Northern Ireland

Tributes paid to founding SDLP member and civil rights icon Austin Currie

Austin Currie was a former MP, TD and Irish minister
Austin Currie was a former MP, TD and Irish minister Austin Currie was a former MP, TD and Irish minister

SDLP co-founder Austin Currie has been remembered by his family as a "guiding star who put the principles of peace, social justice and equality first".

The Tyrone-born politician and civil rights icon died yesterday aged 82.

He was the last surviving founder of the SDLP following the death last year of former leader John Hume.

Mr Currie was a member of the Stormont Parliament for East Tyrone before it was abolished in 1972, and went on to become Minister of Housing, Local Government and Planning in the short-lived Assembly Executive established following the Sunningdale Agreement.

In 1982 he was elected to the new Northern Ireland Assembly that aimed to restore devolution, but was abolished four years later.

Following his roles in northern politics, Mr Currie joined Fine Gael and was elected a TD for the Dublin West constituency in 1989.

During his time in the Dail, he headed Dublin's Departments of Education, Justice and Health, while in 1990 Fine Gael selected him as their candidate for President.

Mr Currie would remain living in the Republic with his family at their Kildare home for the remainder of his life, but it was his contribution to the civil rights movement north of the border for which he will be remembered most.

He famously squatted in a house in the Co Tyrone village of Caledon in 1968 in protest over housing allocation discrimination against Catholics.

A family statement last night said Mr Currie died after "a long and eventful life".

"Austin was married to Annita for 53 years. They were a formidable team whose love for each other and their family saw them through some of the worst times in Northern Ireland’s recent history. He is survived by his children Estelle, Caitriona, Dualta, Austin and Emer, their partners and 13 grandchildren."

The statement, issued by his children, added: "Our Daddy was wise, brave and loving and we thank him for the values that he lived by and instilled in us. He was our guiding star who put the principles of peace, social justice and equality first.

"From Edendork in county Tyrone to the bog of Allen, Daddy was most at home with his beloved Annita and his family, surrounded by newspapers and grandchildren. We will miss him deeply."

Former SDLP vice-chairman and Irish News commentator Tom Kelly said Mr Currie's death marked "the end of an era".

"He was such an pivotal figure for civil rights. This is a really sad day, but we can also celebrate the fact that with the founding of the SDLP, Austin and his colleagues achieved everything they set out to achieve."

Mid Ulster SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone said: "I offer my sincere sympathies to Annita, his wife, and the extended Currie family circle.

"Austin dedicated his life to public service from the days of the civil rights movement onwards and he will be remembered far and wide for his contribution to Irish politics."

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said Mr Currie was a titan of the civil rights movement.

"His housing protest in Caledon in 1968 was one of the key sparks for the civil rights campaign that followed and he spoke for a generation of young nationalists when he refused to allow his constituents to be treated as second class citizens anymore," he said.

"His radical activism led him to join together with other young leaders and together they formed our party on the principles of a shared society where everyone got a fair shot at life, something so many of their contemporaries had been denied.

"Each time we lose a political giant like Austin we lose a piece of our history. While moments like this bring us great sadness, it also gives us the opportunity to celebrate the man and the huge contribution he made to politics in both the north and south of our island. It's because of brave men and women like Austin who saw the way their community was being treated and refused to be silenced, that we all enjoy the freedoms and privileges we have today."

President Michael D Higgins described Mr Currie as a “courageous activist”.

He said: “Ireland has lost a dedicated, sincere and very committed politician who made such a significant contribution to the lives of so many people throughout the island of Ireland during a varied and challenging political career.

“He will remembered as a founding member of the SDLP and a courageous activist in the Northern Ireland civil rights movement at a critical time in our history.

“His outstanding service to the people of this country as an advocate and politician will stand as his proud legacy.

“It was pleasure and privilege to have worked with him as a colleague in politics.

“He will be remembered as a public representative who gave outstanding service to people of the island of Ireland over so many decades.”

Taoiseach Micheál Martin described Mr Currie as a “peacemaker”.

Mr Martin tweeted: “Saddened to hear of the death of Austin Currie, one of the founding fathers of the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland.

“He did so much for people, as a peacemaker and in politics, serving in the Dail and as Minister of State with distinction.

“My sympathies to his family.”

Tanaiste  Leo Varadkar described Mr Currie as one of the “outstanding politicians of his generation”.

Mr Varadkar said: “I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of Austin Currie, and extend my sympathies to his family.

“A pioneer of the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland, Austin was one of the outstanding politicians of his generation, highlighting discrimination against nationalists in issues like housing with a famous sit-in protest at Caledon.

“He helped to organise one of the first civil rights marches in Northern Ireland, and went on to co-found the Social Democratic & Labour Party with John Hume and Gerry Fitt.”

 “Austin moved his political career south of the border in the 1980s and became a Fine Gael TD in Dublin West, the constituency which I am currently honoured to represent alongside his daughter, Senator Emer Currie.

“He served as a minister for children’s affairs in the Rainbow Coalition under Taoiseach John Bruton, before retiring from politics in 2002.

“I knew Austin as a brave, courageous and principled man. He was blessed with extensive political insight and boundless humanity.

“Above all, he cared most about bringing peace to this island by peaceful means, something he worked towards throughout his political career, and was vehemently opposed to political violence.”