Updated March 21, 2017 20:16:57

Sinn Fein politician Martin McGuinness, the former Irish Republican Army (IRA) commander, has died aged 66.

He resigned as Northern Ireland's deputy first minister in January, having been in that role in a power-sharing government since 2007.

Mr McGuinness suffered from amyloidosis, a rare disease with a strain specific to Ireland's northwest.

Together with Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, Mr McGuinness was a dominant figure during the 30 years of the Protestant-Catholic Troubles, in which an estimated 3,600 people were killed.

He later laid down his arms and was a chief negotiator in the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement that largely ended the conflict.

The sight of Martin McGuinness shaking hands with the Queen brought Jonathan Holmes' recollections of the Troubles powerfully to mind.

"Throughout his life Martin showed great determination, dignity and humility, and it was no different during his short illness," Mr Adams said in a statement.

"He was a passionate Republican who worked tirelessly for peace and reconciliation and for the re-unification of his country. But above all, he loved his family and the people of Derry and he was immensely proud of both."

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May echoed those comments, saying Mr McGuinness "made an essential and historic contribution to the extraordinary journey of Northern Ireland from conflict to peace".

Ms May's predecessor Tony Blair, who was Britain's leader when the peace agreement was reached in 1998, also paid tribute:

"I grew up watching and hearing about the Martin McGuinness who was a leading member of the IRA engaged in armed struggle. I came to know the Martin McGuinness who set aside that armed struggle in favour of making peace," he said.

McGuinness's leadership remembered

Mr McGuinness joined the IRA in 1970 as it began its bloody campaign against British rule.

At just 21, he was second-in-command in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday — the day in 1972 when British troops in the city killed 14 unarmed marchers, ushering in the most intense phase of the Troubles.

In 1973, he was convicted by the Irish Republic's courts of being an IRA member after being stopped in a car packed with explosives and bullets, and was briefly jailed.

First Minister Arlene Foster, who survived an IRA bomb attack on a school bus at the age of 17, said history would record "differing views and opinions" on Mr McGuinness.

But she added: "In recent years, his contribution helped build the relative peace we now enjoy".

Meanwhile, Irish President Michael D Higgins said "people across this island will miss the leadership he gave, shown most clearly during the difficult times of the peace process".

'I don't care how history assesses me'

Mr McGuinness saw his mission as defending the rights of the Catholic minority against the pro-British Protestants who for decades had dominated Northern Ireland.

But for his critics, that cause was never enough to justify the IRA's campaign of bombings and shootings.

The fact that in later years Mr McGuinness shared power with his bitterest enemy Ian Paisley, the founder of the Democratic Unionist Party, and shook hands with the Queen in 2012 was condemned by some former comrades as treachery.

Earlier this year, Mr McGuinness told supporters that his decision to retire from politics broke his heart.

"I don't really care how history assesses me, but I'm very proud of where I've come from," he told Irish national broadcaster RTE.

Sinn Fein recorded its best ever result in an election three weeks before Mr McGuinness's death.

He is survived by his wife, Bernadette, and four children.

ABC/wires

Topics: world-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, northern-ireland

First posted March 21, 2017 17:26:20