Martin McGuinness

Martin McGuinness MP MLA
McGuinness at Stormont (2010)
deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland[1]
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 May 2007
First Minister	Ian Paisley Peter Robinson Arlene Foster (Acting) Peter Robinson
Preceded by	Mark Durkan
Minister of Education
In office 2 December 1999 – 14 October 2002
First Minister	David Trimble
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Caitríona Ruane
Member of Parliament for Mid Ulster
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 1997
Preceded by	William McCrea
Majority	10,976 (24.2%)
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Mid Ulster
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 June 1998
Preceded by	Constituency established
Personal details
Born	23 May 1950 (1950-05-23) (age 61) Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Political party	Sinn Féin
Spouse(s)	Bernadette Canning
Children	2 sons 2 daughters
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Website	Official website Sinn Féin profile

James Martin Pacelli McGuinness (Irish: Máirtín Mag Aonghusa;^[2] born 23 May 1950) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and the current deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. McGuinness was also the Sinn Féin candidate for the Irish presidential election, 2011.^[3][4][5] He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland.

A former Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) leader,^[6] McGuinness is the MP for the Mid Ulster constituency. Like all Sinn Féin MPs, McGuinness practises abstentionism in relation to the Westminster parliament. He is also a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for the same constituency.

Following the St Andrews Agreement and the Assembly election in 2007, he became deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Ian Paisley becoming First Minister on 8 May 2007. On 5 June 2008 he was re-appointed as deputy First Minister to serve alongside Peter Robinson, who succeeded Paisley as First Minister on that date.^[7] McGuinness previously served as Minister of Education in the Northern Ireland Executive between 1999 and 2002.

Provisional IRA activity

McGuinness has acknowledged that he is a former IRA member but claims that he left the IRA in 1974.^[8] He originally joined the Official IRA, unaware of the split at the December 1969 Army Convention, switching to the Provisional IRA soon after. By the start of 1972, at the age of 21, he was second-in-command of the IRA in Derry, a position he held at the time of Bloody Sunday, when 14 civil rights protesters were killed by British soldiers in the town.^[9]

During the Saville Inquiry into the events of that day, Paddy Ward claimed to have been the leader of the Fianna, the youth wing of the IRA at the time of Bloody Sunday. He claimed that McGuinness and another anonymous IRA member gave him bomb parts that morning. He said that his organisation intended to attack city-centre premises in Derry on the same day. In response, McGuinness said the claims were "fantasy", while Gerry O’Hara, a Derry Sinn Féin councillor, stated that he and not Ward was the Fianna leader at the time.^[10]

The inquiry concluded that, although McGuinness was "engaged in paramilitary activity" at the time of Bloody Sunday and had probably been armed with a Thompson submachine gun, there was insufficient evidence to make any finding other than they were "sure that he did not engage in any activity that provided any of the soldiers with any justification for opening fire".^[11]

McGuinness negotiated alongside Gerry Adams with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Willie Whitelaw, in 1972.

In 1973, he was convicted by the Republic of Ireland's Special Criminal Court, after being caught with a car containing 250 lb (113 kg) of explosives and nearly 5,000 rounds of ammunition. He refused to recognise the court, and was sentenced to six months imprisonment. In court, he declared his membership of the Provisional Irish Republican Army without equivocation: 'We have fought against the killing of our people... I am a member of Óglaigh na hÉireann and very, very proud of it'.^[12]

After his release, and another conviction in the Republic for IRA membership, he became increasingly prominent in Sinn Féin, the political wing of the republican movement. He was in indirect contact with British intelligence during the hunger strikes in the early 1980s, and again in the early 1990s.^[13] He was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont in 1982, representing Londonderry. He was the second candidate elected after John Hume. As with all elected members of Sinn Féin and the SDLP, he did not take up his seat.^[14] On 9 December 1982, McGuinness, Gerry Adams and Danny Morrison were banned from entering Great Britain under the Prevention of Terrorism Act by William Whitelaw, by then Home Secretary .^[15]

In August 1993, he was the subject of a two part special by The Cook Report, a Central TV investigative documentary series presented by Roger Cook. It accused him of continuing involvement in IRA activity, of attending an interrogation and of encouraging Frank Hegarty, an informer, to return to Derry from a safe house in England. Hegarty's mother Rose appeared on the programme to tell of telephone calls to McGuinness and of Hegarty's subsequent murder. McGuinness denied her account and denounced the programme saying "I have never been in the IRA. I don't have any sway over the IRA".^[16]

In 2005, Michael McDowell, the Irish Tánaiste, claimed McGuinness, along with Gerry Adams and Martin Ferris, were members of the seven-man IRA Army Council.^[17] McGuinness denied the claims, saying he was no longer an IRA member. Experienced "Troubles" journalist Peter Taylor presented further apparent evidence of McGuinness's role in the IRA in his documentary Age of Terror, shown in April 2008.^[18] In his documentary, Taylor alleges that McGuinness was the head of the IRA's Northern Command and had advance knowledge of the IRA's 1987 Enniskillen bombing, which left 11 civilians dead.

