Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As Leader of the House and as leader of the Fine Gael Party in the House, I join every Senator who has spoken tonight in paying tribute and sympathising with the family of the late Martin McGuinness.

Like Senator Grace O'Sullivan, I met Martin McGuinness during an election count in Cork last year. We were being interviewed on radio as I was about to be eliminated. He extended the hand to me. He sympathised and said that it was better to fight and lose than not fight at all.

I met him in Logan International Airport, Boston, several years prior to that meeting. My time in his company was full of laughter even though we shared different political viewpoints. I am a republican who wants to see a united Ireland - I said as much on Newstalk this afternoon. We may have differed in our approaches to politics and how we achieve the end result.

Today, when I woke up and heard the news, I was actually saddened. I was listening to Newstalk and RTE in the car on the way up. I listened to the various people who knew him well, including Denis Bradley, Mary McAleese and people in Sinn Féin. I was struck by the impression that he was a man – I will come back to why I am saying this in a moment – who saw and witnessed what happened in Derry. Classmates of mine in the seminary had friends or family involved in the IRA. They always discussed what or how would we do it. In many ways, it was easy for those of us living in the South and away from the North to say that the path of non-violence was easy.

We can always admire people like John Hume and Seamus Mallon for the bravery they showed. We can admire people like David Trimble and Ian Paisley because they came on a journey. Senator Feighan referred to the commentary in The Irish Timestoday on Martin McGuinness as a man of war and a man of peace. He reached out as a politician and as a member of Sinn Féin and the IRA. He recognised that there was a bigger and perhaps a more advantageous route. Notwithstanding this, what I admire about him on one level is that he never hid from his past. He never ducked and dived. He admitted it and he recognised the importance of what he did for himself, even though others may have disagreed with him. He reached out to his opponents and extended the hand of friendship. Senator Ó Clochartaigh spoke about building bridges. That was the theme of Mary McAleese's presidency. Martin McGuinness reached out and built bridges. I was struck by the remarks of David Ford on the radio today, as well as by the letter David Trimble wrote to Martin McGuinness in which he stated that Mr. McGuinness was indispensable to the peace process. As Senator Mulherin has said, he worked in his political life to bring peace to our island. My friends in the seminary often said that peace was about a long Grand National. That phrase was used by one of my friends who is a priest in the North. He said that we fall at some fences but we get up and keep going. As the Taoiseach said in the Dáil today, Mr. McGuinness travelled the road to peace.

I know there are victims of violence who have a different view to many of us today. Tonight is about recognising the man who recognised that, for those of us who seek a united Ireland, the process is about getting there through dialogue and peace. This evening, Bill Clinton spoke nicely of how Martin McGuinness refused to live in the past. Perhaps, as Senator Conway-Walsh said, that will be his legacy. We must finish the job. I exhort all of us as politicians to finish the job that was set off by so many.

It is fair to say that, as Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister and Minister of Education, he left the North in a better place. His legacy will be one of bringing so many to the table for dialogue. As Gerry Adams said today, he was the man they picked to go and negotiate.

I have listened to the personal and heartfelt tributes from the Members opposite from Sinn Féin. This person was passionate and convincing and he was a leader.

I hope that we can see an end to sectarianism and the fulfilment of the dreams of all of us in this country.

The biggest loss will be that felt by his wife and family. On behalf of myself, the Fine Gael Party and everyone in the House I extend our sympathies. Others will write and history will judge. Ultimately, however, if Martin McGuinness did not have the courage to place his hand in the hand of Ian Paisley or to walk in the peace process, then we might not be here today. Death is not the end. Death can never be the end. Death is the road, life is the traveller and the soul is the guide. Ar dheis lámh Dé go raibh a anam dílis.