Funeral takes place for murdered Sinn Fein spy

Saturday, 08, Apr 2006 08:56

The funeral of former British agent Denis Donaldson, who was murdered last week, has taken place in Belfast.

A Requiem Mass was reportedly carried out at his family home, located in the west of the Northern Ireland capital.

His body was laid to rest at the City Cemetery. Less than 100 people attended the service.

Mr Donaldson had previously admitted supplying information to British intelligence during the 1980s, while he was a member of Irish republican party Sinn Fein.

He was subsequently expelled from the party at the end of last year.

He had been paid for spying on the party for 20 years. After his admission, Mr Donaldson had gone into hiding in County Donegal.

It was at his remote cottage that his body was found.

After the discovery of his murder, the IRA issued a statement denying any involvement in the crime, with Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern condemning the murder as "brutal".

The Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain was equally critical of the incident, labelling it as "barbaric".

Denis Donaldson's family reportedly said on Friday that they believed it had not been the IRA that had carried out the murder.