Chief negotiator and Minister of Education

He became Sinn Féin's chief negotiator in the time leading to the Good Friday Agreement. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996 representing Foyle. Having contested Foyle unsuccessfully at the 1983, 1987 and 1992 Westminster elections,^{[citation needed]} he became MP for Mid Ulster in 1997 and after the Agreement was concluded, was returned as a member of the Assembly for the same constituency, and nominated by his party for a ministerial position in the power-sharing executive, where he became Minister of Education. One of his controversial acts as Minister of Education was his decision to scrap the 11-plus exam, which he himself had failed as a schoolchild.^[19] He was re-elected to the Westminster Parliament in 2001, 2005 and 2010.

In May 2003, transcripts of telephone calls between McGuinness and British officials including Mo Mowlam, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair's Chief of Staff, were published in a biography of McGuinness entitled From Guns to Government. The tapes had been made by MI5 and the authors of the book were arrested under the Official Secrets Act. The conversations showed an easy and friendly relationship between McGuinness and Powell. He joked with Powell about Unionist MPs while Mowlam referred to him as "babe" and discussed her difficulties with Blair. In another transcript, he praised Bill Clinton to Gerry Adams.^[20]

St Andrews Agreement & Role as Deputy First Minister

United States President Barack Obama meets with First Minister Peter Robinson and McGuinness in March 2009.

In the weeks following the St Andrews Agreement between Paisley and Adams, the four parties — the DUP, Sinn Féin, the UUP and the SDLP — indicated their choice of ministries in the Executive and nominated members to fill them. The Assembly met on 8 May 2007 and Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness were nominated as First Minister and Deputy First Minister. On 12 May the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle agreed to take up three places on the Policing Board, and nominated three MLAs to take them.^{[citation needed]}

On 8 December 2007, while visiting President Bush in the White House with the Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley, Martin McGuinness, said to the press "Up until the 26 March this year, Ian Paisley and I never had a conversation about anything – not even about the weather – and now we have worked very closely together over the last seven months and there's been no angry words between us. ... This shows we are set for a new course."^[21][22]

2011 presidential campaign

Main article: Irish presidential election, 2011

On 16 September 2011 McGuinness was announced as the Sinn Féin candidate in the 2011 Irish presidential election.^[23][24]

In the election held on October 27 McGuinness placed third in the first preference vote, behind Michael D Higgins and Seán Gallagher^[25].

McGuinness was the only candidate who was ineligible to vote in the election as, although he is an Irish citizen, he is not ordinarily resident in Ireland.^[26]

Following his defeat, McGuinness formally returned to the role of deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland on October 31st.^[27]

Personal life

He married Bernadette Canning in 1974. They have four children, two girls and two boys^[28] McGuinness is a fan of the Derry Gaelic football and hurling teams^[29] and played both sports when he was younger.^[29] He grew up just 50 metres from Celtic Park, the home of Derry GAA.^[29] His brother^[29] Tom played Gaelic football for Derry and is regarded as one of the county's best ever players.^[30] Among his honours are three Ulster Senior Football Championship medals, as well as Ulster Under 21 and All-Ireland Under 21 Championship medals.^[31]

McGuiness is a member of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association, meaning that he does not drink alcohol.^[32]

