McGuinness in the end may have realised that a peaceful approach would produce more hope of unity

Freedom is a compelling urge within humanity, and can drive people to attain their meaning of freedom by, fair means or foul, becoming proud to be identified as “freedom fighters”.

In many (or most?) cases they take up arms, against the state that has denied them the freedom they desire.

However when the same freedom fighters, allow their followers to butcher innocent men, women and children, including the unborn, support for their cause inevitably diminishes.

People outside the state then take up retaliatory action to protect their beliefs, this involves more innocent humanity slaughtered, the freedom fighters (both breeds) now become terrorists.

This is where the IRA/UVF or whoever went wrong as no government of any substance, can stand back, and allow any form of terrorism to win, be it republican, loyalist or any other divisive breed.

What I find ludicrous with Mr McGuinness’s IRA is that they accepted enormous political and financial support from America, and to a lesser extent Australia and New Zealand, countries that were founded by the slaughter of their indigenous tribes. Freedom for these people never came into the equation.

To date in Northern Ireland, over 3,000 people have been senselessly slaughtered to attain the desires of Mr McGuinness and co.

Yes giving credit where it is due, Mr McGuinness may have realised, that adopting a peaceful approach, would produce more hope of attaining Ireland’s unification, and to that end he played his part.

It is with some irony that Mr McGuinness was born in British Londonderry, died there and will be interred there tomorrow. A peaceful unification of Ireland within Britain, must surely be more attractive, than another 100 years of divisive hell and human slaughter?

Harry Stephenson, Kircubbin