Shankill standstill for UVF founder
THE HEARTLAND of loyalist Belfast came to a standstill yesterday as more than 1,000 people turned out for the funeral of paramilitary godfather and peacemaker Gusty Spence.
Mr Spence (78), who died on Saturday after a long illness, founded the modern Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in the 1960s.
The mourners included a range of political and civic figures who congregated in St Michael’s Church of Ireland Church on Craven Street off the Shankill Road for the service.
The coffin carried the regimental flag and beret of the Royal Ulster Rifles, in which Mr Spence served before his UVF days. RUR soldiers also formed a guard of honour as his remains were taken into the church. At the deceased’s request, there were no paramilitary trappings.
Ulster Unionist Assembly members Michael McGimpsey and Mike Nesbitt were among the mourners. Also there was Dawn Purvis, former leader of the Progressive Unionist Party, which is aligned with the UVF; and Jeanette Ervine, the widow of Ms Purvis’s predecessor as PUP leader, David Ervine.
Former chair of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Prof Monica McWilliams also attended.
Ulster Defence Association (UDA) “brigadier” Jackie McDonald and well-known UVF leaders were also among mourners.
In her eulogy, Ms Purvis said Mr Spence was “a man of war and a man of peace”.
“My experience of him was of the man once involved in violence but also absolutely dedicated to peace. He saw the need to talk to Sinn Féin and said we needed to bring them ‘to see the whites of their eyes and lock them into the democratic process’.
“He told me during peace talks to ‘beware of the super Prods’, a message that is still relevant. He also reminded me as a working class Protestant woman that I had as much right as anyone to be in Castle Buildings helping to negotiate the future of our country.” Ms Purvis added that the impact Mr Spence had on her was “life-changing”.
The coffin was adorned with flowers which spelled the word ‘granda’. A personal tribute was added by Mr Spence’s granddaughter, Louise, in her eulogy.
“A lot has been said about Gusty, some good, some not so good,” she told mourners.
“This is nothing new to the family. We knew who he was and who he wasn’t.”
Burial took place afterwards in Clandeboye Cemetery in Bangor, Co Down.
