Daughter of Gerry Fitt dies in England home

A daughter of former SDLP leader Gerry Fitt has died at her home in England.

A daughter of former SDLP leader Gerry Fitt has died at her home in England.

Joan Hanna, the widow of journalist and broadcaster Vincent Hanna, suffered a heart attack, friends said.

Mrs Hanna's death last night comes two months after her father's, whom she had nursed through his illness.

"She spent most of the summer caring for him as his health deteriorated," a family friend said. "She had a very stressful time and was deeply affected by his death."

READ MORE

A memorial event for Lord Fitt, a former west Belfast MP, due to be held in City Hall on November 25th, has now been postponed.

Funeral arrangements for Mrs Hanna have still to be finalised.

Mrs Hanna, believed to be in her 50s, was the eldest of the peer's five daughters. A former nurse at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, she later moved to Ashford, Kent.

Her husband, famed for his by-elections coverage, also died of a heart attack in 1997.