Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Green Party, North and South, I extend our commiseration to all those affected by the loss of life in recent days but especially to the family of Martin McGuinness and to his colleagues in Sinn Féin. My colleague, Steven Agnew said today that Martin "brought great gravitas to the Executive Office but also managed to stay true to his down to earth nature." That is something I saw in the work we did on the British-Irish Council. He had warmth and at the same time steely determination which is a great combination in politics. More than anything else, if we are reflecting on his life in politics, we have to reflect on that ability to change. He is someone who went from being at the very centre of the Troubles to being at the very centre of solutions. A quote was used recently by President Obama in his final speech as American President which is appropriate. He quoted Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mocking Birdwho said, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." As others have mentioned here, that relationship and ability to see from the other side, particularly from Dr. Ian Paisley's, allowed some of the peace and development we have seen in recent decades which has been so valuable to all of us. I heard Ian Paisley Jnr. today saying that as a Christian one judges someone at the end on the closing chapters of their life. In that context, all of us, North and South, Nationalist and Unionist are celebrating the life of Martin McGuinness, although his death is a tragic loss for his family, and the contribution he made to all the people of this island.

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