One of the leaders of The Irish Republican Army, who later renounced violence and became Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister for ten years has died at the age of 66.
Martin McGuinness served as peacemaker who worked at the heart of the power-sharing government following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement; a far cry from his actions as an IRA Militant in back in the early 70s.
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.
McGuiness was convicted by the Republic of Ireland’s Special Criminal Court after being arrested near a car containing explosives and ammunition. He served two prison sentences
McGuiness had been suffering from a rare heart condition/ He died early this morning in Derry at the age of 66.