Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I only want to add a few comments. An awful lot has already been said. Like many people, I got my first impressions of Martin McGuinness from his appearances on television, in particular that strange time which we may have forgotten when we could see but not hear him on television and an actor's voice spoke for him. Those were strange times both here and in Britain where I found that was still the practice when I went back there to work. It is a measure of how far we have come that Martin went on to lead the peace process, build the peace and, more than that, build a roadmap for a peaceful path to unity, and not any kind of unity but an inclusive republic based on the best progressive principles.

I also want to say - I hope Members will understand this as I believe it is important - that I am proud of all of Martin and his career. I am proud of the fact that he stood up to defend his community in the 1970s. My family who were living in London at the time were very proud to see men like Martin McGuinness stand up and be counted when that community was under attack and, as Gerry Adams said so truthfully today, Martin never brought war to the North, the war came to Martin and to his community. Equally, there was his passion for peace and to build peace throughout the 1990s and beyond, and his powerful speeches at our Ard Fheiseanna have always stayed with me. He would have been the lead speaker on a Friday night and he was always reaching out, always stretching and always building his vision of an inclusive republic. Certainly in my recent trips to Belfast, it was clear that this has had a huge impact across communities. It is great that this has been acknowledged by all parties here.

It is also worth remembering his very dignified role in the presidential election. It is easy to forget that he suffered huge attacks from the media at that time; they were relentless and nasty at times. He met each of those attacks with dignity and respect and he built bridges again during that campaign. As alluded to by my colleague, Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, he played a very influential part in making sure that we have an excellent President today in Michael D. Higgins. I referred to the horrible section 31 ban but fair play to Michael D. Higgins as the man who repealed it and played his part in building peace and progress in our country.

To conclude, I want to recognise the great man that Martin McGuinness was, as a freedom fighter, as a statesman, as a peacemaker and above all as a republican.