WEST Belfast man Terry Sharpe has passed away at the age of 104

A post from Clonard Monastery said the Kashmir Road man passed away in Spain.

Terry was the son of Albert and Margaret Sharpe. His father, Albert, was an actor best known for his role as Darby in Darby O’Gill and the Little People.

Born on August 27, 1921, Terry grew up in the Oldpark area of North Belfast before his family moved to Iveagh in West Belfast.

He moved to the Springfield Road when he got married in 1946 and had three sons.

He worked in the coach building business, becoming a signwriter and is perhaps more famously known for painting the Bushmills bottles on the old Ulsterbus.

His son, Terry Jr was the lead singer with The Adventures, who had several hits in the 1980s.

In a post on Facebook, Clonard Monastery paid tribute to Terry, describing him as a "faithful member of our worshipping community in Clonard".

"Terry attended the 9.30am Mass faithfully each morning. He passed away in Spain at the remarkable age of 104.

"Terry was a man of deep faith and his life bore quiet witness to it.

"He gave generously of his time, serving as a church steward during the Solemn Novena some years ago.

"Living locally, Terry was well known and highly regarded by his neighbours, friends, and all who were part of the Clonard community.

"The Redemptorist community, staff, volunteers, and the faith community of Clonard Monastery offer our deepest sympathy to his family, and all his neighbours and friends.
May he rest in God’s eternal peace."

In an interview with the Andersonstown News on his 100th birthday Terry spoke about his father's acting career which took him from the stage to Hollywood.

“He was quite successful and made quite a number of films," he recalled. "I went into the house one day and he was filling in his income tax forms and I told him to put down retired. He said no and insisted on putting down semi-retired.
 
“Anyhow, he got an audition for Darby O’Gill and when I saw the script I thought it was a bit of a joke but it turned out to be quite a successful film.
 
“My father got on very well with Walt Disney. Walt was a very nice man and he was very good to my Da. He even sent us over boxes of toys for the kids.
 
“My mother went over to LA with him to film and I remember reading Sean Connery’s autobiography and he said that all of the Irish crowd were over – it was like the Fatima Mansions. He wrote that Albert Sharpe knew where all of the shebeens were in LA so he saved the day.”