The coffin is carried from the funeral mass for Martin Mansergh, at St Mary's Church, Tipperary. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire
The late Martin Mansergh took potentially career-ending risks with his involvement in behind-the-scenes talks that led to the Northern Ireland peace process, mourners at his funeral have been told.
Daniel Mansergh said that in the late 1980s, his father, then a political adviser, had persuaded then-taoiseach Charles Haughey, in contravention of the Government’s official policy of not talking to paramilitaries, that contacts with the IRA could be worthwhile.
It was understood, however, that if the initiative “went wrong” and became a public “scandal”, he would be on his own.
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