McGuinness’ ‘divided life’ ended with appetite for peace

Church leaders have paid tribute to Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness, the former deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, who died this week aged 66. The former IRA leader, who played a key part in securing the Good Friday Agreement, died after a short illness. The Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, remembered a man who “chose to leave the path of violence and to walk instead along the more challenging path of peace and reconciliation”.

Mr McGuinness was chief of staff of the IRA in the early 1980s. He worked closely with former prime minister Tony Blair to win concessions for its supporters during the peace process. Archbishop Martin praised his courage as a leader, adding that he was a key architect of the peace process.

“I have no doubt that Martin’s faith and relationship with God guided him along this journey,” he added. “[He knew] peace was worth striving for and was within reach in his lifetime.”

Archbishop Martin called for a redoubling of efforts to solve Northern Ireland’s current problems, in tribute to Mr McGuinness’ legacy. His counterpart in the Church of Ireland, the Archbishop of Armagh Dr Richard Clarke, said Mr McGuinness’ life was one of two distinct halves, adding “most of us have great difficulty in connecting the two”. He added: “That said (and it must be said), while recognising the hurt, fear and misery brought into hundreds of lives in the first part of that life, we should also [appreciate] the immense statesmanlike qualities that Martin McGuinness brought into the political life of Northern Ireland in recent years.”