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Martin McGuinness: NI Assembly remembers former minister NI Assembly remembers former minister Martin McGuinness
(about 3 hours later)
The NI Assembly has held a special session to remember its former deputy first minister Martin McGuinness. Northern Ireland may never see Martin McGuinness's like again, unionist leader Arlene Foster has said.
Leaders from across the political spectrum have marked the death of the former IRA leader turned peacemaker. She paid tribute to the former deputy first minister at a special Assembly meeting to mark his death at the age of 66.
The Sinn Féin politician died early on Tuesday in a Londonderry hospital with his family by his side. He was 66 years old. Leaders from across the political spectrum gave their thoughts on the former IRA commander turned peacemaker.
He had been suffering from a rare heart condition. His funeral is to take place in his native Derry on Thursday. But Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister said "his hands drip with the blood of the innocent".
Speaking at PMQs in Westminster, Theresa May said people should not "condone or justify the path he took in the earlier part of his life and we should never forget the victims of terrorism". MLAs gathered at Stormont to remember the Sinn Féin figurehead, with the Assembly recalled to allow them to have their say on his impact on politics in Northern Ireland.
She supported remarks made on Tuesday by former UUP leader Lord Trimble who said Mr McGuinness played an indispensible role in bringing the "republican movement away from violence" and "building a better Northern Ireland". Mr McGuinness died in a hospital in Londonderry with his family by his side on Tuesday after suffering with a rare heart condition. His funeral will take place in his native Derry on Thursday.
At Stormont, meanwhile, Sinn Féin's northern leader Michelle O'Neill described Mr McGuinness as a "political visionary". Theresa May offered her condolences in the House of Commons.
DUP leader Arlene Foster said while "many victims are feeling very hurt", she acknowledged that many republicans were mourning "a leader, a friend, or a mentor". The prime minister said she could not "condone or justify" the part he played in Northern Ireland's Troubles, but praised his "indispensible" role in bringing the "republican movement away from violence".
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said Mr McGuinness' "journey" began in violence but ended "grounded in the principles of peace and partnership". Analysis: Mark Devenport, BBC News NI political editor
Outgoing UUP leader Mike Nesbitt said he was "clearly a man of his word, a straight-dealing individual, and he was a man of political integrity". Negotiations to restore Stormont's power-sharing executive have a 27 March deadline.
Alliance Party leader Naomi Long told the Assembly she did not believe there would be peace in Northern Ireland had it not been for people like Martin McGuinness. It is undoubtedly the case that Martin McGuinness's funeral will mean that the time the Northern Ireland Office thought it had to continue talks before the deadline will be taken up with other matters.
But TUV leader Jim Allister said his thoughts were with the families of IRA victims. What impact will this have on the chances of agreement? They seemed pretty slim prior to Mr McGuinness's death.
"His hands drip with the blood of the innocent," said Mr Allister of Martin McGuinness. They still seem fairly slim, although maybe the death will inject a new mood into some of the discussions.
The flag above Leinster House (Irish parliament) in Dublin will be flown at half-mast on Thursday. Speaking at Stormont, Michelle O'Neill, Mr McGuinness' successor as Sinn Féin's leader in Northern Ireland, said he had been a "political visionary", a "gifted strategist and orator", but above all "our dear and valued friend".
The negotiations to restore Stormont's power-sharing executive have a 27 March deadline. "His leadership and the example he set will continue to inspire those of us who are determined to build a better future for all the generations to come," she said.
It's undoubtedly the case that his funeral will mean that the time that the Northern Ireland Office thought that they had to continue negotiating before the deadline will be taken up with other matters. She added that she would "rededicate our party to completing his life's work and to living through his legacy".
What impact will this have on the chances of agreement? They seemed pretty slim prior to Martin McGuinness' death. Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Mrs Foster shared almost a year heading the Northern Ireland Executive with Mr McGuinness until its collapse in January.
They still, I think, seem fairly slim although maybe it will inject a new mood into some of the discussions. She said his legacy was "complex and challenging" and his death had raised memories of the Troubles among the families of victims of IRA violence.
Vigils were held in Derry, Belfast and Dublin for the republican figurehead, who worked at the heart of the power-sharing government following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Many victims "are feeling very hurt", she added, but she also acknowledged that many nationalists and republicans were mourning "a leader, friend or mentor".
A book of condolence has been opened in a number of places, including Belfast City Hall. History would have the "final say" on Mr McGuinness, she added.
