Personal Life
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley was born in Armagh, County Armagh and brought up in the town of Ballymena, County Antrim, where his father James Kyle Paisley was an Independent Baptist pastor. His father had served in the Ulster Volunteers under Edward Carson.
He married Eileen Cassells on 13 October 1956. They have five children, three daughters Sharon, Rhonda and Cherith and twin sons, Kyle and Ian. Three of their children have followed their father into politics or religion: Kyle is a Free Presbyterian minister; Ian is a DUP MP; and Rhonda, a retired DUP councillor. He has a brother, Harold, who is also an evangelical fundamentalist.
Following rumours and a marked change in his appearance, it was confirmed in July 2004 that Paisley had been undergoing tests for an undisclosed illness and in 2005 Ian Paisley, Jr. confirmed that his father had been gravely ill. Paisley himself later admitted that he had "walked in death's shadow."
In February 2012, Paisley was admitted to hospital with heart problems. Jim Flanagan, editor of the Ballymena Guardian, who has spoken to close family friends, said Mr Paisley had been able to communicate "to some degree" with family members.
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