Northern Ireland bids farewell to ex-IRA chief McGuinness
DUBLIN — Martin McGuinness, the Irish Republican Army chieftain who turned away from violence to forge bonds with Northern Ireland’s Protestants, was laid to rest Thursday in a cross-community service that illustrated the new alliances forged by the region’s slow-blooming peace process.
Tens of thousands lined the streets of McGuinness’ native Bogside district of Londonderry as Sinn Fein party colleagues, IRA veterans, family members and lifelong friends took turns carrying his Irish flag-draped casket from the McGuinness home to the gates of the city’s oldest Catholic church.
The sea of mournful faces represented the greatest show of Irish republican grief since the 1981 funeral for IRA hunger strike leader Bobby Sands, whose election to British Parliament inspired Sinn Fein to start contesting elections in an early step toward peace.
Thursday’s ceremony was unlike any ever held before for an IRA leader — because of who attended it.