THE COFFIN OF Martin McGuinness has been carried to his home in Derry this evening.
The death of the 66-year-old former Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister was announced this morning.
Gerry Adams and McGuinness’s successor as Sinn Féin’s leader in the North, Michelle O’Neill, helped carry the coffin as hundreds turned out to pay their respects.
His funeral is due to take place on Thursday afternoon at St Columba’s Church, followed by burial afterwards in the City Cemetery.
McGuinness, a former IRA commander in the city before becoming one of the key figures in the peace process, died in the early hours of this morning.
Tributes have been paid to him from across the political divide. In a development that would have seemed unimaginable decades ago, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth is expected to send a private message to McGuinness’s widow, Bernadette.
Adams called his former colleague a “passionate republican who worked tirelessly for peace and reconciliation and for the reunification of his country”.
Bill Clinton said he “refused to live in the past”.
In a statement this evening Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil Seán Ó Fearghaíl confirmed the flag above Leinster House will be flown at half-mast on the day of McGuinness’s funeral.
His coffin was carried through the Bogside area this evening, in wintry conditions. It’s understood McGuinness had been suffering from a rare heart condition.
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