Martin McGuinness - Mistakes of past can’t be repeated

Asked about a report over the weekend that the IRA leadership is reportedly considering an apology to victims of the Troubles, Martin McGuinness, the deputy first minister of the North, responded pointedly that “the IRA are gone”.

It was an admission that stood in stark contrast with the famous declaration by Gerry Adams some years ago that “the IRA have not gone away, you know!”.

Mr McGuinness told Miriam O’Callaghan on RTÉ on Saturday night that he met the British Queen “to show my respect to the unionist people of the North and to extend, through Queen Elizabeth, the hand of friendship, peace, and reconciliation to all of them”. He was quite clear that there were wrongs on all sides in the Northern conflict.