TRIBUTES have been paid to a pioneering Co Antrim priest credited with being the driving force behind the largest wild eel fishery in Europe.
Fr Oliver Kennedy died peacefully at Antrim Area Hospital yesterday morning.
The 83-year-old, who lived near Toomebridge, was a key figure in setting up the Lough Neagh Fishermen's Co-operative Society in 1963 and served as its chairman for 50 years.
At the time it was established that the rights to the eel fishing industry were held by a consortium of Dutch and English fish merchants based in London.
After initially buying a fifth of the shares, the co-operative, led by Fr Kennedy, eventually bought control of the eel fishing rights, resulting in a dramatic increase in catch prices paid to local fishermen.
Last night it was said that Fr Kennedy had made an "immense contribution to the socio-economic well-being of the community".
Born into the parish of St Teresa's in west Belfast in 1930, Fr Kennedy attended St Malachy's College in Belfast before studying at Queen's University Belfast.
He later studied at Maynooth where he was ordained as a priest of the Diocese of Down and Connor in 1954.
In 1961 he was appointed as curate to the parish of Duneane in Toomebridge and made the area his home until his death yesterday.
After his retirement in 1988 Fr Kennedy took up full-time employment with the co-operative he helped set up more than two decades earlier.
Pat Close, secretary of the Lough Neagh Fishermen's Co-operative, last night said Fr Kennedy will be sadly missed.
"Following the death of Fr Kennedy there is a deep sense of loss amongst the hundreds of people whose lives he touched during more than five decades of service in their midst," he said.
"He was held in the highest esteem."
Sinn Fein assembly member Mitchel McLaughlin said the priest was synonymous with the Toome area.
"He was the driving force behind the eel fishery industry on Lough Neagh for many years," he said.
"He was tough in his determination to ensure that the viability of the eel fishery was maintained and the livelihood of the eel fishermen was protected.
"He will be sadly missed but remembered fondly by all those who knew and worked with him in his capacity as a priest and business administrator."