Former peace process adviser Martin Mansergh dies aged 78

Martin Mansergh was an adviser for Fianna Fáil during the peace process

Martin Mansergh, the former Irish government advisor and politician who was a "key figure" during the peace process in Northern Ireland, has died aged 78.

The ex-Fianna Fáil adviser died on a trip to the Sahara which he was on with other retired parliamentarians.

The taoiseach (Irish prime minister) called him a "true Irish republican" who leaves a "proud legacy".

Micheál Martin said: "His contribution to securing peace on this island marks him as a figure who will always be honoured."

'Crucial to the peace process'

"His early, secret negotiations in Belfast on behalf of Taoisigh (Irish prime ministers) and his work through more than a decade were essential in securing the peace settlement and the overcoming of many later hurdles," said Martin.

Mr Mansergh also served as minister for state with responsibility for the Office of Public Works.

He was elected as a senator from 2002 to 2007 and as a TD for Tipperary South from 2007 to 2011.

Former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said he was "a key figure in the efforts to build the peace process and the success of the negotiation leading to the Good Friday Agreement".

Mr Adams added: "He was one of those who met with Sinn Féin in the late 1980s on behalf of Fianna Fáil and we retained a close relationship since then."

Pictured in Los Angeles in 2010, when he was Minister of State, at the Oscar Wilde awards

Irish President Michael D Higgins said he was of "enormous assistance in the period leading up to the Good Friday Agreement and in the very significant contribution which he made to the broader peace process".

He also paid tribute to his courtesy and sense of humour.

'Extraordinary person with a towering intellect'

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern said Mr Mansergh was "an extraordinary person with a towering intellect with the ability to see so many angles of a problem or equally an opportunity".

The Tánaiste (Irish deputy PM) Simon Harris said fewer people were "as consequential in shaping Irish Government policy on Northern Ireland".

He added that "few on the Irish side were more crucial to the peace process, whether through his role as an intermediary or his work to craft a new political and intellectual framework for peace".

Former SDLP leader Mark Durkan said he brought a "bespoke combination of acute historical insight and astute political engagement".

"He had a way with words but perhaps more importantly he was a sharp and careful listener," he said, adding that he had been a "special asset in so many important phases of our peace process".