Former Northern Ireland deputy first minister Martin McGuinness dies aged 66

Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness, Northern Ireland's former deputy first minister, has died aged 66 after suffering from a rare heart condition

Martin McGuinness died aged 66 after a short illness in Derry’s Altnagelvin hospital surrounded by his family
Martin McGuinness died aged 66 after a short illness in Derry’s Altnagelvin hospital surrounded by his family

Martin McGuinness, the former IRA chief of staff and a key figure in the Northern Ireland peace process, has died just two months after stepping down as deputy first minister.

The Irish republican died aged 66 after a short illness in Derry’s Altnagelvin hospital surrounded by his family.

He suffered from a rare genetic disease caused by deposits of abnormal protein – amyloid – in tissues and organs.

Married with four children, McGuinness was the IRA’s chief of staff from 1979 until 1982 and ran the paramilitary movement when Lord Louis Mountbatten and 18 British soldiers were killed on the same day.

Alongside Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, McGuinness courted Tony Blair from the moment the Labour leader won his landslide election in May 1997. The Sinn Féin leaders were able to negotiate concessions from the Prime Minister, ranging from early IRA prisoner releases to the controversial “on-the-runs” scheme, in which wanted republicans were given “letters of comfort” that appeared to offer them immunity from arrest or prosecution.

The former IRA leader turned peacemaker worked at the heart of the power-sharing government following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

He became deputy first minister in 2007, standing alongside Democratic Unionist Party leaders Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson and Arlene Foster.

McGuinness stood down from his post in January in protest against the DUP's handling of an energy scandal, in a move that triggered a snap election.

In the days after the result, McGuinness’s condition deteriorated and he had to be moved from his home in Derry, where he was receiving palliative care, to Altnagelvin hospital’s high dependency unit.

After his liver failed, his wife, Bernie, posted a prayer on her Facebook page stating: “Things may look dark and bleak now, but I have faith that my dawn is coming. In Jesus name, amen!”

In a statement, Adams described him as “a passionate republican who worked tirelessly for peace and reconciliation and for the re-unification of his country."