TRIBUTES have been paid to teacher and lawyer Niall Ó Murchú who has died after a short illness.

Niall (50), a father-of-four and partner of Sinn Féin councillor Rosie Kinnear, passed away on Tuesday.

Originally from Ardoyne, Mr Ó Murchú worked as a teacher in St Colm's High School in Twinbrook. He also worked as a legal executive over a number of years and was widely-known in law circles in Belfast having worked in several law firms.

Niall Ó Murchú also worked on several high profile legacy cases.

In a statement, St Colm's High School said: "The Board of Governors, principal, staff and pupils of St Colm’s High School are deeply saddened by the death of our esteemed colleague Niall Ó Murchú.

"Niall joined the St Colm’s family in September 2022 and was a valued member of our Technology and Science departments.

"He will be sorely missed by all members of our school community. Our thoughts and prayers go to his loving family and friends. Mary, Queen of the Gael, pray for him."

Ciarán MacAirt, from Paper Trail (Legacy Archive Research) said Niall will be sorely missed by his family and victims he worked with.

"Niall applied himself to different career paths including law and teaching, although he was rarely happier than when he had tools in his hands plumbing, building or stripping an engine," he said.

"History, politics and people remained his other great passions. These drove his community and charity work and are the foundations of the work we do at Paper Trail.

"When we founded the charity Paper Trail just over 10 years ago, he guaranteed its charitable ethos applied to every section of the community regardless of their background or creed. He ensured our doors were open to any victims and survivors who needed support.

"He had the gift of the gab with a dash of wicked humour and loved helping people in whatever way he could.

"As well as being the Chair of Paper Trail since its foundation, he gave up many days a year as a volunteer to support its charitable work. This included helping to organise protests, speaking at events across Ireland and retrieving thousands of files of information from archives in Britain. He also volunteered on the Victims Forum for many years where he fought for the rights of victims and their families. He was only four weeks old when his teenaged uncle, Ciarán, was murdered by British extremists but he believed that truth and justice belonged to all victims and survivors equally. 

"He will be sorely missed by many campaigning families, but especially the families of the McGurk’s Bar Massacre as Niall devoted every waking minute to supporting our fight for truth and justice. Many will remember him in the thick of every protest or up a ladder repainting our mural. Over the last two decades, he did even more than people realise. 

"His crowning glory, though, was helping to secure new inquests for those murdered in the McGurk’s Bar Massacre just before he was diagnosed with cancer this year.

"He met that battle as he did his activism – head-on, fearless.

"Niall was only 50 years of age and had so much more life to live."

Ardoyne GAC also paid tribute to Niall, who was an "esteemed member" of the club.

"It is with great sadness that Ciceam Ard Eoin have learned of the untimely death of our esteemed member, Niall Ó Murchú, son of our club stalwarts Pat (former chairperson) and Kathleen, brother of Sinead and uncle of Caolan.

"The Murphy family have been at the heart of our club for many years and have not only played on the field with distinction but also dedicated many years serving our club on committees and coaching many of our teams.

"While a big loss to our club, our thoughts are with the Murphy family at this time of loss.

"We will remember you all in our thoughts and prayers. All members are encouraged to attend funeral. Mary, Queen of the Gael, pray for him."