Statement from Taoiseach Simon Harris on the death of Nell McCafferty

It is with great sadness that I learned this morning of the death of journalist and campaigner Nell McCafferty.

Nell was fierce, fearless and fiery. If she was in the room or in the debate, you knew about it.

Her passion and wrath was not scattergun, it had a laser-like focus on calling out inequality and injustice. She suffered no fools but had a kindness and warmth for many. Her wit and Derry turn of phrase made her impossible to ignore.

As one of the women who took the train in 1971, she set in train an unstoppable wave for equality and a changing of Ireland for the better. That change has not yet reached its conclusion but it would be nowhere if it wasn’t for warriors like Nell.

In an Ireland trying to emerge from the shadows and find who it was, Nell McCafferty was one of the people who knew exactly who she was and wasn’t afraid to enter every battle for gay and women’s rights. We all owe her a great debt for this.

Nell McCafferty left Ireland a much better place than she found it and she played her part with spirit and style.

May she rest in peace.