12 quotes that show how much discord one death can cause

The death of Martin McGuinness has led to an outpouring of emotion – but not all of it has been based in sadness.

While many in Northern Ireland and further afield have paid tribute to the former deputy first minister for his role in the peace process, there are equal numbers – including victims’ families – angry about his time in the IRA.

The Sinn Féin politician’s journey from paramilitary leader to respected statesman means there are two opposing viewpoints of his contribution to Northern Ireland.

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1. His lifelong friend and Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams was among the first to pay tribute.

‘Throughout his life Martin showed great determination, dignity and humility and it was no different during his short illness,’ he said.

‘He was a passionate republican who worked tirelessly for peace and reconciliation and for the reunification of his country.

‘But above all he loved his family and the people of Derry and he was immensely proud of both.’

2. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: ‘Martin McGuinness played a huge role in bringing about peace in Northern Ireland. He was a great family man and my thoughts are with them’.

3. Former Downing Street press secretary Alastair Campbell, who worked closely with Mr McGuinness alongside then prime minister Tony Blair, tweeted: ‘So sad Martin McGuinness has died.

‘Some will never forgive his past but without him there would be no peace. The man I knew was a great guy’.

He said later: ‘Whenever there is a terrorist attack politicians and media will rise as one to call it “a cowardly act”.

‘But that means we should acknowledge the flipside too: what Martin McGuinness and the Sinn Féin leadership did in negotiating for peace took courage.

‘As time went on I saw somebody very different from the murderous hardman IRA commander image. I saw someone who was very human, very likeable, and dedicated to making the new path he had chosen work for the people he represented.’

4. But former Conservative minister Norman Tebbit, whose wife Margaret was paralysed by an IRA bomb at a Brighton hotel in 1984 during a party conference, said Mr McGuinness was a ‘multi-murderer and a coward’.

Mr Tebbit said: ‘I’m just pleased that the world is a sweeter and cleaner place now.

‘He knew that the IRA were defeated because British intelligence had penetrated right the way up to the army council and that the end was coming.

‘He then sought to save his own skin and he knew that it was likely he would be charged before long with several murders, which he had personally committed, and he decided that the only thing to do was to opt for peace.

‘He claimed to be a Roman Catholic. I hope that his beliefs turn out to be true and he’ll be parked in a particularly hot and unpleasant corner of hell for the rest of eternity.’

5. Austin Stack, spokesman for the Independent Victims and Survivors Coalition, said: ‘While acknowledging Martin McGuinness’s passing it think it’s entirely appropriate to focus on all his legacy, not just the last few years.

‘McGuinness had serious questions to answer regarding the Claudy bombing and Enniskillen bombing where many innocent civilians were murdered.

‘This is the real legacy of Martin McGuinness, he took what he knew about each of these cases to his grave. We should look at his real legacy in its totality.’

6. The Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke, the Church of Ireland primate, said Mr McGuinness lived a life of ‘two very distinct halves, and most of us have great difficulty in connecting the two’.

He said: ‘While recognising the hurt, fear and misery brought into hundreds of other lives in the first part of that life, we should also convey proper appreciation of the immense statesmanlike qualities that Martin McGuinness brought into the political life of Northern Ireland in recent years.’

7. Colin Parry, whose son Tim died in a IRA bomb in Warrington in 1993, said: ‘I don’t forgive the IRA, nor does my wife, nor do my children.

‘But, setting aside forgiveness, the simple fact is I found Martin McGuinness an easy and pleasant man to talk to – a man who I believe was sincere in his desire for peace, for maintaining the peace process at all costs.

‘And I think he deserves great credit for his most recent life rather than more than his earlier life, for which I don’t think anything in his most recent life can atone.

‘That said, he was still a brave man, who put himself at some risk within some elements of his own community in Northern Ireland.’

8. Former prime minister David Cameron tweeted: ‘Despite our differences I enjoyed working with Martin McGuinness. He wanted politics to work in Northern Ireland & helped make it happen.’

9. Kyle Paisley, son of the late DUP leader Ian Paisley, who formed a notable and surprising double act with Mr McGuinness, which led to them being dubbed ‘The Chuckle Brothers’, also paid tribute.

He tweeted: ‘Very sorry to hear about the passing of Martin McGuinness.

‘Look back with pleasure on the remarkable year he and my father spent in office together and the great good they did together. Will never forget his ongoing care for my father in his ill health.

10. Prime Minister Theresa May said Mr McGuinness ‘played a defining role’ in leading the republican movement away from violence.

‘First and foremost, my thoughts are with the family of Martin McGuinness at this sad time,’ she said.

‘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.’

11. 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.’

12. DUP leader Arlene Foster, who was forced out of her role as first minister when Mr McGuinness stepped down in protest at her handling of a green energy scandal, causing an election, reached out to him in recent days as his health deteriorated.

‘Today’s news will come as a shock to many people,’ she said.

‘First and foremost, Martin McGuinness was a much-loved husband, father and grandfather.

‘My thoughts and prayers are with his wife and the family circle at this very painful time of grief and loss.’