Sinn Féin politician Martin McGuinness had a remarkable public life that spanned 45 years and brought him from renegade to the highest office in government; from IRA leader to Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister.
At the time of his untimely death three years ago, he had become an icon to Republicans whose public profile extended far beyond these shores. He was a figure of contrast and contradiction. The last two decades of Martin McGuinness’s life were dedicated to a peace process, to consent and inclusion.
For the previous two decades, he was at the forefront of the
republican movement during the worst moments of ‘The Troubles’ where over 3,000 people lost their lives. He was also at the forefront of secret, back channel talks which laid the groundwork for the IRA ceasefire in 1994.
Now three years on from his death at the age of 66, a new RTÉ documentary looks at his life and legacy. Using rich archive footage and powerful testimony from supporters and critics, this documentary aims to unlock some of the secrets McGuinness brought to his grave.
The documentary includes some of the major figures who knew, encountered and negotiated with Martin McGuinness giving candid assessment of his life’s work: They include former US president Bill Clinton, former UK prime minister Tony Blair; former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern; Eileen Paisley; Mitchell McLoughlin and Gregory Campbell among others.
There are those who can’t reconcile his past with his work for peace – victims who lost loved ones to IRA violence. This documentary lays out the complexities and contradictions of Martin McGuinness, a man who is seen by his party colleagues in Sinn Fein as a man of action who took great personal risks for his community and his country.
As support for Sinn Fein surges, this is a timely and nuanced look at one of their greatest leaders, a man who did “extraordinary things in extraordinary times”.
“He proved that someone who had spent a
lifetime fighting could accept a victory that was shared.” Bill Clinton.
“You either admired him or you taught he was the Devil incarnate”…Denis Bradley