Human rights lawyer Pádraigín Drinan gave “a voice to the voiceless and all those who had suffered trauma”, mourners at her funeral service heard today.
The 75-year-old Belfast woman died at the Royal Victoria Hospital on Saturday after suffering a cardiac seizure.
A close friend of murdered solicitor Rosemary Nelson, she took over her work representing residents groups in the Garvaghy Road area of Portadown and Lower Ormeau in Belfast during the 1990s in their opposition to Orange Order marches.
She also worked closely with the Rape Crisis Centre and Women’s Aid.
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Ms Drinan faced threats following the killing of Ms Nelson by loyalists in 1999 but was refused police protection by former Northern Ireland secretary Peter Mandelson.
She possessed a “gift of compassion” and represented rape victims and asylum seekers often for free, Fr Adrian Eastwood, officiating at her funeral in St Paul’s Church in Belfast on Thursday, said.
“She was constantly frustrated by the failure to prosecute in sexual assault cases and low sentences handed out to offenders.
“She gave a voice to the voiceless; she prayed for justice for the dispossessed, for the downtrodden and all who had suffered trauma. They found support from her.
“Pádraigín had a very special gift of compassion for the poor. She lived humbly herself. She gave her wealth away and wasn’t interested in money. So much of her work was done for free. A very special person.”
Raised in the Glen Road area of west Belfast, Ms Drinan was a fluent Irish speaker. Her father, Muiris Ó Droigheáin, taught Irish at St Malachy’s College.
Studying law at Queen’s University Belfast, she was one of four women in a class of more than 70 students during the 1960s.
Before becoming a solicitor in 1974, Ms Drinan played a prominent role in socialist organisations and the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association.
She joined Gerry Fitt’s Republican Labour Party in the late 1960s, becoming its secretary while still at school.
In a death notice, Ms Drinan’s family described her as a “social justice warrior” and “thorn in the side of authorities”.
Paying tribute, Northern Ireland’s Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse said she will remember Ms Drinan as a “committed advocate for all those who suffered abuse including victims and survivors of historical institutional childhood abuse”:
“She provided her professional knowledge and guidance to victims and survivors as well as much needed support,” Fiona Ryan said.
“Her work with the campaign for survivors of abuse brought her intellect to the cause of victims and survivors which she combined with commitment and kindness. I offer my sincere condolences to her family, friends and all who knew and loved her. May she rest in peace.”
