Funeral to be held tomorrow ahead of burial in the Bogside

JAMES Martin Pacelli McGuinness, as he was baptised in May 1950, will be buried tomorrow afternoon in his native Derry.

Mr McGuinness’s remains will most likely be laid to rest in the same Bogside graveyard as his parents – a foundry worker and shirt factory seamstress.

His funeral Mass will take place from 2pm at the city’s Long Tower Chapel.

President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Enda Kenny are due to attend, although former British prime minister Tony Blair indicated he would be unable to do so due to prior commitments.

Hundreds of people yesterday accompanied Mr McGuinness’s body home from Altnagelvin Hospital where he died.

His coffin was draped in the Tricolour and onlookers respectfully applauded as his coffin was slowly borne shoulder-high through the streets of his native city.

People turned out en masse to see him returned to the relatively modest home he shared with his large family.

One mourner declared simply: ‘He was a hero’ – a verdict many in the unionist community will dispute.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams and the party’s leader at Stormont, Michelle O’Neill, draped the Tricolour flag over his coffin in William Street.

His remains were then taken by pall bearers through the streets. His wife Bernie stood in for the symbolic bearing of the remains past Free Derry Corner, a key location during Bloody Sunday.

Mr McGuinness’s two sons, Fiachra and Emmet, then shouldered his remains into the family home, where he will repose until the funeral Mass tomorrow.