Following the resurgence of Sinn Féin at the polls in the 2020 General Election, now seems like the perfect time to reflect on the life of a man that was a seminal figure in their political history, Martin McGuinness.
A new documentary on the politician and former Provisional Irish Republican Army leader who went on to become the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland will air this Wednesday and it's bound to be a fascinating watch.
As the official synopsis states: "McGuinness was a man of huge contradictions, a former IRA leader who plotted a political path to peace, and who eventually became deputy first minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Some lauded him as a peacemaker; others condemned him as a terrorist."
As former US president Bill Clinton says in the feature: “You either admired him or you thought he was the devil incarnate.”
Despite his past, McGuinness is also credited as one of the main architects of the Good Friday Agreement. Aside from this, he also served as Minister of Education in the Northern Ireland Executive between 1999 and 2002.
McGuinness was also Sinn Féin's candidate for the 2011 presidential election.
In terms of the other participants in the documentary, the filmmakers have interviewed former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Eileen Paisley, the widow of former DUP leader Ian Paisley, with whom McGuinness developed a very close and unlikely friendship.
In January 2017, McGuinness resigned as Deputy First Minister in a protest over the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal. Sadly, a few months later, he died at the age of 66.
His life's work is bound to make for a fascinating watch when McGuinness airs on RTE1 at 9.35pm on Wednesday.
Take a look at what's in store below.
Three years on from his death at the age of 66, we look at the life and legacy of Martin McGuinness in this new and powerful documentary.
📺 McGuinness | Tomorrow 9.35 PM @RTEOne #McGuinness #RTÉNewSeason pic.twitter.com/D5sGzTf2E0— RTÉ (@rte) September 1, 2020
Main image via BBC YouTube
