Rishi Sunak and Everton FC among those paying respects to late journalist Henry McDonald

Henry had been the News Letter political editor for almost a year, having had a 23-year association with The Guardian and The Observer newspapers. He died last Sunday at the age of 57.

On Saturday his image lit up the big screen at Everton’s Goodison Park while a minute of applause took place at Cliftonville’s Solitude as a mark of respect.

At the weekend Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wrote to Henry’s sister Cathy to express his condolences and declare his admiration for her brother.

Mr Sunak wrote: “I have the greatest admiration for Henry's distinguished career in journalism and as an author. The clarity and eloquence of his reporting has earned him so many fans across the country and around the world.”

Henry’s first break into journalism was with the Irish News between 1989 and 1991, including being sent to the Middle East to report on the Gulf War.

His first book was published in 1993 'Irishbatt’ charted the history of the Irish military's UN peacekeeping operations in Lebanon. He went on to co-author books on the INLA, UVF and UDA as well as the first biography of David Trimble.

His two works of fiction – The Swinging Detective and Two Souls – were published in 2017 and 2019 to critical acclaim.

Henry will be buried tomorrow (Tuesday) after a funeral service at the Oh Yeah centre in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast.