“I know who Queen Elizabeth represents. I know she's the head of the British state. I know she has all sorts of titles in relation to different regiments in the British army. She knows my history. She knows I was a member of the IRA. She knows I was in conflict with her soldiers, yet both of us were prepared to rise above all of that.”

Irish republican politician and statesman

Martin McGuinness was an Irish republican politician and statesman associated with Sinn Féin. He was a leading figure in the Provisional Irish Republican Army during The Troubles. He later served as deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from May 2007 to January 2017. His public life is tied to the Northern Ireland conflict and its political aftermath, where he moved from militant republican leadership into high office.