British tributes: Mr Peter Mandelson led heartfelt Westminster tributes to Mary Holland last night, hailing her as "one of the all-time greats of journalism".
And the editor of the Observer, Mr Roger Alton, reflected a widespread sense of grief in the journalistic world, praising her physical as well as moral courage, while telling of "a wonderful colleague too, funny, charming, and immensely generous with her time and friendship".
Mr Mandelson, the former Northern Ireland secretary, who knew Ms Holland as a personal friend and one-time colleague at London Weekend Television, said: "Mary was one of the all-time greats of journalism, serious, detailed, passionate and truthful. She made a huge contribution in bringing a proper understanding of Ireland to British eyes and ears and she will be greatly missed."
From left and right of the British Labour Party there was recognition of Mary Holland's commitment to inclusivity, and her determination to understand and give voice to all sides in the Northern Ireland conflict over 30 years.
And from two former Conservative secretaries of state, Lord (formerly Sir Patrick) Mayhew and Lord (Peter) Brooke, came confirmation of her influence and reach as that conflict finally forged a new era in the Anglo-Irish relationship.
A senior Labour backbencher, Mr Kevin McNamara, suggested that "her finest hour was when she was sacked by [then Observer editor] Conor Cruise O'Brien" in a disagreement over Northern Ireland coverage.
He told The Irish Times: "Her opening-up of the can of worms that was Northern Ireland in the 1960s had a profound effect on liberal opinion in Britain. Her articles in the Observer at that time demonstrated a brilliant insight, an eye for detail and an appreciation of the significance of the domestic scene in the North that gave an intellectual coherence to the civil rights movement."
However, a former Labour minister, Ms Kate Hoey, one of Ms Holland's oldest friends from the pro-Union camp, stressed: "Mary understood Protestant pain, too."
Ms Hoey continued: "Despite the perception that Mary was from the nationalist stable, she was one of the few journalists who went out of her way to understand the sometimes beleaguered feeling of the Protestant and unionist community in Northern Ireland."
Lord Mayhew of Twysden said: "I always recognised in Mary Holland a very astute and professional journalist. She had an acute and sceptical intelligence and her columns were always an ornament to The Irish Times."
His predecessor, now Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, said: "I read her a lot in the Observer so I felt I knew her before I went to Northern Ireland. Then I got to know her well through the British Irish Association.
"She wrote extraordinarily well, her sources of information and range of interests were wide and her sympathies were broad."
Mr Alton said: "For the best part of three decades Mary Holland was the Observer's correspondent in Ireland. Throughout that turbulent period she provided unmatched coverage. She was hugely respected by all communities, and her insight, her compassion and her clarity of vision made her indispensable reading for anyone interested in the modern world."
He went on: "She was also very brave, not just physically but morally, in often espousing difficult causes. She was a wonderful colleague, too, funny, charming and immensely generous with her time and friendship."