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Hundreds mourn Martin McGuinness, ex-IRA commander

Irish republicans hold a candle lit vigil in West Belfast, Northern Ireland, commemorating the death of Martin McGuinness, Tuesday, March, 21, 2017. (Photo by AP)

People across Ireland have payed tribute to Martin MacGuinness, the late deputy first minister and the ex-commander of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Mourners in Belfast and Dublin lit candles and said prayers while holding pictures of the former IRA commander who died on Tuesday at the age of 66.

The cause of his death has been described as a rare heart condition.

Dubliners symbolically gathered in front of the city’s General Post Office, the site of the proclamation of the Irish Republic in 1916 and sang Republican Party’s songs.

Addressing the vigil, priest Gary Donegan hailed McGuinness’s contribution to the peace process.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams (R) and Northern Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill (M) carry the coffin of Martin MacGuinness, Tuesday March 21, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

“Martin was a hero in life and a hero in death,” he said.

In Belfast, crowds listened to speeches by the party’s officials who celebrated MacGuinness’ activism and revolutionary character.

“Martin, as we all know, was a very passionate Irish republican. He believed in our people – that people of this island should be free. He believed in reconciliation. He worked very, very hard at all of that,” Gary Adams, the Sinn Féin president said.

Key political figures including Prime Minister Theresa May and former US president Bill Clinton also praised McGuinness’s contribution to peace.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth shakes hands with Northern Ireland deputy first minister Martin McGuinness at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast June 27, 2012. (Photo by Reuters)

A member of the Sinn Fein (“We Ourselves”) party, McGuinness transformed from a dedicated Republican paramilitary in the 1970s, fighting the British army with the aim of expelling them and uniting the Republic of Ireland, an independent country, with Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom.


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