Memorial garden unveiled for former unionist leader

Hundreds of people have attended a tribute in east Belfast to the former Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) leader David Ervine.

A new memorial garden of reflection and mural was unveiled in the area on Thursday night on the 19th anniversary of his death.

Ervine was a former Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) loyalist paramilitary turned unionist politician who played an integral role in brokering a loyalist ceasefire in 1994.

He died in 2007, aged 53.

Speakers at the event paid tribute to his representation of working class loyalist communities and his support for the cross-community Good Friday Agreement, which was opposed by other unionist political parties.

Speaking to BBC News NI about the mural and garden of reflection, his wife, Jeanette, said: "This is the first I've seen it, so it's very moving."

She said her late husband had been "a huge loss to his friends and this place, but a huge loss for us as a family".

"I couldn't believe the amount of people who had come out to remember him, and that's a huge tribute to David," she added.

She also reflected on how her late husband might view the ongoing challenges facing working class loyalist communities in east Belfast.

"I think he would have had a lot of hard work on his plate, it does need a lot of work in the area and within the loyalist community," she said.

"Young people don't know who he was, but if there's something to pass on to young people it was David's positivity and wanting better for the kids in east Belfast.

"I remember him saying he didn't want them looking at their feet, he wanted them to hold their head up."

The Reverend Chris Hudson worked with Ervine in east Belfast during the Northern Ireland conflict.

At that time Hudson was a prominent negotiator between the loyalist UVF and the Irish government.

He described Ervine as an initial "enemy" who he later came to "love".

"I never perceived in all my dealings with David, that he would become a friend, because I was conscious that we represented different sides, but despite that, David had a very strong impact on me," he said.

Reflecting on the signing of the Good Friday Agreement almost 28 years on, Hudson said that without Ervine it may not have been a success story.

"While others may have been the architects, David was most certainly the person who provided the need for loyalism to move in the direction of peace.

"I don't believe anyone else could have done that other than David Ervine."

Ervine served a prison sentence in the 1970s for loyalist paramilitary offences, but went on to become a strong advocate for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.

He became the leader of the PUP in 2002 after replacing Belfast councillor Hugh Smyth. He remained in the position until his death.

He had been an assembly member for East Belfast since 1998 and also represented the Pottinger area in Belfast City Council.