Tributes paid to late Derry rail campaigner Colm Joyce who has died suddenly

The father-of-two was a founding member of the Into the West group, which has been campaigning for better rail connections to Derry for the past two decades.

His friends and colleagues said they were shocked and saddened to learn of Colm's sudden death.

In a joint statement Eamonn McCann and Jim McBride, on behalf of ITW, said: "It is not putting it too high to say that if it hadn’t been for Colm there probably wouldn’t be a rail link today between Derry and Belfast.

"It was when a plan emerged to close Derry’s last remaining rail connection that Colm, a train driver based at the Waterside station, collected a few of us together and presided over the formation of our rail lobby. Ever since, he has been a mentor and a source of inspiration for us all."

Messrs. McCann and McBride said that Colm's premature death has hit everyone in Into The West hard.

"We have yet to come to terms with it. We have lost a dear friend as well as a dedicated fellow campaigner. We tender our deepest sympathy to his wife, Aisling and their sons, Matthew and Pearse.

"Colm was an active and enthusiastic member of his union, Unite. We will in time organise an appropriate celebration of Colm’s life and pay proper tribute to his role in fighting for rail and for the interests of the north west," they said.