Tributes have been paid to former Assembly member John Fee following his death from a brain tumour.
Mr Fee (43) was SDLP MLA for Newry and Armagh from 1998 until losing his seat in the 2003 election. He died at his Crossmaglen home last night after a short illness.
Mr Fee was a parliamentary assistant to Séamus Mallon for 10 years before being elected as a councillor to Newry and Mourne Council in 1988, and then the Northern Ireland Assembly.
SDLP Assembly Member Dominic Bradley MLA said Mr Fee would be greatly missed.
"John was a very talented kind, generous and compassionate person, a man who represented this constituency with great dedication and diligence.
"He stood up strongly for peace during the darkest days of the political violence here.
"He suffered a severe physical attack for expressing his views against violence but . . . [ continued] to work for a peaceful solution to our problems."
Mr Bradley added: "He hadn't been ill for very long and it was certainly a shock for us all to learn of his death."
Sinn Féin Newry and Armagh MP Conor Murphy, Regional Development Minister in the Assembly, said he had been saddened to learn of the death of Mr Fee and he offered his sympathy to his wife and the Fee family on their loss.