REV ROY MAGEE:THE REV Roy Magee, who has died aged 79, was a Presbyterian minister who helped to broker the loyalist ceasefire in 1994. Despite misgivings from some of his colleagues he persevered in his efforts to achieve the loyalist paramilitary ceasefire which followed the IRA's cessation of violence.
He earned the trust of leading loyalist paramilitaries where other Protestant ministers failed, constantly arguing that the loyalist groupings had sound political arguments to make, and should be heard.
He saw no contradiction in speaking to the leaders of the UDA and UVF: it was part of his pastoral role and religious responsibility.
He had known elements of the loyalist paramilitaries going back to the start of the Troubles but it was not until the early 1990s, when they became more “proactive”, that meetings took place on a regular basis.
The former taoiseach Albert Reynolds said this week: “Drawing on the true inspiration from his faith, [the] Rev Magee took extraordinary personal risks to reach and redeem those responsible for perpetrating the troubled conflict in Northern Ireland.”
Presbyterian Moderator Dr Donald Patton said: “While his peacemaking brought him to wider public attention, Roy was also fully committed to the Presbyterian congregations where he served as a much-loved pastor and diligent preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Born in Belfast in 1930, he was educated at the Boys’ Model School and Belfast Technical College. He worked at various jobs before returning to education at Magee College, Derry, and Trinity College Dublin, where he was awarded a BA and MA. He secured further degrees from the American School of Doctrine and the Lutheran Theological Seminary.
Ordained in 1958 as assistant minister in Mersey Street Presbyterian Church, Belfast, in 1960 he was called to be minister of Donacloney Presbyterian Church, Co Armagh.
He returned to Belfast as minister of Sinclair Seamen’s Presbyterian Church in the docks area. In 1970 he became minister of First Saintfield, Co Down, before finally moving to Dundonald Presbyterian Church in 1975 where he ministered for the next 20 years until his retirement in 1995.
On holiday with his family when the Troubles broke out in August 1969, he immediately returned to Belfast. He found the city in chaos, with local loyalists patrolling York Street at night. He persuaded them to go home and took their place on patrol.
Nine years later, four members of his congregation were killed in the La Mon atrocity. He helped relatives to identify the bodies, some of which were so badly burned that they could only be identified through jewellery and dental records.
Regarded by some observers as a Presbyterian fundamentalist, in 1981 at the funeral of the Rev Robert Bradford he called for the reintroduction of the death penalty. In 1982 he argued that Ian Paisley’s Third Force was a “safety valve, calming people and making them feel more restrained”.
He took heart from Sinn Féin peace overtures made at the annual Wolfe Tone commemoration in 1992, and a year later expressed support for the Hume-Adams talks. By this time, Dr Magee was one of the chief intermediaries between the loyalist groups and the Dublin government. He made the case for loyalist representation at talks aimed at achieving an overall political settlement in Northern Ireland.
He met taoiseach Albert Reynolds before the final drafting of the Downing Street Declaration, and put to him the fears and concerns of the loyalist paramiltaries. He outlined what loyalists would like to see included in a bill of rights and these issues were accordingly enshrined in paragraph five of the declaration, which was published in December 1993.
He was one of the main organisers of a private conference for loyalists convened a month later to discuss the declaration. The late David Ervine of the Progressive Unionist Party said: “That conference was a way of lifting a barrier that allowed the political process to take off.”
In 1996 Dr Magee told The Irish Timesthat "clandestine" elements, some of them "business-type" unionists, wanted to destabilise the peace process and provoke loyalist violence.
He was one of the founder members of the Parades Commission in 1997, but resigned after eight months. He was unhappy that the commission’s mediation role was dropped in favour of adjudication only. However, he rejoined the commission in 2000.
He was on several occasions asked to mediate in loyalist feuds.
With Fr Alex Reid and Martin Mansergh he was a winner of the 1994 Tipperary Peace Prize. In 1995 he was awarded a scholarship by the Ireland Fund. Honoured for his peace work with an MBE in 1998, in 2004 he was awarded an OBE and was a recipient of a People of the Year Award.
Dr Magee was married to Maureen, who predeceased him in 2007. They had three children, Royston, who died in 2005, Uel and Donna.
Robert James (Roy) Magee: born January 3rd, 1930; died January 31st, 2009