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Home Page > News > Former IRA leader Martin McGuinness likely to meet with Queen Elizabeth

Former IRA leader Martin McGuinness likely to meet with Queen Elizabeth

Northern Sinn Fein leader says it is time to “consider making new compromises”

ANTOINETTE KELLY,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Saturday, April 28, 2012, 7:25 AM

Updated Saturday, April 28, 2012, 9:49 PM

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Martin McGuinness

While McGuinness admitted he was second in command of the IRA in Derry, in the early 1970s, he insisted on Friday that he had no knowledge whatsoever of the Breen-Buchanan murder plot.

McGuinness described Hurst's testimony as a "yarn" and a "cock and bull story," and described the ex-Force Research Unit officer as a "fantasist." Hurst is the only witness to the Smithwick tribunal that has been denied the right to give his evidence in public.

"I wasn't the only person to have repudiated what he had to say. His superior officer in British Intelligence who appeared at the tribunal named as Witness 82 and a Garda Superintendent said so."

Earlier, addressing guests at Ireland's first ever hosting of the Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe conference – held to discuss how Northern Ireland can be a model for other peace processes around the world – McGuinness said: "The war is over. The conflict is over. There will be no going back."

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FallsRNat | May 02, 2012, 12:51 PM EDT

when you become a govt minister, you've a duty to represent all of the people & whether McG likes it or not & i suspect he does, he should meet QE II.

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DaithiSuibhne | May 01, 2012, 11:07 PM EDT

This shouldn't surprise anyone who knows McGuinness at all. He's been a scoundrel for quite some time now.

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IrelandNorth | May 01, 2012, 05:40 AM EDT

FallsRNat! As a Leinster/Eastern Ireland Eurosceptic tiltiting towards terminal Europhobia, I hope our fellow Irish Nationalist voters in Munster/Southern Ireland and Connacht/Western Ireland vote down this Fiscal Compact Treaty to preserve some semblance of national autonomy, (an opportunity denied UK subjects?). Personally, I'm more in favour of co-opting dissenters than defeating them. We must also get away from using dualistic geographical terms to describe failed political entities (pl.), or imperial projects (sing.). John Taylor, ex-Deputy Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party proposed the term "British-Irish Isles" as being less annexive and incursive. Inter[ex]changeable island currencies would probably work better. Might I propose the 'Hiberno' to replace the Euro. If we work hard enough, we could all move from domination to autonomous and intranational mutuality.

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FallsRNat | Apr 30, 2012, 07:31 PM EDT

IrelandNorth - the federated British isles including govts of NI, SI, Eng, Wales & Scotland was on the table in 1968, it won't be on the table now or in the future as SI in too deeply embedded into the Euro, of course, if the irish were to vote down the latest treaty, pull back from the € & join sterling then a federalist system may come about, but only if the BI withdraws from the EU & joins the EFTA. It would be impossible for the europeans to ban our combined trading bloc. The Unionists have given up a lot to power share & even PIRA, the future of the peace & prosperity on this shared isle is to ensure the defeat of the enemies of peace & that is CIRA/RIRA, its time for us in the nationalist community to stand up & say enough is enough

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IrelandNorth | Apr 30, 2012, 08:55 AM EDT

Now that peace has been declared and broken out, it's probably politically prudent for Citizen McGuinness, (Ulster/Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister), to grant an audience to the British Monarch. I seriously doubt if all this entente cordiale is without quid pro quo on both sides. Her humbling diplomatic and symbolic gesture in standing to attention for Abhrainn na bhFiann and the Irish tricolour in the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin last year, (as a not young woman), justifies reciprocity. The common denominator between a United Ireland and a United Kingdom is unity. We merely have to determine degee and extent. A compromise formation sensitive to both traditions on the Island would be a provincially federated Ireland back in the Commonwealth of Nations with a federated Great Britian. I would prefer a united independent Ireland, but I'm a pragmatist. Would Ulster unionism be up for some intranational (?) power sharing. To paraphrase John Lennon: "All we am sayin'. Is give [the] peace [process] a chance."

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DanOLoingsigh | Apr 29, 2012, 06:58 PM EDT

Sirpeter – quite happy to accept that force was needed to bring down the sectarian NI Government…once that was achieved, in 1972, the rest of the campaign was to force the citizens of NI into a UI… that’s the bit I have difficulties with…who had the right to decide on their future…the rest of the campaign basically achieved nothing…and cost a lot of lives..

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seamus60 | Apr 29, 2012, 01:23 PM EDT

Theres me thinking a Nations citizens and their human rights are above a bit of turf. A bit of turf that on many occassions is being taken from the ground to keep people from the cold. But hey whatever floats your boat.

