Mourners at funeral of former UDA leader told he made ‘journey' towards reconciliation as service takes place in Dundonald
The funeral of former loyalist paramilitary leader Andy Tyrie has taken place in Dundonald with those gathered told that he embarked on a journey towards reconciliation following the Troubles.
Family and friends of Tyrie gathered at Dundonald Presbyterian Church for the service which took place earlier following his death at the weekend aged 85.
Tyrie was one of the most prominent figures from the early years of the UDA.
He led the terror group from 1973 until 1988, when an attempt on his life led to him quitting.
Tyrie stepped away from politics and the public spotlight some time ago.
His tinted glasses and thick moustache made him a recognisable figure during the 1970s and 1980s.
It is understood Tyrie had been ill for some time.
Images from the service earlier showed family walking behind the hearse carrying Tyrie's coffin.
At the funeral service, Rev William McCully, Minister of Religion at Dundonald Presbyterian Church, said Tyrie was a 'family man and family meant everything to him'.
He spoke of Tyrie donating his kidney to wife, Agnes, and being 'generous in making a sacrifice'.
Rev McCully added: 'But we would be fooling ourselves this morning if our understanding of Andy Tyrie was only just a loving family man. He was a man who was sacrificial.'
The Presbyterian Minister at the Church on the Green said Tyrie's life and history is very public and well documented and one of the things Rev McCully recently learned was a saying of Tyrie's: 'Always forgive and don't be bitter'.
Rev McCully said: 'The topic of forgiveness isn't something much talked about – and sometimes its grossly misunderstood.
'But when it comes to our province, to our community, and to our family, and to us as individuals – it's something that is so desperately needed – but there really is a lot to be forgiven.'
He told those gathered that 'people struggle with forgiveness' and the rawness of the past still endures for people 'on both sides of the divide'.
Rev McCully posed the question to those gathered: 'If forgiveness isn't found and considered – does that then mean that the cycle of bitterness continues?'
Tyrie, he said, found the path to reconciliation when 'he came to faith sometime around 2002/03'.
Rev McCully continued: 'It was obviously a journey – but the journey became clear with the Rev Bobby Allen, who Andy arranged to meet in the park here in Dundonald and where they talked things out.
'It was there that Andy gave his life to Jesus, and the direction of his life changed – all through the Grace of God
''Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found… was blind but now I see'.
'The past behind him – he became a new creation in the Lord Jesus. And when I came to Dundonald – this was the Andy I came to know. And of course he knew he needed forgiveness – but so do we all need the Gospel of Jesus's offer of forgiveness and we also need to take it too.'
A funeral notice for Tyrie added that he 'passed away peacefully after a long illness surrounded by his loving family'.
News Catch Up - Thursday 22 May
"Cherished Husband of Agnes and much loved Dad of Dorothy (Cole), Andrew (Ann) and Linda (John),' it added.
'A very special Granda and Great Granda.
"At home with the Lord.'
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