== Cross-Border, Cross-Community appeal == 

 Growing up near Belfast in the 1970s, I gained the impression that he was viewed as "one of our own" by a broad swath of the community, regardless of religion or national allegiance.  But I don't have any sources to cite on this.  Is anyone aware of source material that would confirm (or refute) that he was one cultural phenomenon that united us, when there was so much dividing us?