David Trimble: Streets of his former constituency ring with praise, respect and sadness - especially in light of the Good Friday Agreement

The town is in the Upper Bann parliamentary constituency, which he held from 1990 to 2005, during which time he both led unionism into and beyond the Good Friday Agreement (GFA).

Hugh Clarke believed the peer made many major sacrifices to secure the deal.

“David Trimble was a man who took great risks, [and] probably did himself a disservice and his party a disservice,” he said.”But he did a lot of good because without him I think we would be in a lot worse state”.

Mr Clarke was of the view that the peer had not looked well in recent media appearances. “So I sort of expected it,” he said of his death.

Lord Trimble wrote recently in the Daily Telegraph of the major sacrifices and security risks he faced by pressing forward to secure the GFA - and how he believed it was being undermined by the NI Protocol.

Mr Clarke said he was not surprised. “I can understand the pressure he must have been under and I think very few people could have withstood that,” he added.

Walter Thompson from Banbridge said he felt for the Trimble family at this time but was the only person to offer some criticism of the peer.

“He did a good job getting us to where we are now,” he said. “He got the good Friday Agreement done - but there were other things he let us down on.”

He believed Lord Trimble could have done more to preserve the Orange Order parade along the Garvaghy Road to Drumcree in Portadown in the late 1990s.”

“When we were looking to keep our parade going in Portadown he never really helped much. He tried the first couple of years but then he left us.”

Mr Thompson criticised the rioting which sometimes accompanied the dispute and said he believed that Lord Trimble could have preserved the parade through talks instead.However he concluded that overall, the peer did “a good job” for NI and that his death was “a big loss”

Banbridge sisters Mrs Winifred Irvine and Mrs Viona Hanna were effusive in their praise for the Former First Minister.

Winifred said his death was “very sad”. She added: “He was a good man. He did a lot for the community and he is very well thought of. I liked him a lot.” In particular she highlighted his achievement with the GFA.

“I second all of that,” Viona added. “He was very good and was all for the working class person. He was a very good man. I couldn’t believe it when I heard it on the news. He will be sadly missed.”

Melanie McMurray from Rathfriland said her family had been “very shocked and sad” to hear the news.

“He had done a lot for Northern Ireland in terms of trying to bring peace to our land. It is just very sad. He did try his best during difficult times.”

She described memories of watching the peer on TV “running up and down the road” at Drumcree and “trying to do his bit in difficult times.”

Anna Cruikshank said that as a teenager in Lurgan she was inspired by his achievements.

“Whenever I think of Lord Trimble I think of being in my very early teens in secondary school at the time of the Good Friday Agreement,” she said.

“For me when I think of Lord Trimble I think of his key role that he played in the peace process and reconciliation and the formation of the Good Friday Agreement.”

“His dedication and his heart and passion for bringing that about and the key role that he played in that whole process - that would be one of my key memories. When I think of a politician in Northern Ireland he would be one of the key figures that I would think of.”

When the GFA was signed in 1998 she was attending secondary school in Lurgan.Thinking back to division in that town at the time, as a teenager the GFA caused her to hope the agreement might change her community for the better. In 1998 she wondered: “What does this look like for this town and for those of us who live and go to school here?”

Edel Brennan, who is originally from Poyntzpass, admired the example set by then First and Deputy First Ministers David Trimble and Seamus Mallon following a brutal double murder in the town in 1998. Protestant Philip Allen, 34, and his Catholic friend Damien Trainor, 25, died in a hail of bullets when loyalist gunmen burst into the bar in the village.

“I remember David Trimble and Seamus Mallon coming out onto the street and standing united and really saying that this was not on,” she said. “It was a country village and everybody got on well together, a farming community. And I just remember that everybody was very united and the whole village came together. And I just remember those two figures - one from the Protestant community and one from the Catholic community. I really appreciated that, definitely.”

Lord Trimble was a key figure in the peace process who helped her generation get things “into perspective so that people could live together - and none of this bickering - on either side,” she added.

Hazel Skelly was visibly saddened by his death.

“I just think it is awful news because I know he worked hard for Northern Ireland,” she said. “I am just so sorry to hear that news.” She paid tribute to the hard work he put in to challenge the NI Protocol - which she hopes will “come to an end”.

And she commended him for his work with SDLP leader John Hume in securing the GFA. “I thought that was good. I really did think that was what was needed, truthfully, for Northern Ireland.”

Jackie Craig was a man of few words, but who summed up what the majority of Banbridge was clearly thinking.

“It was very sad to hear,” he said. “He made a very good contribution to Northern Ireland.”