McGuinness: Dissidents 'stupid'
Dissident republicans are living in a fool’s paradise if they think they can re-unite Ireland by violence, Martin McGuinness has insisted.
Addressing a traditional republican commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising, the Sinn Féin figurehead said the action of the renegades was futile, stupid and selfish.
Claiming the countdown was on to a united Ireland, Stormont’s Deputy First Minister told crowds at Loup, Co Derry that it had to be achieved peacefully and democratically and with unionist support.
He also rejected claims from the extremists that they were the true IRA.
Mr McGuinness claimed the IRA that existed during the Troubles was not a war mongerer.
“They were a revolutionary force who when an opportunity to advance the struggle for Irish unity through peaceful means was established it removed itself from the political equation,” he said.
“The IRA by its nature was of the people and for the people.
“It could not have survived and fought the British state the way it did if it was small and unrepresentative.
“People should be under no illusion, the small factions currently engaging in armed actions are not the IRA and they are not advancing national and democratic objectives by their activities.”
He added: “Irish people are united in support of the Good Friday, St Andrews and Hillsborough agreements, attempting to overturn the will of the Irish people is not only futile it is stupid and selfish.
“Ireland can now only be reunited by the further development and outworking of the power sharing and all-Ireland institutions which were endorsed by the Irish people in the referendum in 1998. No act of violence will advance the cause of reunification by one millimetre.
“It is patently not possible to advance towards Irish reunification by any means other than peaceful and democratic processes.
“Those who believe that Ireland can be reunited without the support of the Irish people are living in a fool’s paradise.”
Delivering an address at the graveside of Sean Larkin, a republican executed during the Civil War, Mr McGuinness said unionists had to feel welcome in a united Ireland and acknowledged that many were terrified at the prospect.
“Change is always difficult,” he said.
“When taken in the context of a conflict resolution process, change can be traumatic. And this can be made even more difficult when there are those, both within sections of unionism and within the British political and military establishment who still want to hold on to the old ways.
“Our goal as Irish republicans is an Irish unity that is inclusive, that unionists will feel welcome in, that they are a part of.
“There is much work to do. But we believe that we are in the countdown to a united Ireland. We believe that together we can make further progress and truly transform society on this island forever.
“We are all on the journey. It is always easier to begin a journey. The hard thing is to end it.
“Sinn Féin is in this process to the end. We want the British government and the Irish government and the unionists to work with us and to finish the work we have all started.
“The length of the journey can be shortened and the ups and downs on the road can be smoothed out if we go at it collectively. If we do it together.”
