A minute’s silence was held at Stormont on Monday in memory of the DUP Assembly member Christopher Stalford, who died suddenly at the weekend.
At the special plenary sitting representatives from all political parties paid tribute to Mr Stalford and spoke of their shock and sadness at his death.
Assembly business was then adjourned for the day with the agreement of the parties.
Mr Stalford, who was 39, had represented South Belfast at Stormont since 2016 and had been the Assembly’s principal deputy speaker since 2020.
Originally from the Annadale area of south Belfast, Mr Stalford had been a councillor in Belfast since 2005 and was elected High Sheriff of Belfast in 2010. He was deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast in 2013/14.
He is survived by his wife Laura and four young children.
Opening the tributes in the Assembly the Speaker Alex Maskey, spoke of the “deep sense of sadness across the political spectrum in Northern Ireland.
“None of us would have ever imagined we would be here today in these circumstances for a member who had so much more to give,” he said.
The DUP deputy leader, Paula Bradley, wiped away tears as she told MLAs “words cannot adequately describe the sense of pain and loss which is felt on these benches for a man that meant so much to so many of us.”
She said “nothing meant more” to Mr Stalford than his family and “the pride and joy he felt for them was evident in every conversation he had.”
The Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill - who was not in the chamber but was self-isolating at home due to Covid-19 - tweeted that watching the tributes she was “struck by the shared sense of loss across the political spectrum. I am reminded that there is far more that unites us than divides us. Rest in peace Christopher.”
The SDLP deputy leader Nichola Mallon paid tribute to Mr Stalford as “challenging, argumentative, ambitious, combative during debates”, but also “kind, quick-witted, fiercely intelligent and very, very funny”.
“Christopher Stalford was unique, he loved politics, he loved being a public representative, he enjoyed the cut and thrust of debate more than I would say any other member of this House,” she said.
The UUP leader Doug Beattie said he had “no adequate words, I have no words which will quench the anguish of his party colleagues sitting here today.
“Christopher was unique, he was a fierce debater and he had a cracking wit” and while he was “totally immersed in politics, there was none like him” he was “also a father, a husband, a son, and every interaction I ever had with Christopher, that is what came out in spades.”
The Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said that though they came from different political backgrounds and had different political views, they had a lot in common.
“We were both fiercely proud of coming from working-class backgrounds, we both had a passion for the communities we grew up in which drove us into politics, and we both believed passionately that education was the route to lift people permanently out of disadvantage.
“Despite the fact that we were opponents, we were also friends,” she said.
The DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson told the BBC on Monday morning the party was still in shock at Mr Stalford’s death but was “immensely appreciative of the many messages we have received from political colleagues right across the political spectrum in Northern Ireland, and indeed from beyond Northern Ireland as well.”
He said Mr Stalford was “someone who believed passionately in Northern Ireland.
“His desire to create a better future for his children, to give them the hope of that future was something which drove him on,” he said.
- Additional reporting PA.