Among the seismic moments in his time in government was the famous handshake with the Queen in 2012 and a toast to her Majesty at Windsor Castle. "It is precisely because of his past, because of his involvement with the IRA in the '70s and '80s, because of his influence within those circles, that he was able to play the role he played in bringing the republican movement towards using peaceful and democratic means," she said.
Politicians and others have been giving their reaction to Mr McGuinness' death, as have those who lost loved ones or were injured in the IRA campaign. "Because of all of that, I doubt we will ever see his like again."
Mr McGuinness became deputy first minister in 2007, standing alongside Democratic Unionist Party leaders Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster. Analysis: Vincent Kearney, BBC News NI home affairs correspondent
A visibly ailing Mr McGuinness stood down from his post in January to protest against the DUP's handling of an energy scandal, in a move that triggered a snap election.
No-one knows how many people Martin McGuinness killed, directly or indirectly.No-one knows how many people Martin McGuinness killed, directly or indirectly.
As a senior commander in the Provisional IRA for many years, there is no doubt there was blood on his hands.As a senior commander in the Provisional IRA for many years, there is no doubt there was blood on his hands.
Security sources say he went on to become chief of staff of the organisation from the early 1980s, right through until the end of the IRA's campaign of violence.Security sources say he went on to become chief of staff of the organisation from the early 1980s, right through until the end of the IRA's campaign of violence.
Nothing happened in Derry without him knowing.Nothing happened in Derry without him knowing.
Read more here. Read more
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said: "He was a passionate republican who worked tirelessly for peace and reconciliation and for the re-unification of his country. But above all he loved his family and the people of Derry and he was immensely proud of both." Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader Colum Eastwood said Mr McGuinness' "journey" began in violence but ended "grounded in the principles of peace and partnership".
Those who lost loved ones, or were injured in the IRA's bombing campaigns, harbour painful memories. He praised his fellow Derryman for his "generosity of spirit", but said victims of the Troubles should also be remembered.
Some said the pain had been soothed by McGuinness' willingness to compromise for peace in Northern Ireland. Others were less forgiving. Mr Eastwood told MLAs their job now was to "do what what Martin McGuinness would've wanted us to do" in breaking the political deadlock at Stormont.
Martin McGuinness grew up in Derry's Bogside, radicalised, he said, by discrimination and murder in his city. Mike Nesbitt, the outgoing Ulster Unionist leader, said Mr McGuinness was "clearly a man of his word" and one of "political integrity".
In 1972, at the age of 21, he was second-in-command of the IRA in Derry at the time of Bloody Sunday, when 14 civil rights protesters were killed in the city by soldiers. "If unionism has anything to learn from Martin McGuinness it is the importance of outreach," he said.
The years that followed saw the IRA hunger strikes, the Brighton bombing when Margaret Thatcher and the Tory Party conference were targeted and the Enniskillen bomb in 1987, in which 11 people died. "He reached outside his comfort zone on many occasions but unionism didn't always reciprocate."
His shift to politics came slowly. Martin McGuinness was chief negotiator in the blossoming peace process and took on the post of education minister. Alliance Party leader Naomi Long told the Assembly she did not believe there would have been peace in Northern Ireland had it not been for people like Martin McGuinness.
By 2007, he was Northern Ireland's deputy first minister. Vigils have been held in Belfast, Derry and Dublin for the lifelong republican, while books of condolence have been opened in a number of places, including at Belfast City Hall.
In recent years, he said: "My war is over. My job as a political leader is to prevent that war and I feel very passionate about it." Mr McGuinness grew up in Derry's Bogside and at 21 years old he was he was second-in-command of the IRA in the city.
Mr McGuinness' funeral will leave his home on Thursday at 13:20 GMT ahead of Requiem Mass at St Columba's Church Longtower at 14:00. He will be buried in the City Cemetery. He worked at the heart of Northern Ireland's power-sharing government after the Good Friday peace agreement in 1998.
He became deputy first minister in 2007, leading the executive alongside first minister Ian Paisley - the two men had been diametrically opposed to one another in years gone by.
Among the seismic moments during his time in government was a famous handshake with the Queen in 2012 and a toast to Her Majesty at Windsor Castle two years later.
A visibly ailing Mr McGuinness stood down from his post in January in a protest against the DUP's handling of an financial scandal, in a move that triggered a snap election.
Now, without his influence, the region's political parties are faced with the job of saving Stormont amid the biggest crisis power-sharing has faced in a decade.