Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of our party leader, Deputy Micheál Martin, and the entire Fianna Fáil Party, I extend sincere sympathies to the McGuinness family and Sinn Féin on the loss of Martin McGuinness. I hope his wife Bernie and his children, Fiachra, Emmet, Fionnuala and Grainne, get some consolation from the great accolades and genuinely held tributes Martin has received today to acknowledge his sterling work in the name of peace building on our island. It is important to acknowledge that while we all knew Martin as a public figure, Bernie has lost her loving husband and his four children and grandchildren have lost their father and grandfather. Their loss is, of course, the greatest of all.

Martin's death represents a very sad moment in the shared history of the island of Ireland. Martin was heavily involved, as we know, in the army council of the IRA for many years of the Troubles - his views no doubt shaped by his upbringing in Derry and the treatment of Catholics as a young boy growing up there. When he converted to full-time politics, he removed himself from conflict. He also managed to convert many hardened IRA members to peace and politics. This will be a very significant part of his legacy. In the early 1990s, Martin used to meet with the late Albert Reynolds who it is recognised among others laid the building blocks for the Good Friday Agreement, which was eventually negotiated in 1998. Martin was always spoken about as being a man of his word and when he decided to commit to the peace process, he condemned acts of violence on all sides.

History will judge Martin's transition to peace as being a welcome and committed one. This is not to say that we can forget or ignore the many deaths that occurred during the Troubles. History will, of course, record a fuller assessment of his entire legacy but more than most, Martin McGuinness embraced the peace process with a generosity of spirit that won people over. By his actions and words over the past 25 years, he demonstrated a keen understanding of what the peace process was all about. He worked to build bridges between the different traditions and communities on the island. He reached out to the Unionist community in particular and to its leaders to steer Northern Ireland towards a better shared future.

As the Taoiseach stated, his leadership with the former DUP leader, the late Reverend Ian Paisley, was quite remarkable and seems incredible when we look back on it now. It is a testament to his character, determination, ability and charisma that he managed to work so closely with the late Reverend Dr. Ian Paisley.

Throughout his political career, Martin McGuinness had a clear commitment to the disadvantaged and saw the pivotal role education can play in providing equality of opportunity for all. Despite the peace process going through a rocky period at the time, he retained a respect on all sides and never allowed the politics of the situation to affect the personal relationships he held. He was deeply committed to reconciliation, retained respect from all sides and always managed to have personal relationships with others. I hope his work in the peace process will inspire others to follow his legacy by continuing to build stronger bridges between both traditions on this island.

This peace can never be taken for granted. It is crucial that the lasting peace is founded on a greater understanding by Nationalists and Unionists of each other. We all look forward to when citizens' concerns will get priority over the actual labels into which they are born. Today, I hope that Martin McGuinness's legacy of reaching out to Unionists can be reciprocated because it is in the interests of all communities in the North and throughout the island of Ireland that all citizens on the island can co-operate and peacefully co-exist. He wanted to make peace on all sides and would never want to go back to the violence of the Troubles.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

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