John Bruton, a former Irish prime minister who led an alliance known as the Rainbow Coalition and played a central role with Britain in an effort to secure peace in Northern Ireland after decades of strife, died on Tuesday in Dublin. His family said his death, in a hospital, followed a long illness; they did not specify the cause. Feted in death across the political spectrum in Britain and Ireland, Mr. Bruton had a long career in the center-right Fine Gael party. He was his country’s prime minister, or Taoiseach (pronounced TEE-shack) in Irish, from 1994 to 1997, a time when Britain was led by Prime Minister John Major of the Conservative Party. The governments in Dublin and London had long acknowledged that they each played a major role in navigating the treacherous sectarian and political divisions of warring Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland.

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Persons: John Bruton, Bruton, John Major Organizations: Rainbow Coalition, Britain, Fine Gael, Conservative Party Locations: Irish, Northern Ireland, Dublin, European, Washington, Britain, Ireland, London