Roma's man won IRA respect

Sunday Mirror, Jun 29, 2008 by JULIAN BROUWER

DERRY beauty Roma Downey's billionaire husband used to be such a ruthless trained killing machine - that the IRA actually RESPECTED him.

These days former soldier Mark Burnett - who made his fortune by creating reality telly shows like "Survivor" and "Apprentice" - lives the high life with Roma, living in a luxury Malibu beach mansion.

But as a young man, he diced death as a Para serving in the "bandit country" of Armagh, before going on to fight in the Falklands.

And Englishman Burnett, who was just 18 when he served his first posting in Northern Ireland, was touched to receive an amazing telegram from his deadly foes, the IRA, who shared a "mutual respect".

Recalls 47-year-old Burnett: "We weren't wandering round the streets of Belfast and Derry doing riot stuff - we were sneaking round the woods on intelligence, looking for things.

"We were working all the time, patrolling. You get shot if you're sitting on your arse, taking it easy.

There was almost a mutual respect with the IRA.

"The day we left the IRA sent a telegram.

It said, 'You're a good unit, you didn't lose a man. But: ours is a lifetime struggle. You were just here for five months'."

The fact Burnett tied the knot with Roma is all the more remarkable because of their very different backgrounds.

'Touched By an Angel' actress Downey is from a nationalist part of Derry and her family actually knew some of those killed on Bloody Sunday.

Roma, who grew up in the Bogside, where 13 civilians were shot dead by Paras, has talked in interviews about how the killings affected her family and community.

After he left Northern Ireland, Burnett's next experiences as a soldier were in the Falklands and last year, on the 25th anniversary of the conflict, he received emails from old colleagues asking if he would join them in a pilgrimage back to the islands.

He declined the offer but says: "I will go back one day. I think it would be quite emotional to go back there.

"The Falklands War was eyeopening.

You're so young, you don't have any ideology - I look back at Ireland now, I didn't even know where I was. Or why I was there.

"On the Falklands, you're trained, you fight these people, and you try to kill 'em all. Next thing you know, you're with the prisoners who survived, and I helped take them to Montevideo.

"And I started to wonder, 'How can I now be interacting with these human beings?' To the point where we were thinking of exchanging addresses with them. They were good guys!"

He believes his training as a Para - and his tough childhood growing up in East London - helped him reinvent himself in America, where he came with just EUR200 in his pocket and began selling T- shirts on Venice Beach.

"My childhood gave me that makedo spirit and ability to laugh about yourself," says Burnett. "Added to the Parachute Regiment training, ready for anything. Overcome, adapt."

Survivor has been a monster-hit and is now in its 17th season but Burnett has had a few TV failures, which he refuses to dwell on.

Burnett and Roma have a combined wealth estimated at nearly half a billion dollars.

Roma, 47, and Burnett married on the beach in Malibu last April and the ceremony was officiated by Roma's former Touched By an Angel co-star Della Reese, who is an a minister.