Lord Janric Craig, 3rd Viscount Craigavon, grandson of First Northern Ireland Prime Minister James Craig was an 'astonishingly straightforward man'

Lord Janric Craig, 3rd Viscount Craigavon, the grandson of former UUP leader James Craig, passed away at 80 years of age on Monday.

A crossbench peer for some 50 years, he was born in 1944 and was educated at Eton College and the University of London.

Qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1969, in 1974 he succeeded to his father's title and entered the House of Lords.

He was an enthusiastic supporter of the Lurgan based charity, the Ancre Somme Association, which aims to educate and commemorate the Battle of the Somme and subsequent conflicts.

Patron Lt Col Ant B Maher had the honour of meeting the Viscount a number of times and established "a tremendous relationship" with him.

"He was an astonishingly straightforward man, who knew what he wanted and was used to getting it," he said.

"He shared with me that he had never made comment in the House of Lords on Northern Ireland, a fact he explained quietly over a cup of coffee in a rather shy manner, because he as Viscount Craigavon would be jumped upon and quoted.

"He also admitted to me that he had never visited Ulster and at this stage of his life he would be afraid of not understanding NI and all its social nuances and that he was sure people would expect a NI Viscount to know and understand as second nature."

As 3rd Viscount Craigavon he was "exceptionally generous" to the association in donating numerous "priceless" pieces of the 1st Viscount’s uniforms and the Craigavon’s families’ possessions. including two beautiful chairs from the Queen’s Coronation in 1953.”

(The items are on display in the courtyard of Brownlow House, Monday to Saturday 10-2pm).

He attended the Lords “as regular as clockwork” and participated in what he considered his civic duty, throughout his life, he added.

He was recognised by several foreign nations for his "sterling work” with honorary titles from Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

Lt Col Maher noted that he had been a lifelong Humanist who never married, and so the title of Viscount Craigavon will die with him.

Mr Lexi Davidson, Community Development Officer with the association, said he contacted the Viscount in 2020 anticipating Northern Ireland's centenary and plans to commemorate his grandfather.

"I honestly never thought I would hear back from him, but he made contact, and over the years we had regular, lengthy conversations on the phone,” he said.

"Sadly, I never got to meet him, but I have no doubt, from our conversations and emails, that he was pleased with the project we carried out in memory of his grandfather within the borough named after him."

"We had hoped that he would pay a visit to Northern Ireland, as he was keen to visit the resting place of his grandparents at Stormont, and also the family home, Craigavon House, but sadly it wasn't to be.”

He added: “We will ensure that anyone who visits us at Brownlow House is told about the man, his family, and the kindness he showed our small charity."