See also

• Northern Ireland peace process
• Operation Taurus
• Sinn Féin

References

1. ^ About the Department Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister
2. ^ Ag cur Gaeilge ar ais i mbéal an phobail - Fórógra Shinn Féin do na Toghcháin Westminster – Sinn Féin press release, released 22 April 2005.
3. ^ "Martin McGuinness set to be SF Áras candidate". Rte.ie. 2011-09-16. http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0916/president.html. Retrieved 2011-09-28. 
4. ^ GrabOne daily deals. "McGuinness: My pay will be €35k, I'll be people's president". Independent.ie. http://www.independent.ie/national-news/mcguinness-my-pay-will-be-euro35k-irsquoll-be-peoplersquos-president-2880326.html. Retrieved 2011-09-28. 
5. ^ Simpson, Mark (2011-09-17). "Martin McGuinness: Paramilitary to politician to president?". Bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/14960014. Retrieved 2011-09-28. 
6. ^ Profile BBC News
7. ^ "Robinson is new NI first minister", BBC News, 5 June 2008; Accessed 5 June 2008
8. ^ Henry McDonald IRA victim's brother says Martin McGuinness has blood on his hands The Guardian 12 October 2011
9. ^ McGuinness confirms IRA role BBC News, 2 May 2001
10. ^ McGuinness is named as bomb runner by John Innes, The Scotsman, 21 October 2003
11. ^ "Report of the The Bloody Sunday Inquiry - Volume I - Chapter 3". Bloody Sunday Inquiry. 15 June 2010. http://report.bloody-sunday-inquiry.org/volume01/chapter003/#the-report. Retrieved 15 June 2010. "3.119 In the course of investigating the activities of the Provisional and Official IRA on the day, we considered at some length allegations that Martin McGuinness, at that time the Adjutant of the Derry Brigade or Command of the Provisional IRA, had engaged in paramilitary activity during the day. In the end we were left in some doubt as to his movements on the day. Before the soldiers of Support Company went into the Bogside he was probably armed with a Thompson sub-machine gun, and though it is possible that he fired this weapon, there is insufficient evidence to make any finding on this, save that we are sure that he did not engage in any activity that provided any of the soldiers with any justification for opening fire." 
12. ^ Taylor, Peter (1997). Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 152–153. ISBN 0-7475-3818-2. 
13. ^ Setting the Record Straight Sinn Féin
14. ^ Martin McGuinness: From Guns to Government by Liam Clarke and Kathryn Johnston (ISBN 1-84018-725-5), pages 152-153
15. ^ Martin McGuinness: From Guns to Government by Liam Clarke and Kathryn Johnston (ISBN 1-84018-725-5), page 155
16. ^ Martin McGuinness: From Guns to Government by Liam Clarke and Kathryn Johnston (ISBN 1-84018-725-5), page 222
17. ^ Adams and McGuinness named as IRA leaders Daily Telegraph, 21 February 2005
18. ^ Age of Terror, BBC News, 21 April 2008
19. ^ McGuinness: Let's work together BBC News, 4 December 1999
20. ^ "Martin McGuinness Wiretap Transcripts". Cryptome.org. http://cryptome.org/mcguinness-taps.htm. Retrieved 2011-09-28. 
21. ^ Paisley and McGuinness in US trip BBC News, 3 December 2007
22. ^ Martina Purdy 'Charming' ministers woo president BBC News, 8 December 2007
23. ^ "Martin McGuinness to run for Irish presidency". The Guardian. 16 September 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/sep/16/martin-mcguinness-irish-presidency. Retrieved 16 September 2011. 
24. ^ "Martin McGuinness to run for president of Ireland". The Daily Telegraph. 17 September 2011. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ireland/8770384/Martin-McGuinness-to-run-for-president-of-Ireland.html. Retrieved 17 September 2011. 
25. ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hIyv_KVIRSAkDAz3PM0W0n8jvpog?docId=N0338681319824478604A
26. ^ http://www.independent.ie/national-news/presidential-election/mcguinness-unable-to-vote-for-himself-2919695.html
27. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-15527135
28. ^ 25.^ Hardliners vent their fury at Martin McGuinness The Guardian, 14 March 2009
29. ^ ^{a b c d} McGuinness, Martin (26 August 2001). "Fanzone - Martin McGuinness". Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/fanzone-510029.html. Retrieved 6 August 2009. 
30. ^ "Ulster's 125 - Derry shortlist". The Irish News. 10 February 2009. http://irishnews125.blogspot.com/2009/02/125-derry-player-list.html. Retrieved 7 April 2009. 
31. ^ "Derry Greats - Tom McGuinness". Red Hand View - Tyrone vs Derry (National League Division 1 Round 6 programme) (A-Star Design). 28 March 2009 
32. ^ Martin McGuinness: From Guns to Government by Liam Clarke and Kathryn Johnston (ISBN 1-84018-725-5) A chapter is reproduced at CAIN web site

External links

• Official website
• Sinn Féin profile
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Martin McGuinness collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Age Of Terror
• 30 May 1972: Official IRA declares ceasefire. A young Martin McGuinness gives the PIRA's reaction - VIDEO
• Martin McGuinness interviewed by James Macintyre on NewStatesman

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by William McCrea	Member of Parliament for Mid Ulster 1997–present	Incumbent
Northern Ireland Assembly
New constituency	Member of the Legislative Assembly for Mid Ulster 1998–present	Incumbent
Political offices
New office	Minister of Education 1999–2002	Succeeded by Caitríona Ruane
Preceded by Mark Durkan	deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland 2007–2011	Succeeded by John O'Dowd Acting

Persondata
Name	Macguinness, Martin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	23 May 1950
Place of birth	Derry, Northern Ireland
Date of death
Place of death