ALEX Salmond, Bill Clinton and the DUP leader Arlene Foster were among the thousands of people who packed the city of Derry for the funeral of Martin McGuinness yesterday as the coffin of the veteran Sinn Fein politician was carried through the streets.
Mourners also included the ex First Minister of Northern Ireland Peter Robinson as well as the Irish President Michael D Higgins, his predecessor, Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
The former IRA commander who turned away from violence to embrace the ballot box and become Deputy First Minister died on Tuesday from a rare heart condition aged 66.
Bishop Donal McKeown, Bishop of Derry, told McGuinness’s family said: “For you this is not the funeral of a public figure. This is a funeral of a husband, father and a grandfather and our first thoughts are inevitably with you.”
He thanked those who had been involved in securing the Good Friday Agreement who travelled for the mass, including from within Northern Ireland and the Republic and Britain and the US.
“It’s a tribute to those who didn’t just talk the talk but walked the walk of implementing the Good Friday Agreement that all three of those strands are so well represented here,” he said.
As Foster walked to her seat inside St Columba’s Church, mourners clapped in appreciation. Not long ago it would have been unthinkable for a unionist politician to attend a republican’s funeral. Her attendance showed how far political life has moved on in Northern Ireland.
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