May Blood: Tributes to 'inspirational' campaigner at funeral

Labour peer and trade unionist Baroness Blood has been remembered as an "inspiration" at her funeral in Belfast.

She was the president of the Labour Party in Northern Ireland and was previously involved with the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition.

In 1999, she became the first woman from Northern Ireland to be given a life peerage.

A service of thanksgiving took place at Ballygomartin Presbyterian Church.

Mourners included Sinn Féin deputy leader Michelle O'Neill, Lord Mayor of Belfast Tina Black, Ulster Unionist Party assembly member Mike Nesbitt and United States Consul General in Belfast Paul Narain.

Bronagh Hinds and Monica McWilliams - who co- founded the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition which Baronness Blood was involved with - were also at the funeral, as was actor Jimmy Nesbitt.

The Reverend Glen Jordan, said Baroness Blood "had a real concern for people in our communities and a concern for their futures and especially education".

"May was never concerned about getting anything in return which proves her concern was from the heart."

Paul Caskey, a colleague of Baroness Blood at the Integrated Education Fund, said she was an "inspiration".

The fund works for more schools where Protestant and Catholic children go to school together.

"You only have to read the hundreds of heartfelt tributes and wonderful messages that were received as soon as news of May's passing became known," he added.

"Messages from right across the community, from all sections of society, from presidents to former colleagues in the mill, from Protestants and Catholics, from unionists and nationalists alike.

"Everyone, and I mean everyone, had huge respect for our May."

Mr Caskey said Baroness Blood, who died last month aged 84, was a "genuine woman of strong principles, committed to social justice and someone of real genuine compassion".

He also recalled her "honest, straight talking, no-nonsense, common-sense approach, that earned her huge respect".

Tributes were also delivered at the service by a number of family members.

May Blood began work at 14 in the Blackstaff Linen Mill in west Belfast.

After the closure of the mill, she ran a training project for long-term unemployed men in the Shankill Road area and from 1993 to 1999 worked for the Greater Shankill Partnership.

During the 1970s, Baroness Blood actively supported campaigns for legislation for men and women to receive equal pay and for an end to sex discrimination.

Her other campaigns within Blackstaff Mill included battling to reduce working hours, negotiating for holiday pay and Saturday overtime rates, and campaigning for a minimum wage for the women working in the mill offices.

She was made an MBE in 1995 for her work on labour relations.

In the 1990s, Baroness Blood played a key role in the formation of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition.

The political party played a significant role in the peace talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

On receiving her place in the House of Lords, she selected the title Baroness Blood of Blackwatertown.

She represented the Labour Party until she stepped down from the Lords in 2018.