Sinn Féin has paid warm tributes following the passing of Mickey Brady, former MP and lifelong Republican activist, saying the party and the people of Newry have “lost a giant of the community”.

Brady served both as a member of the Stormont Assembly for Newry and Armagh and as a Westminster MP, earning a reputation as a tireless champion of ordinary people. He was described as a man whose politics and activism were inseparable from the community he grew up in.

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald described the loss as profound. “We have lost one of the very best,” she said.

“A lifelong Republican activist, a champion of people and community, a dedicated public representative as an MLA and MP, utterly committed to his home place of Newry and Armagh. He was a believer in a better future, a United Ireland and an equal society.

“Most of all, Mickey Brady was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. Today our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Caroline, his family and all those who loved him.”

In her statement, Ms McDonald called him a “friend and comrade” and said she had received the news of his death with “deep sadness”. She highlighted his commitment to the people of Newry and Armagh over decades.

“Long before he ever held elected office, Mickey was already known across the community as someone who stood with and by the people,” she said.

“His work in welfare rights and housing advice changed thousands of lives, quietly and without fanfare, year after year.”

She said those same values guided him when he stepped into politics.

“He believed completely in the peace process, in reconciliation, and in a united Ireland built on equality and respect for all,” Ms McDonald added.

“He was also a gentle soul – warm, witty, and unfailingly generous with his time. He treated everyone with respect.”

Brady’s activism stretched back decades. A civil rights campaigner from the Ballybot area of Newry city, he spent more than 25 years helping the most vulnerable in his community access housing and welfare support.

“All too often the only thing that stood between a family and destitution was an intervention by Mickey Brady,” said party colleague, Dáire Hughes MP.

His dedication carried risks. During one Westminster election campaign in London, he faced three death threats in 24 hours, including a warning that a bomb had been left at his family home.

Mr Brady retired from elected politics in 2024, saying it was “time to give younger people a chance”, though he intended to continue working voluntarily for his community.

Paying her tribute, Michelle O’Neill noted that Mr Brady had devoted “more than five decades of his life to community and political activism”.

“His door was always open to people right across the community, and he gave his time generously to everyone who sought his help,” she said.

The First Minister and Sinn Féin deputy leader added she would remember her “dear friend” for his “sharp wit and endless stories”.

“He had a rare ability to lift spirits and bring smiles wherever he went,” she added.

Joe Dwyer of Sinn Féin’s London office said Mr Brady was “a true people’s champion” and as committed to the Irish abroad as he was to Newry.

“Mickey Brady was undoubtedly a working-class hero. His politics was driven by his loyalty to his class. He was a republican, a socialist, and an internationalist to his core.”

He is survived by his wife, children, stepchildren and grandchildren.