Martin McGuinness commander of Óglaigh na hÉireann

Morphéus wrote: »

I personally think of him in his guise as a terrorist, a supporter of murderers of irish soldiers and gardai and member of an illegal armed group

I think you will find that the illegal armed group weapons are decommissioned and have signed a peace treaty and entered into goverment, kind of like what happens in lots of resolved conflicts all over the world

Morphéus wrote: »

You dont leave politics at the door, you are still entitled to vote, you do however not join any political parties, nor (unlike M Mc G) sign up to any illegal organisations or secret societies.

try saying that in the late 60ies early 70ies growing up a catholic in NIreland

Remy Disgusting Hawk wrote: »

Was a terrorist, its in the past and time to get over it.

Sure there are a few things I'm uncomfortable with, the murder of Irish soldiers and members of AGS to name but a few.. But the cease fire is something like 17 years old and between MMG and Adams they've done more to move this island towards peace than most anyone else in the last 90 years.

Sure wasn't Micheal Collins a killer too, and don't put on your romantic rose tinted glasses and try draw a difference between 'the old IRA and these shower' - murder is murder is murder, pure and simple.

And we should all remember that this state of born out of terror and killings, as were many other's.

I firmly believe that without SF leaders (in fact scrub 'SF') 'leaders' like MMG and Adams we'd still be fighting a large scale terrorist war here in Ireland.

Instead now we can worry about securing other people's borders against war and terror and enjoy the freedom peace has brought to Ireland.

Indeed, and show the small nations of the world that armed conflict will inevitably lead to a position in the top job of the country you don't recognise.
Disgraceful.
You may have to accept it, but you don't have to like it.

goldie fish wrote: »

Indeed, and show the small nations of the world that armed conflict will inevitably lead to a position in the top job of the country you don't recognise.
Disgraceful.

Mandela?.

goldie fish wrote: »

You may have to accept it, but you don't have to like it.

I'm not liking it because MMG is a SF member. I'm liking it because I truely do believe that he has put the past behind him and has moved forward with a vision of peace.

I think its people who are hanging onto MMG's past who are also guilty of hanging onto the violent ways of the past, those days are gone - please God in heaven those days are gone.. So stop looking back.

Of all the candidates in this presidential election MMG (in my very humble opinion) is the only one who has shown vision and who has completely and wholeheartedly taken on the roll of both statesman and peacemaker.

Crazy Horse 6 wrote: »

Funny how people can "move on" for the Queens visit (and rightfully so) but are'nt prepered to "move on" when it comes to McGuinness.

Or how we all got on our moral high horses and asked the DUP etc to put the past behind them and move the peace process forward, but some can't find it in themselves to do likewise.

Or how we celebrate Mandela and his long walk to freedom but overlook the man's (and the ANC's) past.

I don't believe anyone has or can move on until all the gory details have come out about things which have happened during "The Troubles", on all sides.

Anything else is glorified pretending IMV.

So david norris is pushed out and ridiculed for writing a letter for clemency because his partner was covicted of statutory rape.
Yet McGuiness was (debateably still is) a member of a terrorist group and admitted to being involved in many murders and terrorist acts, and they say he's a great fella and welcome him in?

WTF to that i say!

The man is a former terrorist and should be in jail. Period. It's an embarrasment to the state that he is being allowed to run. Its the equivalent to one of the 9/11 perpetrators being allowed run for president of the USA. disgraceful.

The man is now going around shouting his mouth off saying he would be president of ALL ireland. erm, no you won't be. Irish president has jurisdiction over the republic of ireland, absoluteley nothing whatsoever to do with the state in the north, nor should it have. We are quite happy as things are, no need for a (former) kalashnikov wielding nutter like him to go stirring up sh!te.

The prospect of him being in charge of the IDFs is scary really. Who knows what he and his SF henchmen will want to do, turn the Republic of Ireland into Europes North Korea or something. Plus, they [SF] are more or less COMMUNISTS after all. They want a socialist system.

Frankly in this day and age anyone proposing that the socialist sytem is viable has no credibility whatsoever imo. Anyway, them man is a potentially dangerous maniac. Don't give him any opportunity to become one i say!

Waht an embarrasment this whole fiasco is. so embarrased now.

EDIT: now they think hes great cos he "brought peace", well lets not forget it was him and his organisation that started and sustained war and terrorism on the island - so if they were the ones that started it, they absolutely cannot and have no right to claim to be the bringers of peace. Their whole attitude reads like a bad joke. A party with dormant desires for genocide has no business and is not wanted down here.

i'm not saying norris is squeeky clean - he was wrong to do what he did, but it is nothing in comparrison to McGuinesses horrid and bloody past. Yet he is thrown out and McGuiness is embraced. Both should be out or both should be in. There is no consistency.

What did McGuiness and his organisation bring to Ireland? well where will i start, -war, terrorism, murder, torture, punishment beating, knee cappings, bombing innocent civilians, more murder, more torture, theft, robbery, fraud, etc, etc..............................................

they were the instigators of the violence, so they can't claim to have brought peace when they gave up their antics. They just can't. They have successfully deluded themselves on that one but they don't fool anyone else. No matter what they do or say they cannot change their past. They did what they did. And so macgiuness thus can't be called a peacemaker if he was the one that waged terrosm for so long.

Example if al quida called off their campaign tomorrow, would we be calling them peacemakers??? i think not. same goes for SF and mcguiness. they started it so they can't calim to have brought peace. The ones who brought peace are the British and Irish Governments who created an environment where paramilitaries could no longer function as before. They (SF/IRA and unionist paras) were effectively defeated and the British-Irish states were victorious.

Edit: there was peace on this island before SF/IRA stared stirring up sh!te back when they did. Most ordinary people were content enough with the UK of Britain and Ireland until they succumbed to the propaganda of a core of fundamentalist hardliners. The normans came in 1169, its not like they only arrived in 1905 FFS. They came to britain in 1066. Do the british go on about throwing them out like some here do over a 103 year difference in arrival times. No. Grow up ireland. Lets not forget that half of us are of norman decent anyway at this stage. Think about it. It all boils down to good old fashioned begrudgery IMO.