Good Friday Agreement architect Seamus Mallon dead at 83, his party says

Former Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon, one of the architects of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, died on Friday aged 83, his Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) said.

Mallon was a key member of the SDLP team that helped bring peace to Northern Ireland by ending three decades of violence between Catholic nationalists seeking union with Ireland and Protestant unionists wanting Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom.

"Ireland has lost one of its most fierce champions for justice, equality and peace. Seamus Mallon was a force of nature," SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said in a statement.