A priest who has died aged 96 will be remembered as "an astonishing human being".
Fr Brendan McGee, who much of the last two decades assisting at St Patrick's Church in Belfast city centre, died peacefully at Nazareth Care Village on Tuesday.
Originally from Trillick in Co Tyrone, Fr McGee's family moved to Holywood in Co Down where his father owned and ran The Ruby Bar.
He was ordained in 1950 and his first postings were St Anne's in Dunmurry and St Agnes' in Anderstonstown.
From there he went to nearby St Michael's before moving to Greencastle in 1976 and St Luke's in Twinbrook a decade later.
In 1990 he became a canon and two years later was appointed to serve in Portaferry in Co Down.
In 2000 Fr McGee retired and became an assistant curate at St Patrick's on Belfast's Donegall Street.
He was made a Dean of the Diocesan Chapter and celebrated his last Mass at St Patrick's in November 2019 before moving into Nazareth Care Village.
In 2016, on the 75th anniversary of the German `Blitz' of Belfast, Fr McGee recalled in The Irish News how he had looked out of his bedroom window in Holywood to see the city on fire.
Aged 16 at the time, he told how his mother said the Rosary as he and his sisters took cover under their kitchen table as bombers flew up Belfast Lough.
When he travelled to Belfast for school at St Malachy's College the next day, he found buildings destroyed and firefighters "with a terrible look of exhaustion on their faces".
Fr Eugene O'Neill, administrator of St Patrick’s, said Fr McGee had "a huge impact on people".
"He was an institution in the diocese and in each of the parishes he served," he said.
"He had a photographic memory and a sharp intellect, which he continued to the end.
"He never forgot anyone he married or buried or worked with. It was incredible."
Fr McGee, who rode a motorcyle for the first 10 years of his ministry, will be cremated and his ashes placed in St Joseph's Columbarium in St Patrick's Church.
Fr O'Neill said he purchased the first niche when the columbarium was completed in 2012 and his remains will be placed in vault 1A.
"This man was as close to saint as I ever met," he said.
"He had an immense power of prayer. An astonishing human being."
Posting on Facebook, Corpus Christi Parish in west Belfast also described Fr McGee as "an exemplary priest" who would be remembered with "immense gratitude, love and affection".
"He was a wise and holy man and entirely fearless. His exploits are the stuff of legends. He would confront men with guns whether they were British soldiers or members of the IRA or UDA. He had the heart of a lion.
"He was, above all, a devoted pastor to the People of God and a faithful priest of Jesus Christ."
