There are not many that will wish that Martin McGuinness rests in peace today - but in a complicated world, and in a complex situation, I think he ultimately worked through the issues in a net-positive manner.
There is no denying the role he played in acts of terror - many innocent lives were lost in an armed struggle to unite Ireland, and wrest away the British influence over Northern Ireland. The cause may have been just, but, in retrospect the means may not have been just.
But, there is also no denying the role that he played, along with Gerry Adams, in bringing about an end to The Troubles, and began a new, more productive, approach to re-unifying Ireland. Working within the existing political and legal framework to bring about changes that he and his supporters feel are important.
My use of the Sinn Fein moniker pre-dates my involvement at FBGs, and does represent my general views towards Ireland/Northern Ireland - including the evolution from tacit approval of the armed insurrection against British sovereignty to the more nuanced political approach I favor today. It is somewhat ironic that with Brexit, there is now a greater chance of Irish unification, and McGuinness will not be around to see it to a conclusion.
I do hope that many of the victims of IRA bombings have some closure given that many believed that McGuinness long escaped justice, and as some of the past generation leaves, newer leaders emerge on both sides who can find the common ground necessary to make Ireland whole again.
There is no denying the role he played in acts of terror - many innocent lives were lost in an armed struggle to unite Ireland, and wrest away the British influence over Northern Ireland. The cause may have been just, but, in retrospect the means may not have been just.
But, there is also no denying the role that he played, along with Gerry Adams, in bringing about an end to The Troubles, and began a new, more productive, approach to re-unifying Ireland. Working within the existing political and legal framework to bring about changes that he and his supporters feel are important.
My use of the Sinn Fein moniker pre-dates my involvement at FBGs, and does represent my general views towards Ireland/Northern Ireland - including the evolution from tacit approval of the armed insurrection against British sovereignty to the more nuanced political approach I favor today. It is somewhat ironic that with Brexit, there is now a greater chance of Irish unification, and McGuinness will not be around to see it to a conclusion.
I do hope that many of the victims of IRA bombings have some closure given that many believed that McGuinness long escaped justice, and as some of the past generation leaves, newer leaders emerge on both sides who can find the common ground necessary to make Ireland whole again.
