Neill

First Minister Michelle O'Neill has said it was a "huge honour" to be at Pope Francis' funeral, representing "all those people at home who looked towards him for spiritual leadership".

O'Neill, who cut short a family holiday to attend, said it was a "huge historic moment".

Speaking to BBC News NI after the funeral, O'Neill called Pope Francis "a man of humility, a man who practised what he preached and was very much on the side of the marginalised and of the poor, who spoke up against injustice wherever he saw it".

O'Neill said she was "proud" to attend the funeral "paying her respects on behalf of everyone at home who cherished his leadership and looked to him as a spiritual and moral guide".

O'Neill had cut short a family holiday so that plans could be made to attend the funeral.