By Brendan Anderson

The death of David Ervine, one of the few politicians who could articulate the concerns of working class Loyalists, has caused widespread shock in his community.

Ervine, 53, a former paramilitary turned politician, was one of the key figures who guided the Loyalist extremist groups towards a ceasefire in 1994.

He was rushed to a Belfast hospital Sunday after having a massive heart attack in his home in the east of the city. Shortly afterwards, he suffered a stroke and hemorrhage and died Monday.

As leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), political wing of the proscribed Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), Ervine was continually sought out by media as an analyst of Loyalism. His fondness for the spotlight and his sharpness during interviews ensured that his tiny party had political clout well beyond its size.

His death deprives the PUP of its single Assembly member. Ervine caused consternation last year when he briefly allied himself to the Ulster Unionist Assembly grouping. In the event of devolved government being restored, Ervine’s move would have given the Ulster Unionist Party an extra place on the Assembly Executive while reducing Sinn Fein’s representation.

In the event, his tactic was declared illegal by the Assembly speaker and the strategy was abandoned.

As a member of the UVF, Ervine was one of the few competent Loyalist bomb makers in the early days of the Irish Troubles and in later years readily admitted he had been prepared to kill. He was arrested in 1974 as he drove an automobile carrying a bomb meant to be detonated in a Catholic bar.

Ervine had left school aged 15 with no qualifications. By the time he was released from prison in 1980, he had taken a university correspondence course and converted to socialism. He joined the PUP and was voted onto Belfast City Council as a representative for East Belfast, later being elected to the Assembly.

He backed the Good Friday Agreement and frequently expressed frustration with fellow Unionists who appeared intent on putting obstacles in the way of the peace process. In recent years, Ervine was hailed as a progressive Unionist and became known as the “favorite Loyalist” of people in the Republic.

Ervine knew he had arrived when he became part of the annual St. Patrick’s Day exodus from Ireland to the U.S. and was invited to the White House during the Clinton administration.

There are those who will find it difficult to forget Ervine’s past as a ruthless Loyalist paramilitary, but there is no doubt that in the past ten years, he did much to guide his people away from violence and towards the politics of peace.

Reaction to Ervine’s came from all quarters. “I got to know David in the mid-1990s when he first traveled to the United States in support of the peace process. I was always impressed by his candor, courage and commitment to ending violence in Northern Ireland. In my opinion, Loyalism could not have had a stronger or more effective voice,” said Congressman Richie Neal, chairman of the Friends of Ireland group in Congress.

Mitchell Reiss, U.S. special envoy on Northern Ireland, also praised Ervine’s contribution to the peace process.

“I greatly admired David’s transformation over the years into an unflinching advocate for a peaceful and political solution in Northern Ireland, and came to value highly his wise counsel. He played a critical role in charting a new and more hopeful course for the people of Northern Ireland. His leadership, candor and wit will be greatly missed,” Reiss said.

In Ireland, Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern said, “His remarkable contribution to the search for a lasting peace on this island was nowhere more evident than in his courageous support for the Good Friday Agreement. He will be particularly remembered and respected for his readiness to reach out to others outside his own community and for his commitment to dialogue in place of old hatreds. “

Ervine is survived by a wife and two sons.