The very private funeral of the Rev Ian Paisley took place yesterday in the graveyard of Ballygowan Free Presbyterian Church in Co Down.

As the late first minister and DUP leader's wife Eileen and members of the Paisley family gathered at the graveside shortly after noon yesterday political leaders from across the divide paid tribute to Dr Paisley in the Northern Assembly.

At Dr Paisley’s request, his funeral service at his home on Cyprus Avenue in east Belfast and his interment in Co Down were private. The Paisley family went to the trouble of covering the plot where Dr Paisley was interred with a small marquee to ensure the final part of the service was shielded from the public eye.

Some 20 family members attended the funeral and among those who helped carry the coffin was Ian Paisley junior, who succeeded Dr Paisley as MP for North Antrim. A lone piper led the cortege. A memorial service will be held for Dr Paisley at a later date.

Representatives of all parties – the DUP, Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Ulster Unionist Party, Alliance the Traditional Unionist Voice party, the Greens, the UK Independence Party and NI21 – gathered at the Stormont Assembly chamber to reflect on a controversial leader who made his mark over six decades in politics.

Ukip Assembly member David McNarry recorded a simple truth when he said, “Without Ian Paisley saying yes and embracing powersharing, this Assembly would not be here today and we would not be in a position to be paying this tribute.”

His successor as First Minister Peter Robinson said that in Northern Ireland Dr Paisley "provided firm and decisive leadership when it needed it most and when it lacked it most". He said Dr Paisley was the undisputed leader of unionism and that he outclassed all around him.

Radiated passion

“In the storm, he was oak and granite. In the sunshine, he radiated passion and commitment,” said Mr Robinson. He said he delivered his message with clarity, certainty, strength and conviction. Since his death, politics seemed a little less colourful and exciting.

“Ian Paisley was a remarkable man, whose long career in public life has left an indelible mark upon all of us who knew him,” he added.

He had “taken his place in the chronicles of Ulster history, alongside the greats of unionism”.

The Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said Dr Paisley’s decision to enter into the powersharing Northern Executive in the spring of 2007 “confounded the international community who had arrived en masse to proclaim yet another glorious failure in the peace process”.

He recalled as an 18- or 19-year-old hearing Dr Paisley’s booming voice in Derry and being “in fear of Ian Paisley”.

He jumped forward to 2007 and said that one of the most memorable experiences of his life was that from the very outset “we hit it off ... and grew to like each other” in their time as First Minister and Deputy First Minister. “In doing so, we confounded the world which was a good thing.”

Food for thought

Looking to the current political divisions at Stormont, Mr McGuinness said Dr Paisley’s “ability, coming from where he came from, to bridge the differences with me” should be “food for thought ... for every single member of this house”.

The SDLP leader Dr Alasdair McDonnell said he and Dr Paisley were friends notwithstanding that over the years they had many disagreements. Offering his condolences to the Paisley family, he said Dr Paisley was a “committed constituency representative and dedicated public servant”.

Huge figure

The Ulster Unionist Party leader

Mike Nesbitt

said Dr Paisley was a “huge figure physically and metaphorically”. Mr Nesbitt remembered his previous career as a journalist and reporting on the former DUP leader.

“Interviewing Ian Paisley was always something of an event. If you had not been admonished, you could not consider yourself a proper journalist,” he said.

Alliance leader David Ford said many people would disagree with many things that Dr Paisley did. That element of his past should not be brushed aside. Some historians might judge him as a man who spent 40 years saying no and, finally, two years saying yes. But when he did the deal and became first minister in 2007, he played his part in ensuring that a working Assembly was created.

In paying respect to him, politicians should make a firm commitment to ensure that Stormont “collectively meets the needs of the people of Northern Ireland”.

TUV leader Jim Allister, who broke away from the DUP over Dr Paisley's decision to share power with Sinn Féin, said he was probably one of the most charismatic politicians that these islands produced in the 20th century.

Nonetheless, he said, part of his legacy was “terrorists in government” and a political system at Stormont “not fit for purpose”.

By any standard, his journey from being “the scourge of republicanism to being the proclaimed friend of an unrepentant IRA commander” was a remarkable one, he added.

After the various tributes, politicians then went to the great hall of Parliament Buildings, Stormont, to sign the book of condolences.