[caption id="attachment_70138" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="The late Congressman Donald Payne."]
A number of Irish American activists and lobby groups have saluted the life and work of New Jersey congressman, Donald Payne, who died recently and whose funeral took place last week.
the Irish American Unity Conference, in a statement, said that members were "deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our friend Representative Donald M. Payne of New Jersey."
Said the IAUC in its statement: "We will always be grateful for his devotion to the search for truth and justice in the conflict in Ireland. He consistently impressed those of us in America with his passion for the cause of justice and for an end to the uniformed thuggery of British security forces.
"Many whom he worked with in the six counties of Ireland, who have seen show boaters come and go, remarked that he exuded a sincerity, empathy and dignity that was at once re-assuring and powerful. He was not a man to seek laurels for his every achievement but we are confident he will one day be clothed in the righteousness and truth he worked so hard to realize for the victims of conflict and the less fortunate near and far."
"The statement was signed Thomas J. Burke Jr., National President on behalf of the National Board.
"The New York City-based Irish Parades Emergency Committee expressed condolences to Congressman Payne's family and expressed deep gratitude for the congressman's vigilant pursuit of peace and human rights in the north of Ireland, Darfur, and other sites of conflict in the world.
Stated the committee: Congressman Payne supported human rights and political change in Northern Ireland since the bleakest days of the conflict in the early 1970s, and observed contested Orange Parades forced through Catholic neighborhoods with IPEC human rights observers in Belfast and Portadown in the 1990s and 2000s.
He also led many U.S. Congressional delegations to the north of Ireland, and built support for the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and fundamental reform of the Northern Ireland police and state.
"A veteran of the U.S. civil rights movement, Congressman Payne was a strong supporter of equality and non-discrimination legislation in the north of Ireland. During a debate in Washington on the MacBride Congressman Payne said: 'I and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus can easily identify with the Catholic minority...I recognize many similarities in how they are treated with how people here were treated.'
"Congressman Payne advocated for investigations into the murders of Northern Ireland human rights attorneys Patrick Finucane and Rosemary Nelson."
The Rosemary Nelson Campaign for Truth and Justice concurred. In a statement it said that it expressed its condolences to Congressman Donald Payne's family.
"He was a staunch supporter of the peace process in Northern Ireland, encouraging the parties there to fully implement the Good Friday Agreement. Among legislation he introduced was a bill to support an inquiry into Rosemary Nelson's murder and that of Pat Finucane, the slain Northern Irish human rights attorneys. He also supported the cause of the Irish deportees, urging that they be permitted to remain in the U.S.
Congressman Payne will be missed by his constituents in New Jersey and by human rights activists everywhere."
Irish American Democrats similarly mourned the passing of the man it called "Ireland's great friend, Congressman Donald M. Payne,"
IAD said that Payne was recognized as having the most pro-Irish voting record in the entire U.S. Congress.
"He introduced a measure to ban the use of plastic bullets by the British Army and a bill to support an inquiry into the deaths of Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson. Congressman Payne championed the cause of Irish deportees, urging that they be permitted to remain in the U.S.
"A frequent visitor to Ireland, he accompanied former President Bill Clinton on his historic trip to Northern Ireland to lay the groundwork for a peace settlement. He also traveled to South Africa with his Irish friend Niall Mellon, to support the work of Irish volunteers building homes to replace shacks in the townships of South Africa.
"He joined Irish nationalists in monitoring the Orange Order parades to document violations against the Catholic residents of Garavaghy Road. A strong supporter of the peace process, he personally met with leaders of all parties and with the U.S. Envoy to Northern Ireland, to encourage successful implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. Congressman Payne delivered the Frank Cahill Memorial Lecture in Belfast and was named the winner of the Pat Finucane Award by the Irish American Unity Conference, in recognition of his support for human rights.
Congressman Payne was an advocate in Congress for the International Fund for Ireland, believing it to be the best instrument to build the peace and prevent a return to violence in Northern Ireland," the IAD statement concluded.
Sinn Féin President, Gerry Adams, spoke of his "deep sadness" at the death of Congressman Payne.
Said Adams: "Donald Payne was a champion for the disadvantaged and downtrodden in the United States and around the world. He devoted his life to promoting civil rights, equality and democracy. I met Donald many times both in Washington and in Ireland.
"He was always very interested in Ireland and visited the north before the cessations in the mid 1990s. Donald was very supportive of the Irish peace process from the beginning and was a regular participant in briefings which I and other Sinn Féin visitors gave to political leaders on Capitol Hill.
"He was also a frequent member of Congressional delegations that visited Ireland. Donald will also be fondly remembered by citizens on the Garvaghy Road, in north Belfast and the Short Strand which he visited at a time when efforts were being made to force controversial orange marches through those districts.
"His experience as a civil rights campaigner also resonated with his audience in west Belfast when he spoke there during the west Belfast Féile on the issue of equality and anti-discrimination legislation.
"Donald was a thoughtful, generous, and well informed politician who was personally dedicated to improving conditions for others and who worked diligently on behalf of his constituents and of his party.
"He will be remembered with gratitude and real affection for his support at difficult and dangerous times in Ireland and elsewhere in the world. He will be sadly missed by his own constituents and by people the world over. I want to extend by sincerest regrets and deepest sympathy to his family and friends."
