Tributes to the former Taoiseach, Mr Jack Lynch, flowed in from outside the State. The former British prime minister, Sir Edward Heath, said he had worked closely with Mr Lynch during the 1970s on the Northern Ireland question.
"He showed great statesmanship and courage in becoming the first premier of the Republic to acknowledge that peace in Northern Ireland could only come about through consent," he said.
"Although it was his successor Liam Cosgrave who helped set the final seal on the Sunningdale power-sharing agreement in December 1973, Jack Lynch fully earned his share of the credit for helping to create what is still the only cross-community executive to have been established in the province." The SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, said he was very saddened to hear of the death of Mr Lynch who was an outstanding Taoiseach highly respected by all shades of opinion.
"We in the North owe him deep gratitude for laying the foundations for a very constructive approach by successive Irish governments to our problems," he said.
The former deputy first minister at the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr Seamus Mallon, said he had learned with great sadness of Mr Lynch's death. "He was a man of immense strength and integrity who played a huge role at a very crucial time in Irish history," he said.
"He will be remembered for his sense of judgment and for leading the Irish people into a rational position at an emotive time and in a very dangerous context. We all owe a great debt of thanks for a leadership which successfully stabilised a potentially volatile situation." The Alliance Chief Whip, Mr David Ford, said Mr Lynch was sincere in his efforts to develop good relationships between North and South.
"He was one of those in Fianna Fail who first recognised the need to move away from the traditional position and towards a better understanding with people in Northern Ireland," he said.