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RedBranch | Apr 29, 2012, 12:03 PM EDT

Nothing surprising here. What would really make me do a double take is if Mr.McGuinness were to meet with Bobby Sands' sister Bernedette and her husband Michael McKevitt. Good Citizen '... i'd rather not even think about them....' Thats you, most of Ireland and most of all Mr.McGuinness himself. Is it worth considering that the guns wern't decommissioned until Mr.McGuinness was established as First Minister in waiting and the drained body of the SDLP set out to rot?

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RedBranch | Apr 29, 2012, 11:39 AM EDT

I must say that I am shocked, shocked at all of this hullabaloo over Martin's probable meeting with the queen - when there are far more serious matters at hand. For example, the illegal cutting of turf in protected Irish bogs has reached such a level that the government has ordered the Irish Air Force (oops, sorry, I mean the Air Corps)to carry out surveillance on these lawless farmers, diverting it from more pressing national security duties such as providing aerial monitoring of vehicles transporting cash, prisoners and explosives. I think you will agree that the McGuinness/QEll non-story pales in comparrison to this thievery of cherished Irish scenic beauty and stuff.

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FallsRNat | Apr 29, 2012, 11:38 AM EDT

was Sir Edward Carson or Wolfe Tone sectarian, no, they may have had differences of opinions on a UI & Ulster staying under the british crown, but neither of them believed in murder for religious sakes, unfortunately for Nationalist Ireland we fell under the spell of Dev & the Catholic church, became embittered, twisted, fell away from ideals that the Free state should have embued, this made it easier for the protestants in the north to disavow themselves from anything that a UI could offer, as i said before, 1968 could have changed that, but there are too many vestige interests to allow peace to be given a chance, PIRA came into being opposing, the UVF & UDA, at the end, we were getting our arses kicked after the Shankill bombing, we were on the edge of the abyss, 18 catholics dead within 14 days. We've had nearly 100 years of terrorism & it hasn't delivered anything, but a disunited Ireland, its time to give peace a chance. Oh & sirpeter, if ireland became united tomorrow, QE II would laugh her head off, cause her ancesters in the form of the Reichstag would still be running Ireland!

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citizen69 | Apr 29, 2012, 10:49 AM EDT

Certainly McGuinness & Adams were involved in sectarian acts of terrorism, particularly in the early years of the Provisionals. The latest accusations claim that McGuinness sanctioned the use of Human Bombs. As a member of the Provo's Army Council i think it is quite likely that he did. I've no doubt that Martin McGuinness did some abhorrent things in his role within the PIRA and i'd rather not even think about them.... but the fact is we are talking about them in the past sense. Many of his contemporaries are still helping dissidents in trying to destroy lives today. McGuinness has left that life behind him. I certainly find him more palatable than Gerry Adams. Many people will understandably be outraged that he may never face justice for his crimes but then unfortunately we can say that about a lot of people from all sides involved in the troubles. We don't live in a perfect world and peace has to have its compromises.

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citizen69 | Apr 29, 2012, 10:39 AM EDT

Were Wolf Tone & Robert Emmett sectarian? I doubt it and there doesn't seem to be evidence to support it but yeah large elements of the United Irishmen movement were sectarian, particularly in the south. And yes the IRA from its formation were sectarian and anti-democratic. Many people were suspected of being informers and executed simply because they were Protestant. Collins supported, armed and funded the northern IRA in sectarian attacks in the newly formed Northern Ireland. Trams taking protestant workers to the shipyard were bombed and protestants living on the border murdered are just a few examples. Yes there was plenty of sectarianism coming the other way but if you think sectarianism justifies counter-sectarianism then you are simply justifying sectarianism.

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sirpeter | Apr 29, 2012, 09:17 AM EDT

Dano.A principle is a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct.Was protestant "freedom fighters" Wolfe Tone and Robert Emmett sectarian?~Anti-democratic?? Since when do governments or people who resist government policy have a referendum on weather they are going to war or not?.An aim is involved which incorporates principles.Dano let's be having your reasons why these grubby little campaigns took place in Ireland? Because Dano you make a statement but you don't back it up at all.Like the loyalists commenting here it's all very sweeping and vague.It's hard to pin them down to detail about anything.It's a true sign that any research into the matter is going against there long held beliefs.Oh!! People hate when that happens.

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DanOLoingsigh | Apr 29, 2012, 04:12 AM EDT

Monkeyapplenerd – If you think ‘principles’ drove the self-appointed ‘freedom fighters’ in their sectarian, anti-democratic, grubby little campaign, think again!!

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monkeyapplenerd | Apr 29, 2012, 01:00 AM EDT

I don't want to be one of those guys but really is SF even nationalist anymore? What happened to principles? At one time it was unacceptable as long as Britain held even one inch of Irish soil, now its who cares anything to keep "peace".

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