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Martin McGuinness
IRA commander; later Deputy First Minister
"My war is over. My job as a political leader is to prevent that war ever happening again."
Biography
A butcher's apprentice from the Bogside, Martin McGuinness rose to become a senior IRA commander in Derry — he admitted to having been second-in-command of the local IRA at the time of Bloody Sunday — before evolving, alongside Gerry Adams, into a leading strategist of the peace process. His hard-man credentials gave him the authority within the movement to sell compromise to the militants. In one of the most remarkable transformations of the era, the former IRA commander became Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland in the power-sharing government, working in partnership with his old enemies — most famously forging a warm and unlikely rapport with the firebrand unionist Ian Paisley, the pair dubbed the 'Chuckle Brothers.' He even shook hands with Queen Elizabeth II. His journey from gunman to statesman embodied the arc of the peace.
Did you know?
His genuine friendship with the arch-unionist Ian Paisley in government was so striking that the two former enemies were nicknamed the 'Chuckle Brothers.'
Key Battles
Bloody Sunday
January 30, 1972 · 28 total casualties
Bloody Sunday was the single most notorious event of the Troubles, destroying nationalist faith in the British state, driving a wave of recruits into the IRA, and internationalising the conflict. It became a rallying cry commemorated in song and memory for decades.
The Good Friday Agreement
April 10, 1998 · 0 total casualties
The Good Friday Agreement effectively ended the Troubles, creating a durable if fragile peace and a template — power-sharing, consent, and inclusion of former combatants — studied by peacemakers worldwide. Its architects Hume and Trimble shared the Nobel Peace Prize.
Life Journey
Timeline
May 23, 1950
🌅 Birth
Born in the Bogside, Derry
2007
🕊️ Postwar
Becomes Deputy First Minister
March 21, 2017
✝️ Death
Dies in Derry