paid to north Belfast victims campaigner Niall Ó Murchú who has died after a short illness.
The 50-year-old was well known for his work on justice campaigns and was closely linked to attempts to uncover the truth about the 1971 McGurk’s Bar massacre during which 15 Catholics were killed in a UVF bomb attack in north Belfast.
The father-of-four, who died on early on Tuesday, is the partner of well-known Belfast solicitor and Antrim and Newtownabbey Sinn Féin councillor Rosie Kinnear.
A teacher by profession, Mr Ó Murchú also worked as a legal executive over a number of years and was widely-known in law circles in Belfast having worked in Kinnear and Co since 2018 as well as other law firms previously.
Originally from Ardoyne, Mr Ó Murchú was a member of Kickhams GAA club, to which his family is also closely associated.
He also had ties to the Naomh Éanna GAA club on the outskirts of north Belfast in recent years.
His close friend Ciarán MacAirt, and fellow McGurk’s Bar campaigner, last night said Mr Ó Murchú had a great love of his country.
“Niall was a Gael from Ardoyne in Belfast,” he said.
“He was a patriot who loved his country and its people.
“He immersed himself throughout his life in Gaelic language, culture and sports.”
Mr MacAirt said that at the heart of his friend’s community was Ardoyne Kickhams GAC.
As chair of the charity Paper Trail, which provides advocacy and training to victims and survivors of the conflict, Mr Ó Murchú often offered his time in support of its work and was a volunteer on the Victims Forum for many years.
In a social media post Kickhams GAC said it had learned of Mr Ó Murchú's death “with great sadness”.
“The Murphy family have been at the heart of our club for many years and have not only played on the field with distinction but also dedicated many years serving our club on committees and coaching many of our teams,” it said.