A little bit of history was made last Sunday night when Ian Paisley delivered his last sermon from the pulpit. The former Northern Ireland First Minister and Democratic Unionist Party leader has already retired from politics and now his ministry, which has spanned more than 60 years, is also winding down.

The 85-year-old gave his last sermon at the packed Martyrs’ Memorial Church on the Ravenhill Road in Belfast.

Ahead of his final sermon, Dr Paisley said he was relinquishing some duties as he prepared to write his memoirs.

“People are facing the fact that we’re all getting older and they have to look that straight in the face; you can’t go on forever,” Dr Paisley said.

He said he didn’t have any unfulfilled ambitions, apart from writing about some of the “very interesting happenings” he has experienced in his life.

“There’s a public image of man and a private image and I think the interesting thing is the comparison of both,” Dr Paisley said.

“We’re all weak and the strongest man is only a pygmy. I’m delighted that people are prepared to listen to me.”

Last month he broke the news to his congregation that he was standing down from the Free Presbyterian Church.

But last night he vowed not to do a disappearing act from the church he helped establish 60 years ago.