The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
‘Peacemaker’ with mixed legacy
Former paramilitary and Deputy First Minister laid to rest
Hundreds of people gathered in Derry to accompany the body of Martin McGuinness on his final journey home.
Northern Ireland’s former deputy first minister and an ex-IRA commander died overnight after a short illness.
An emotional Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said his long-time friend was a passionate republican who worked passionately for reconciliation in Ireland. “We are very, very sad that we lost him overnight,” he said.
Crowds braved snow and sleet in Mr McGuinness’s native Derry to accompany his coffin, draped in an Irish tricolour, from the funeral parlour to his home in the Bogside. Another tricolour flag flew at half-mast near the Bogside’s landmark Free Derry Corner.
Prime Minister Theresa May, Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny, ex-US president Bill Clinton and former Democratic Unionist first ministers Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster all praised Mr McGuinness’s contribution to the peace process. But among the tributes there were also strong words from some IRA victims not prepared to forgive the republican for his paramilitary past.
John Eaglesham, whose father – a postman and part-time soldier – was shot dead by the IRA in 1978, said: “People say, about what he has done for the peace process – they seem to forget that for a very, very long time he wasn’t part of the solution, he was part of the problem – in fact, he was the main part of the problem.”
Mr McGuinness, who died from a rare heart condition, completed an extraordinary political journey from an IRA leader in Derry to sharing power and a remarkable friendship with erstwhile foe, Democratic Unionist leader Dr Ian Paisley.
He also struck up a warm relationship with the Queen, whom he praised for her contribution to peace. Her Majesty is to send a personal message to Mr McGuinness’s family.
Mr Clinton said: “He believed in a shared future, and refused to live in the past, a lesson all of us who remain should learn and live by. May he rest in peace.”
“While I can never condone the path he took in the earlier part of his life, Martin McGuinness ultimately played a defining role in leading the republican movement away from violence,” Mrs May said.
Stephen Gault, whose father Samuel died in the IRA’s notorious ‘Poppy Day’ bombing in Enniskillen in 1987, said he would remember Mr McGuinness only as a “terrorist”.
“If he had been repentant, my thoughts might have been slightly different,” he said. “But he took to his grave proud that he served in the IRA. There was no remorse or repentance from him, even up to his death.”
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair credited his efforts to bring about an end to violence. “Once he became the peacemaker, he became it wholeheartedly,” Mr Blair said.
President of Ireland Michael D Higgins said: “Not only did Martin come to believe that peace must prevail, he committed himself to working tirelessly to that end.”