Former News Letter political editor Mervyn Pauley disliked Northern Ireland's tribal division
Journalists, friends and family attended the funeral of the News Letter’s former political editor Mervyn Pauley yesterday.
Mr Pauley oversaw politics coverage at the paper at major points in Northern Ireland’s recent history, including the Belfast Agreement of 1998.
Mourners at Rosemary Presbyterian Church in north Belfast heard how one of his great loves in fact was sport, playing rugby at Ballymena Academy and potentially good enough to have enjoyed a post-school career in the game, and also enjoying playing golf until his 80s.
Mr Pauley had never intended to be a political journalist, Rev Philip McCrea told the service of thanksgiving, and as he became more and more established and respected in that role, he suffered from ‘imposter syndrome’, fearing he would be found out.
In a tribute penned by the family, read out by Rev McCrea, the congregation heard about how Mr Pauley was the target of threats during the Troubles, but didn’t upset his family by talking about them. Instead he liked to scare them with practical jokes. He was a good-humoured man, who was slow to anger.
He lived in north Belfast all through his adulthood, including the worst points of the violence, when many families had to move home. He was a long-time churchgoer, latterly at Rosemary.
Mr Pauley, mourners were told, was wary of some political ideologies and disliked the tribal division.
Among the mourners were the News Letter editor Ben Lowry and former reporters at the paper Geoff Hill, Noel McAdam and Gareth Gordon, as well as the long-standing journalist and commentator Fionnuala O'Connor and former colleagues from the long defunct Northern Whig.
Mr Pauley, who was born in 1936, met his wife Marie when he was 18 and they were married in 1959. He was father to Stephen, Michael, Karen, father-in-law to Edel and Carolyn, grandfather of Ellen, David, Ciara, Damien and great grandfather of Kierna, Rory, Melissa, Matthew, Sofia, Emily, Jake and Zach. Brother to Joan and brother-in-law to Alex.
Since Mr Pauley’s death on Sunday, former colleagues including Sam Butler, Billy Kennedy and Mark Simpson have paid tribute to him.