South Africa yesterday marked two decades of multi-racial democracy, still feeling the loss of Nelson Mandela and in sombre mood just 10 days before elections which are expected to keep the African National Congress (ANC) party in power.

After watching the films Mandela, The Long Walk to Freedom and 12 Years a Slave, I’m glad that I’m an Irish Catholic. Our community has never had a secular empire.

The president of South Africa has led tributes to Nelson Mandela, describing him as a “beacon of hope”, as the anti-apartheid hero was laid to rest in a family plot.

Nelson Mandela was buried yesterday in the African ground that he loved after a funeral ceremony that included a 21-gun salute, fly-overs by military aircraft, and a eulogy by a traditional leader wearing an animal skin.

Nelson Mandela guided South Africa from the shackles of apartheid to multi-racial democracy, as an icon of peace and reconciliation who came to embody the struggle for justice globally.

The obituary of the late former president as taken from the state funeral programme:

Leaders and family members have praised Nelson Mandela as a man and president who united his nation by embracing forgiveness and reconciliation.

Anti-apartheid struggle stalwart Ahmed Kathrada’s voice wavered yesterday as he paid a moving final tribute to his fellow freedom fighter and close friend Nelson Mandela.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny rightly condemned those responsible for the mindless bombing outside a busy Belfast restaurant on Friday night.