Ian Paisley was known for his thundering voice and powerful rhetoric.
But his ability to deliver a commanding speech originated in the church – his father was a Baptist minister and his mother a preacher. Paisley went on to become a preacher himself, giving his first sermon aged 16. He served as the founding member of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster for 57 years.
His learned oratory skills were placed for his later career in politics, eventually becoming First Minister of Northern Ireland in May 2007.
In pictures: Ian Paisley's most caustic quotes
In pictures: Ian Paisley's most caustic quotes
1/15 On Pope John Paul II:
"He is the scarlet woman of Rome."
2/15 On Catholics:
"They breed like rabbits and multiply like vermin."
3/15 On negotiating with Sinn Féin:
"I am not going to sit down with bloodthirsty monsters who have been killing and terrifying my people."
4/15 On line dancing:
"Line dancing is as sinful as any other type of dancing, with its sexual gestures and touching. It is an incitement to lust."
5/15 On alcohol:
"The devil's buttermilk"
6/15 On why he chose to eat boiled eggs at a meeting in London:
"Because it would be hard for you to poison them."
7/15 On Gerry Adams:
"I will never sit down with Gerry Adams ... he'd sit with anyone. He'd sit down with the devil. In fact, Adams does sit down with the devil."
8/15 On the gay community:
“Save Ulster from sodomy!”
9/15 His address to Pope John Paul II:
“I denounce you, Anti-Christ! I refuse you as Christ’s enemy and Antichrist with all your false doctrine.”
10/15 His request to reporters who he suspected had been drinking:
“Let me smell your breath first, son.”
11/15 On the Queen:
"She is now a parrot of the Labour government."
12/15 On the Queen Mother:
"Her visit to the Vatican was spiritual fornication and adultery with the Antichrist."
13/15 On the European Union:
"A beast ridden by the harlot Catholic church."
14/15 On the Roman Catholic church:
"Seed of the serpent … Her clothes reek of the brimstone of the pit. Her words and opinions label her the parrot of Beelzebub, her father."
15/15 To his rival Ulster Unionist leader of the 1980s, Lord Molyneaux:
"You are a Judas Iscariot."
1/15 On Pope John Paul II:
"He is the scarlet woman of Rome."
2/15 On Catholics:
"They breed like rabbits and multiply like vermin."
3/15 On negotiating with Sinn Féin:
"I am not going to sit down with bloodthirsty monsters who have been killing and terrifying my people."
4/15 On line dancing:
"Line dancing is as sinful as any other type of dancing, with its sexual gestures and touching. It is an incitement to lust."
5/15 On alcohol:
"The devil's buttermilk"
6/15 On why he chose to eat boiled eggs at a meeting in London:
"Because it would be hard for you to poison them."
7/15 On Gerry Adams:
"I will never sit down with Gerry Adams ... he'd sit with anyone. He'd sit down with the devil. In fact, Adams does sit down with the devil."
8/15 On the gay community:
“Save Ulster from sodomy!”
9/15 His address to Pope John Paul II:
“I denounce you, Anti-Christ! I refuse you as Christ’s enemy and Antichrist with all your false doctrine.”
10/15 His request to reporters who he suspected had been drinking:
“Let me smell your breath first, son.”
11/15 On the Queen:
"She is now a parrot of the Labour government."
12/15 On the Queen Mother:
"Her visit to the Vatican was spiritual fornication and adultery with the Antichrist."
13/15 On the European Union:
"A beast ridden by the harlot Catholic church."
14/15 On the Roman Catholic church:
"Seed of the serpent … Her clothes reek of the brimstone of the pit. Her words and opinions label her the parrot of Beelzebub, her father."
15/15 To his rival Ulster Unionist leader of the 1980s, Lord Molyneaux:
"You are a Judas Iscariot."
Never shy of making a bold statement, he once said of Catholics that “they breed like rabbits and multiply like vermin” and described Pope John Paul II as “the scarlet woman of Rome” and Pope John Paul II as the “antichrist”.
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