LATEST: Michael D Higgins issues statement following passing of Martin Mansergh

President Michael D Higgins has issued a statement following the passing of Martin Mansergh.

Mansergh served as a Senator between 2002 and 2007, before being elected as a TD for Tipperary South between 2007 and 2011.

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Mansergh was a key figure in Fianna Fáil’s process for shaping their policy around Northern Ireland.

In his statement, President Higgins said: “It is with sadness that so many will have learned of the death of Dr Martin Mansergh.

“Dr Mansergh earned the respect not just of people with different interpretations of the historic events which led to Irish independence, but of colleague historians for the sophisticated presentation he offered on what were often complex and contentious issues.

“Dr Mansergh’s capacity for detail was of enormous assistance in the period leading up to the Good Friday Agreement and in the very significant contribution which he made to the broader peace process.

“His advice to politicians, and to the different Taoisigh which he served, and later as a member of the Oireachtas where he represented Tipperary, was always to begin with the facts.

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“As vice-chair of the Expert Advisory Group on the Decade of Centenaries, Dr Mansergh continued to make a very valuable contribution to Irish public life and to public consideration and commemoration of the past.

“Among his colleagues in Leinster House, he was deeply appreciated for his deep courtesy, but also for his sense of humour.

“May I express my deepest sympathies to Martin’s wife Elizabeth, to his children and extended family, to his former colleagues, and to all of his many friends,” he concluded.